Back to Square One

In youth, a person lives in anticipation of happiness. It seems to be just within reach. Just a little bit more — and it will come, engulfing you like a wave. The well-known saying "Happiness is in simple things" seems... not only unjust but even offensive: going to work every day, loving the same person, cooking borscht, and raising children — is that happiness? No, of course not! But there comes a moment when the realization hits — happiness is indeed in simple things. In the work you do day in and day out, in the loved one who looks nothing like a knight in shining armor or even your favorite actor. But it was he who brought you tea with raspberries when you were sick and solved math problems with your child. And we return to square one — where we are loved and awaited, where we are surrounded by those very simple things that make up happiness.