Before his tragic death, Anthony Bourdain gave an interview where he explained that he was “never happier than when I’m standing in the backyard being, like, TV dad.” His life had been so exotic and glamorous before fatherhood, filled with travel and fame and money and, of course, delicious food. It had also been filled with struggle—addiction, depression, loss. But there was something so normal, he said, about just having a normal family, standing in the backyard, wearing an apron, flipping burgers. “When I find myself doing that,” he said, “I am, like, ridiculously stupid happy.”
It would not be long before Bourdain was found very far from that idyllic backyard, on another trip to film another show. That depression, that addiction, they came with him and ultimately took him very finally away from the thing he loved the most—his family. It’s a sobering reminder to all of us. First, to enjoy the present while we have it. Second, to remember how little we actually need in order to be happy, how wonderful the ordinary moments can be. Third, to understand how quickly it can all be taken away.
If you’re struggling with addiction, if you’re in that dark hole of depression, please just know that as difficult as it is to fight, to break free and climb out, the simple joys and tenderness and compassion you will find in victory with those you love will come with equal ease and ridiculously stupid happiness.