One of my favorite email newsletters is Jason Hirschhorn’s @MediaREDEF, which offers a daily curated collection of great media and tech related articles. At the top of each newsletter, there’s normally a quote, and today’s quote really resonated:

“But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?”
– Albert Camus

What does that mean exactly? What is that simple harmony in one’s life? I definitely know the opposite of harmony, so I suppose that’s a start. The most glaring example from my own life experience is that terrible feeling you get when you work at a 9-5 job that doesn’t seem to suit you or fit within your values. I’ve had two such jobs that each lasted about a year, and I remember how awful I would feel day-in and day-out, completely mis-understood and under-utilized. I would have to find small ways to cope, like finding delicious but overpriced and unhealthy lunch spots.

I also feel that horrible lack of harmony when I find myself spending time with someone who makes me feel kind of icky or unhappy inside – more lonely than I would be spending time alone. Thankfully, that’s a very rare feeling these days, as I’ve learned to keep those people out of my life. Reflecting on it now, I actually can’t remember the last time that happened.

How does one find harmony in his/her life? What does a harmonious life look like? I imagine it’s when you find yourself feeling like you’re in the right place at the right time in your life. Kind of like deja vu, but more all-encompassing.