Are you happy?

I had to post this entry from Matthew Good's blog. When reading it, I felt the words had come right out of my mouth. This is nothing short from exactly how I feel:

"Being super-happy shouldn’t be a goal. Being super-happy is an excuse to believe in something that acts to distract you from yourself and your involvement in your surroundings. Being super-happy relies on the belief that you need to acquire wealth or fame or power to be something deemed ‘worth while’. Having spent the majority of my life poor I can honestly say that money does not make one happy. Family does, friends do, love does. So don’t waste a single second denying yourself true happiness, because it’s most likely staring you in the face. Life it too short to hate, to be divisive, or to defend that which denies others the chance to be truly happy on their own terms. I believe that true happiness is discovered in the realization that you are far more whole when outside of the construct of what many perceive as happiness. And only after you begin to walk towards that realization can you truly act to counter the negativity that bombards us on a daily basis."

He never fails to draw pure, raw emotion out of me. Whether it's in his music or his writing, I am always moved. So, once again, introducing Mr. Matthew Good.