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The pursuit of happiness is something this nation knows all about. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of it is what every American wishes to obtain. Unfortunately, I believe that a lot of Americans aren’t happy and/or can’t find a path to happiness that suits them and their needs. It’s so unfortunate that in the land of plenty, few are genuinely happy.

In ancient times, the people of the world didn’t have a lot of the things that we have today and ultimately take for granted. Even though the Bible and our history books have taught us that these ancient people weren’t always happy, they seem to have gotten by just fine. So apparently, the things that the human race has created over time haven’t made us any happier. Sure, these things were made for our conveniences, and some really do help us out, but they haven’t succeeded in elevating our level of true happiness or created any more time for us. And certainly our happiness hasn’t decreased due to lack of things, or even lack of money.
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On this Thanksgiving holiday, when we sit with family and friends to express gratitude for the things we have in life, I will think of Randy Pausch. If you haven’t heard his name yet, you should have. On the afternoon of Sept. 18 the Carnegie-Mellon University professor walked into a packed auditorium on the Pittsburgh campus and delivered his "last lecture."

It was a doozy.

Pausch spoke with the theatrics of a showman, the wit of a master comic, and the eloquence of a statesman. He recalled his own childhood dreams, his life’s goal to enable the dreams of others, and the lessons he learned and wanted to share over the 46 years of his life. Pausch is a handsome man, with a full head of black hair, bushy eyebrows, and a remarkable sense of humor. Of all the lectures this computer science prof had delivered during years in classrooms, this one was especially poignant and urgent. He began simply enough by quoting his father who always told him that when there is an elephant in the room you introduce it.

So Pausch pulled up on an overhead screen a trio of CAT scans that showed the 10 tumors in his liver and spoke about his doctors’ prognosis that he had three to six months of good health left. "That is what it is," he said simply. "We can’t change it. We cannot change the cards we are dealt—just how we play the hand."

[ Business Week ]

This has gotten me thinking lately. Since recently my father passed from Leukemia, obviously this story touches me. We’ve got to make sure we live life to the fullest every single day. We’ve got to make sure we don’t burn bridges that might not ever have the opportunity to get rebuilt. Most of all, we must truly, deeply, spiritually; give thanks daily to the Creator and cherish the time you get to have with family. This life is the only life you have, don’t waste it by harboring ill feelings or by not expressing your true feelings.

Not too long ago I lost my father to illness caused by Leukemia. And I’m finally ready to air it out.

The epitome of a fighter, my dad proved to our entire family that you have to be strong in the face of adversity. When the first round of chemo didn’t do the trick, he didn’t give up. And even after the second, third, and fourth rounds… he never gave up. In his five-year battle he even went face to face with total body irradiation and ultimately bone marrow transplant.

After a long, hard battle with the disease his body was unable to take any illness and with one fail swoop of pneumonia his ability to fight it off was completely gone. He passed away on May 21st of this year.

This Father’s Day was a little more difficult than all others as I could not keep my mind from thinking about my father.  All the good times we shared are constantly going through my mind today. And even though I’m grasping for words to express what I feel, I can’t think of anything better to think about.
Love you Pop. I’ll make you proud.

I have been struggling with writing about this topic for quite some time. It seems like when I am more personally affected by a lack of communication between myself and friends, family, coworkers, etc. I get more and more frustrated. I think what bothers me most is that I’m guilty of this too but when it happens to me, I don’t like it.
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