Pursuit of Happiness

Mondays are difficult days for most people. Back at work, waking up at the crack of dawn knowing that the next weekend is seemingly a long way away. For me, the hardest thing about Mondays is knowing that my favourite eating establishment is closed. It is bizarre really...I don’t even know the name of the place, but I could eat there virtually every day and be satisfied with my lunch. The fact is, I almost do eat there every lunch time – just apart from Mondays. I actually think it is a ploy by the owners – close on Mondays, make their customers crave it, and then you’ll entice them for the rest of the week. If so, it works on me that’s for sure.

The food itself is pretty good. I defy anybody to go in there and be unhappy with the produce. I’m taking a giant leap this weekend and taking my fine lady there. Granted, it is not the classiest place in the world, certainly not first date material, but I hold it up against any other place. You see, it is not just the food that mesmerises me. It is indeed great food. There is just a charm about the place and the couple that own it.

They must be around sixty years old each, and I am fairly sure they are Italian – the shop itself is Italian, so that is part of the clue I guess. The other part is the Italian/French/Other Random language that the lovely old lady speaks. As somebody who is not fluent in the languages but understands bits and pieces, I actually find here easier to understand than people who just speak French or just speak Italian. The problem is, I find myself speaking random rubbish back to her. The beauty of it is, she understands me fine.

Anyhow, they are a charming couple with her always being bright and on form, and him being dry and sarcastic. The perfect comedy duo really, and I never fail to come out of the little shop with a huge grin on my face.

The thing which strikes me most about them is just how happy they actually are. None of it is an act – I have been going in there almost every day for the past year and they have the same energy and same charm every single day. The best actors in the world can’t be that consistent all year round. Effectively, and this is by no means demeaning what they do as I think they are magicians, but they just make sandwiches and pasta, and stuff like that. They are hardly making waves in the corporate chain, making six figure annual salaries, and swanning off on worldwide holidays. But, they are genuinely happy with their lives.

It goes to show that one does not have to be earning massive amounts of money or have the prestigious title to be genuinely happy. I do not think many people realise that, and it is certainly not something that has crossed my mind until recently with my visits to my favourite lunchtime haunt. A lot of people are striving for something better or something new, and rightly so. But it is important not to lose other such key elements in life in search of that goal such as that small thing called happiness.