There is a quote I found to be rather fascinating from my favorite television show, "Heroes." For those who are familiar with the show, it's when Nathan Petrelli walked up to Mr. Linderman with a gun, while Linderman was cooking. He was considering killing him, and Linderman was having a very calm and collected conversation with him. What he said definitely got my wheels turning. "There comes a time, Nathan, when a man must decide if he is to live a life of happiness, or a life of meaning."

"I would like to have both," Nathan responded.

"Well, that's not possible. They are two very different paths."

I have heard from other various sources as well about theories making connection between level of intelligence and depression. What does intelligence have to do with meaning? Well, a lot. Intelligent people can see the world for what it really is. They can see meaning, and they can sense more than just their own lives.

Is it true? Do we have to turn our backs to the realities of the world to be happy?

It is a fact that there are a lot of happy people out there happy only due to oblivion. They are well loved, well cared for, free of any financial burden that could possibly bring to their awareness their mortality and limits in this world. They've never seen a child get hit, never experienced rape, never seen a genuine attempt by one human being to harm another.

Of course, that scenario is not entirely possible. EVERYONE faces some darkness during their lifetime. No one's lives are perfect. There is conflict somewhere, pain at some point. We have to admit, however, that we all know someone who fits this mold pretty well.

They are happy, that's true. But here's where I begin to question it.

There's a woman I know who grew up in a family laden with brutal domestic violence. Her father was so abusive to her mother, she was at times afraid for her life. She took her children and left him when this woman was six (although I do realize at the time she was a girl) and then remarried a man who beat her and her siblings. She watched him almost kill her youngest brother, and her mother, too afraid to leave, put him up for adoption to save his life.

Needless to say, this woman has seen many brutal angles of life. She has seen and felt very real pain, been afraid for her life and the life of those she loves, and been exposed to horrible unkindness that would cause most to crumble. But here's the catch. She ran away when she was fourteen. She married once, figured out the guy was an asshole, left him, got married again, realized again he was an asshole, and went through lots of counseling and efforts for personal growth. She finally married the love of her life, had children and didn't abuse them. She got a college education and an excellent paying job. She has engaged in many volunteer programs, and is a happy, healthy person. Is she any less happy than the ignorant, sheltered individuals out there?

I actually would argue that she's MORE happy. Why? Well, think about it. Who's more in touch with the world? The one that knows both love and hate, or the one that knows just love? Who's going to stay standing when hell breaks loose? It will. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when.

There is an awful lot of suffering out there. A quarter of women get raped. Countless numbers of people die prematurely, and leave behind many, many people who loved them and suffer from their loss. Many struggle with potentially terminal illnesses. Many fight against mental disease every day, mental diseases that cause a great amount of anguish, like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Schizophrenia, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Bipolar Depression, and many, many more.

There is so much suffering to learn about that is out there! It would be so easy just to retreat into a peaceful little bubble and live and be happy.

But there's something the people in the bubbles don't know. There are a lot of people that fall, and never get up. But there are more people that fall and get up, fall again, and get up again. Human beings are remarkably resilient. If there's anything I've learned throughout my experiences in my own life, it's that we are all so much stronger than we think we are. The people who retreat to their bubbles don't realize this. They think that if their house burned down, they would have nothing left. If their financial assets vanished into thin air, they would be rendered helpless. After all, only stupid people are poor! But they are wrong.

There's a Rascal Flats song that is pretty much awesome that strikes a chord with me, and relates to this discussion. The chorus is as follows:

"When push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend till you break
'Cause it's all you can take
On your knees, you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe your hands, shake it off
Then you Stand"

So, are we happier if we ignore the horrible things in life? No. We are happier when we face all the pain and can see through it all that there is hope, for all of us. that takes work, however. It's not easy to endure life's delivered blow after blow, and to stand up and say "I swear! I see light somewhere!"

But it is. Throughout one's search for meaning, one will certainly find it.