The Pursuit of Happyness

Disclaimer: This is a personal experiment, not actually a review. It's just my experience and thoughts while I read the book. A biography of reading the biography :) Also, massive spoilers.

Reading One:

Finally, I'm reading this book, and it's the first edition published in May 2006, with the cover stating "soon to be a motion picture starring Will Smith". I remember watching the movie probably in 2007 and having goosebumps all over. I'm hoping reading the book will be just as fascinating. I'm hyped up. I even made a mental note to watch the movie again for the third time. The first few chapters really push one to go down the nostalgia lane of their own. But then suddenly, he starts telling about some of the darkest things, which were quite a shock to me as I knew nothing about them. They were skipped in the movie. I also put on some Miles Davis music in the background while reading the early period of his life to set the mood the author was describing. Not being from that period and culture, I had never heard that music before. That jazz trumpet is quite something. It gave me the blues, not that I was having the blues in my life anyway. These incidents that I call dark were mainly the ones he describes about his early teens. Shell shocked at some of those, I continued to look for the best parts of the book that gave me the feeling I got when I saw the movie. However, I had to put down the book for a couple of weeks for unrelated reasons.

Reading Two:

When I restarted my reading, I found the story taking a turn. It turns from Chris the child victim of circumstances to the amazing guy that he was. But the writing seemed full of a narcissistic portrayal of himself. There was no humbleness to the achievements. I guess it was a turn-off for me personally. Some people may find it extremely attractive. I kept the book down for a few more days. I just wanted to get to the part of the story where the movie was. I was running out of patience reading two-thirds of the book and still not at the part that I liked. I realized I was being choosy. To understand a person's life, I should actually really understand what the character (in this case, a real person) of the story was. The only problem was that the real person was just not cutting it for me at this point. I thought I would just have to read on. A person has to evolve from time to time, and everyone does, willingly or unwillingly, for the good or worse. Sometimes it's not good or bad; sometimes it is what it is. I also realized that passing down judgment (without seeing the whole picture) on someone else was easier. I should stop doing that. We all go through phases of life when we do things we are proud of and things we are not. Often, especially in the youthful periods of life, people get this feeling that they are amazing and can do whatever they want (this feeling may or may not die off). I think Chris was going through the same phase of life.

Reading Three:

I picked up the book again. (Meanwhile, I had to pay a fine at the library from where I loaned the book as I forgot about it and didn't renew it.) Towards this final section of the book, it gets to where the movie began. I loved some of this final section of the book. It's where the victim finally wins. I think I had a few tears of happiness when he finally finds the house with rosebushes. When he and Chris Jr. finally get to know that they have a home. They are no longer homeless. They don't have to carry all their belongings with them all the time. Yeah, the best part of the book when Chris & Chris Jr. are happy together. The story after that, of him going from having enough money to rent a house to becoming a millionaire, sadly, didn't resonate with me much.

Anyhow, I'm disappointed in how different the book is from the movie. But I'm delighted that reading it makes me feel that I can do anything. It gives a little bit of a happy perspective.

My parallel and relevant musings:

The pursuit of happiness: Everyone is in a pursuit of happiness; anyone you will ever meet. No matter how much happiness you have, you will always find the need for more. Lucky are the few who can define what happiness means to them. Luckier are those who are content with what they have and don't feel the need for more. One would argue that there may be nothing if there was no pursuit. However, as it seems, there will always be a pursuit, of one thing or another, of someone or other, of one feeling or another. Chris in this book was looking for happiness, like everyone else. His definition of happiness changed like anyone else's. As a child, he defined and found happiness in being loved, having a father figure, having a mom. Overall, love and stability were happiness. As he grew older, his definition and pursuit aligned with that of becoming the best jazz player. Then he defined it for some time in drugs, he viewed it in money. He viewed it in having a friend. He viewed it in sex, not just sex, but hot passionate sex. He then viewed it in supporting his family, then in bringing up his family. He then viewed it in helping those who helped him. One can say that he found happiness in helping others pursue their pursuits. This is evident in his philanthropic deeds. Just like Chris, me and you, each one of us, have phases of happiness. Some people find their happiness in achieving some goal. The astronauts of Apollo 1 gave their life in trying to explore space. The risk of dying vs. happiness on goal completion. Is that pursuit worth dying for? Happiness never comes alone. Happiness always has a price to pay. It's just like magic; to get something, you have to give something. There is nothing free. There is pain, struggle, and suffering for a moment of happiness. Maybe the Indian hermits and sages of the old wise age, with their lengthy beards and calm visage, had figured it out. Do nothing, expect nothing, and be happy. Don't pursue happiness, just be happy. Easier said than done. Isn't it?