I find whenever I talk to someone I haven’t seen in a while or a friend I’ve known forever, they always ask if I am happy. What I want to say is yes, I am happy and sad and annoyed, angry, joyful, excited, tired, irritated, frustrated, cheerful…these are emotions, which come and go and I feel them all at various times.

I think what they really want to know is am I content? And I am. I have an amazing life which is nothing like what I ever imagined for myself. And I think that’s why people ask if I am happy. It’s not what they expect to see for me. It’s not the world they expected me to live in.

But I feel like a wild animal who once caught and put in captivity, adjusted and has now realized, it’s not so bad here. No one is hunting me. I am well fed. I have things to play with and people who play with me. People routinely line up to admire me.

I am this polar bear.  

His world maybe be concrete and limited, but the water is cold, it is snowing, and all is well for him in this moment.

Side Note: I actually had this awesome video of him swimming laps I took at the Berlin zoo but WordPress wants me to give them more money to be able to show videos. So you get a still shot. LOL