Kindred Spirits: Quest and Answers

Its equally comforting and startling to find other people are asking the same questions and looking for answers the same way as you are. Its even more heartening when you find that kindred spirit within family or a dear friend.

simple questions and complicated answers...
Perhaps that is why, when asked a very simply question by one of my elementary school students, I was taken completely aback by my inability to answer:

"Sensei... Are you happy?"

Voiced with such complete openness. So naive in its innocence. Not yet jaded or weighed down by the perceived responsibilities and everyday complications of life... as each of us eventually becomes...

I often wonder if I was ever so young...

For a long time after I could not find the words, and I was left to ponder the question late into the evening and many days hence. Sometimes the questions can seem so simple on the surface yet hide layers of complexity underneath... or mayhap I simply complicate them in my own mind :).
Whatever the case, I think I found myself walking through the motions of my recent existence in somewhat of a daze, wondering where in fact I was going with my life. Wondering how I could possibly approach the question, let alone the answer...