Paradise Found

Having written a total of exactly one blog post, I of course shared this exciting news with my best friend, knowing she would offer both support and enthusiasm for this momentous achievement. After all, what are best friends for, if not to be your biggest fan?

Side note: I started watching The Mindy Project on and off recently, at a loss of what to watch on Netflix after finishing You and The Gentlemen in succession. (I missed the latest season of You when it first came out because I assumed it would be exactly like the other seasons and then it was not, at all, and I’m still shook. Best season yet, hands down.) Hard to come off that intense streak of television excellence, but Mindy Kaling softened the blow. In fact, after watching her show (still working through the first season) I think she might be an actual genius.

Anyway, I mention this as in one of the earlier episodes, Mindy’s character explains matter-of-factly to her curmudgeonly, adorable, and almost certainly future love interest colleague Danny that, “A best friend isn’t a person. It’s a tier.” I think that’s exactly right. It’s a remarkable tier of people who always have your back and are your biggest cheerleaders throughout all aspects of life, no matter what. Your ride or dies.

Right on cue, as I write these sentences, the aforementioned friend sent a text saying how much she enjoyed the post and congratulating me on accomplishing my goal. You can’t put a price on quality friendships. But in this case, she offered more than merely support. She gave me enlightenment.

In addition to celebrating with me, she bluntly (because what is friendship if you can’t be honest) pointed out that I sounded happier than she’d heard in a while. Quick to clarify that I usually seem pretty happy, as a baseline, but she noticed a new level of enthusiasm in my voice, and was glad to hear me really excited about something.

Mmmk. That gave me pause – quite literally, in fact, as I’d been bouncing down the street while we chatted, riding the high of having pressed “publish” on something of absolutely zero consequence to nearly anyone other than me. But I had to consider that reality for a moment. If she were saying it, I knew it was probably true. And I could feel it too, in my bones. She was right.

Except the funny thing is, I had thought I was fairly happy. I felt cheerful – not that life was perfect, since it rarely is, but it certainly wasn’t bad. But it’s a matter of perspective. There are levels to joy. What’s fascinating to me is that you don’t necessarily recognize you’re leveling up until you do. It’s like unlocking a new level in a video game – when you are on level 1, you could only imagine what rewards, alongside challenges, await in the next level.

Until you get there. Then there’s another, above that one, unfathomable to you at present, as you possess neither the knowledge to comprehend it, nor the tools to access it. Yet. And so on.

By launching this site, I achieved a defined goal I’d actively set out to accomplish, and unlocked a new level of delight.

In terms of joy, I like to think I have a working knowledge of different levels (although surely ones exist of which I’m presently unaware) – it’s more that sometimes I forget.

When you’re in a rut, sometimes you don’t know in one until you’re out. And then the world seems brighter, colors become vivid, and boundless possibilities seem achievable. It’s invaluable insight only a true friend could give.