The answer that stayed with me began much closer to home. Family. Work. A place in the world. The things you can still care about on a difficult Tuesday.
When was Bruce Springsteen happiest?
What does the American singer say makes a happy life?
For Bruce Springsteen, the American singer, a happy life begins with meaning and purpose. In his answer to Dutch television presenter Humberto Tan, he finds those in family, work and his place in American society. He also speaks about deciding who you want to be.
The original conversation, published by the Dutch broadcaster RTL in October 2021, began with a question about when Springsteen had been happiest. The RTL page requires an account, so the one-minute clip is right here. He was looking back at his own life when he said: “A meaningful life was the beginning of a happy life.”
Later in the answer, he describes talking with younger people about the story they want to tell. That is the part I keep coming back to. A question about his past opens onto their future.
For them, there is still a story to choose.
A part in someone else's day
What does choosing your story mean outside a song?
I read it as asking what your choices add up to. If being a good friend matters to you, there has to be room for that friendship somewhere in your days. A call. A visit. Time to hear an answer that takes longer than you expected.
Imagine being among a group of people you have known for years. You know their names and what they do for work. Someone mentions a change at home, and you realize how much you have missed. There is a whole part of their life you haven't asked about.
Now picture the moment you walk in. You came for these people, and you have questions to ask. But your phone is already in your hand, and you are reading a message from someone who is not in the room. The friend you came to see is standing a few steps away, waiting.
This is my point: you can care about someone and still let the evening slip past them. Your attention went to the screen, and the friendship you say matters got none of it. Whatever you care about needs real time in your day. Otherwise it stays a good intention.
What fits on the page
What does a farewell letter have to do with this?
A farewell letter gives the question a particular setting: you are writing to people who will go on living after you. You can describe what they meant to you and what you shared. The person reading it has been part of the life you are describing.
In South Korea, I wrote my own farewell letter before lying inside a coffin with the lid closed. I describe that sequence in a short film on The Deeper Story, a page on this website about how the Last Hour Experience began. The letter was part of an organized experience in which I imagined my life ending.
Putting that beside the singer's answer brings up a question for me. If I say someone matters to me, what could I put in a letter that they would recognize? An afternoon together. Something I helped them through. A conversation I made time for.
Imagine sitting down to write. The person you are addressing knows you beyond the words on the page. They can tell whether what you write matches how you lived.
There is room for what went wrong, too. An unfinished conversation can belong in that letter. So can affection that you have found difficult to say aloud. A truthful account of a life has room for both.
An evening still ahead
Can an ordinary day be enough?
An ordinary day can hold something you would choose again. Dinner with a friend may leave the kitchen a mess and you short on sleep. You can still be glad you had that evening. Feeling tired afterward says very little about what the time together meant.
Picture yourself in the doorway, about to leave, when someone asks whether you have a minute. You might stay. You might have a good reason to go. Only you know what staying for that extra minute might mean.
I hear an invitation in Springsteen's answer: think about who you want to be and let that guide your everyday choices. A life worth choosing can include difficult days. You can know what matters to you before you know how to feel about everything.
Questions people ask
What did Bruce Springsteen, the American singer, say about happiness?
He described meaning and purpose as the beginning of a happy life. He connected them to his family, his work and his place in American society. His advice to younger people included knowing who they wanted to be and what story they wanted to tell.
Where did the interview take place?
The conversation took place over a video call and appeared on Dutch television in October 2021. Dutch presenter Humberto Tan asked Springsteen when he had been happiest in his life. The broadcaster RTL still has a page about the conversation with the original video.
Does having a purpose mean you should always feel happy?
Having something worth caring about can include days that feel difficult or dull. Think of staying with a friend through a long, uncomfortable conversation. You can want to be there and still feel tired afterward. The value of that evening can outlast your mood.
What if I have no idea what story I want to tell?
You can leave the larger answer open. Think of someone you want to stay close to, or something you would like to give more time. That is already specific enough to consider. A whole life is a lot to decide before you have finished today.
The hour, for me
In the Last Hour Experience, the hour I guide you through as if it were your last, there is time to consider what you have given your life to. You might think of a person, or work you care about. I want to leave room for what you already have, and for the things you would still like to be able to write.
Sources
The original television conversation, on the Dutch broadcaster RTL's website, published October 25, 2021; the book publisher Overamstel's account of the question and answer; and my own account of writing a farewell letter in South Korea, in the film on The Deeper Story, the page about the experience's origins.