Day 36
Feeling a bit full of myself as I near the 20 pound weight loss mark, I grabbed a shirt that I have not been able to wear for quite a while now to try on.
Guess what.....okay 20 pounds ain't nearly enough!
In fact, for the life of me I can't imagine that this shirt ever fit me.
( I'm wondering just whose men's dress shirt is hanging in my closet and how did it get there?)
How's that for a wake up call and reality check!
On a number of occasions I have been asked my any one of a number of mentors,"if you had the opportunity to sit and have a conversation with anyone from history ,who would that person be?"
The best response I ever heard to that was from a gentleman who was approaching the century mark. His answer was "I would love to sit and chat with the person I could have been."
After watching the mini series Sons of  Liberty, which aired this weekend, my answer today would be Thomas Jefferson.
Why Mr. Jefferson?
Well, at the very end of the 3rd and final episode, after 4.5 hours of watching,we hear General George Washington as he reads the recently penned Declaration of Independence to his troops.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. "
I have been working with this personal growth stuff for quite a while now. Happiness is one of themes that is a constant in my work.
At Why Weight we promote "Choose Happy".
This year there was a World Happiness summit that some of our partners attended.
 We are working on a app launch that will help people on their Journey , particularly pertaining to happiness.
So Mr. Jefferson, why?
Why did you choose happiness?
And why is it the pursuit of happiness?
The other 2 things you mentioned seem to be for gone conclusions, Life and Liberty. However Happiness is something we must pursue. 
Do we ever achieve it?
Is happiness a place , a destination or is it a Journey?
In this most brilliant document, why the word "pursuit"?
My Rabbi has often told me that every word written in the Torah has meaning, there are no mistakes or poor word choices. If it's there, it's there for a reason.
What was or is the reason for "pursuit"?
Never mind the fact that he chose to mention happiness.
He could have said prosperity, wealth, freedom or any one of hundreds of other words depicting things we hold sacred and dear to us. Instead he chose happiness. And not just happiness. He singled it out and made it stand separate from the other unalienable rights by adding the word "pursuit".
So Mr. Jefferson, please, if you would, can you share with me why?