Simply Sarah Jones

I’ve been told recently that I should share my thoughts more with others. Somehow, I’ve convinced a few people that I know how to combine words into a cohesive and somewhat relatable manner.

And with that, you all are now fortunate enough to hear the random collection of thoughts that I carry around with me.

22 year-old Sarah had a conversation with a wonderfully insightful friend regarding happiness, and how fleeting it is. For your viewing pleasure, the original post. You’re welcome in advanced.

But on a more serious note, friends often catch me in these “moments” of happiness, and I often wonder if anyone else experiences similar moments of happiness that they cherish. Sort of like a core memory (for those of you who have seen Disney’s Inside Out), that freezes in time and replays every once in a while.

To explain, I feel like I should give you a few examples of what this looks/feels like that I have been lucky enough to experience:

• Have you ever sat in a car with the sunroof open, driving down the vacant highway with a group of friends listening to the perfect music to match the mood? Where everyone is just cheesin’ because they are relaxed and not worrying about the other responsibilities of the world? Where you look around and feel grateful to be surrounded by great friends and fresh air and life in general.
  
• Have you ever gotten chills at a concert when your favorite artist sings your favorite song and then they bring the house lights up and have the audience sing acapella? And you look around at the people smiling, crying, and singing in harmony and remember the world isn’t such a bad place sometimes?
  
• Has a child ever looked you in the eyes and said something so pure and kind that you thought you’d melt into a messy puddle on the floor?
  
• Have you ever truly people-watched at a place or event where a majority of the people are (supposed to be) happy? Like at Disney World or a wedding? I’ve been fortunate to see young children and parents share messy ice cream cones and laugh. I’ve seen grandparents relish their later years in life as they are surrounded by the generations of family they supported over the years, appreciating the little world they created. I’ve seen moms squeeze dads hands when their first child gets married and moves on to another chapter in life.
  
• Do you have a favorite spot in a song that makes you pause and appreciate the fact that you have ears and can hear music? Where your senses heighten and you experience emotions more deeply due to a song? It could be the actual musical genius of the song (a great bass drop, a perfectly harmonized portion of a song that goes acapella at the crest of a song (for example, this song at 1:30), lyrics that express your emotions so intricately you could’ve sworn you wrote them yourself). Or it could be a song that is linked to a particular emotion that immediately takes you back to that emotion when you hear it, no matter how cheesy the song is. It was real and authentic at the time when it made an impact on you.

All of these moments have happened to me at one point or another. And I find myself constantly searching for those “moments”. Not searching, attempting to manifest. Not to recreate the identical moment that you previously experienced, but to create more of those “moments”.

That’s why I go to concerts. That’s why I surround myself with people who appreciate the intricacies of a well-written song, many who know WAY more than I ever will. That’s why even though they drive me insane sometimes, I still call my siblings just to hear their sweet laughs and giggles on the other end of the phone.

I want to create and bundle up all the “moments” as possible so that eventually, they aren’t moments, they’re just my life.

Simply Sarah Jones