oh yes, twice in one day

This will be the second blog I post today. Uh huh. That's right. Twice in one day. Normally, once is enough, but sometimes its fun just to try to do it again. And I don't know if you're aware, but it can be so much better the second time. No promises though. I'm not yet sure that I've got anything to say.
Happiness. The older I get the more I realize that its something which is completely intertwined with our mental health. My previous conclusions about the subject of happiness came down to something like: Happiness is dependent upon a positive self image. AND: Happiness is best secured through near term planning (as opposed to dwelling on the past or worrying about the distant future). So, now, I'm back to thinking that its more complicated after all. You can't be happy all the time. Of that much, I'm certain. In fact, feeling other less-than-happy feelings may be critical for being able to feel quality happiness later on. I still partially believe what someone asserted before, that happiness is found in moments--that is all we should hope and strive for, we shouldn't be dissapointed if we do not feel happy almost all the time. That said, I've come to realize that a higher level of happiness can be sustained beyond mere moments. (have I said the word "happy" enough yet??).
With this review, I return to the main point, that joy in life (didn't use "happiness") is more dependent upon our mental health than I previously thought. "Well duh!" is an understandable response to that, my main point. I'll narrow my thoughts. We worry, right? Worrying is a purely mental phenomenon that has all kinds of effects on our behavior, and can even effect our physical well being. Now imagine some alien race which is characterized by complete control over its mental state. If worrying is deemed irrational by these aliens, then they simply refrain from worrying. They would see humans as crazy for being plagued by this mental disease--this worrying. What other examples are there...? There have been times when I've had a difficult time sleeping in bed with my girlfriend. We are fairly new to this sleeping together business. We are slowly becoming more comfortable--both physically and mentally--with the act of lying next to each other and falling into a deep relaxing sleep. Why we do not fall asleep as easily and as soundly as we do when we are by ourselves can be a little difficult to understand. Personally, I sometimes become overly aware of myself, if that makes sense...and then become overly aware of her...if that makes any more sense. I can't say that the phenomenon is really all that different from run-of-the-mill insomnia. Therefore, I feel as if I can say that my mental state, on those nights when I feel like an insomniac next to my girlfriend, is not 100% conducive to happiness. Insecurity is another example of a mental state which prevents us from feeling as happy as we'd like. Being in a mental "funk" is also counterproductive to happiness. A "funk", for me, occurs when I feel like I have very little cognitive/imaginative/emotional energy. I'm sure its not so unusual. For me, I enter a "funk" once or twice a week. Our mental health might not be ideal either when we are over or underexposed to socialization. Personally, I can become "distracted" by too much input from too many people or things at one time. On the other hand, there can sometimes be a need for additional socialization beyond that of one or two friends.
To sum up. We're all human, so we neccessarily have less than ideal mental health. Like Seal once said, "we're all just a little bit crazy." How we go about becoming less crazy, less insecure, less worrisome, more energetic, and have more control over all those irrational compulsions/barriers of our mind is a subject of great interest to me. Because being the most alive doesn't mean just, say, bungee jumping from a bridge. It means being emotionally free and cognitively energetic enough to REALLY ENJOY that jump. The subject of how we make these sort of improvements to our mental health really is what some would call "Psychology." anywho... speaking of goodnight sleeps....bye