As I sat on my bed going through a huge pile of socks and checking my packing list twice, making sure I wasn’t forgetting anything, when it hit me. Most of us will never understand what it is truly like to do without. My trip this week to down to Ecuador to meet the little boy I sponsor monthly, Anthony. Anthony just turned 10 and truly knows what it means to go without, but in all his letters to me he is always so happy and always wishing me joy and health. We get so caught up in keeping up with what society tells us we want and need, that we forget to seriously take a look at our lives and appreciate what we have and realize we really don’t need that much.
As a society in America we have too much stuff and not enough simply joy. One of my favorite minimalism authors Joshua Becker likes to say that he worked his whole life towards living the American dream, when he woke up one day and realized it was not his dream. We are constantly told we need a bigger house and a faster car and the trendy clothes the rich and famous are wearing, but truthfully that is not what will make most of us truly happy!
That was also the realizations that begun me on this journey. What makes me happy is the ability to help others and seeing the world, one culture at a time. So, the constant work towards a bigger house and a faster car might make me more acceptable to a society that puts a lot of emphasis on these things, but truthfully, they will never make me completely happy. I would rather see some more of the world or sponsor another child than have a brand new car with a huge car payment. I have slowly recognized over the last year or so, that while a larger house so I could entertain guest would be nice (that is also one of the things that makes me happy), the ability to see the smile on Anthony’s face when I can send him a little something extra so he can go shopping for his birthday or chirstmas is so so so much more rewarding for me. The ability to go shopping and find good deals and get a cute new dress makes me happy in a moment, but seeing my travel savings growing and deciding what part of the world I will get to see next makes me happy for so much longer and is making memories that will stay with me much longer than the joy of that dress.
We have been trained for so long in a society that puts so much importance on things, that we forget to remember that it is the memories and the friendships and the ability to help others that truly add light to our lives. We sit in our big houses and drive our fast cars accumulating more and more stuff, which we think we need to survive and be happy. But I ask you to look around your place and ask yourself is that really what makes you happy? For me the answer is a definite NO! Yeah, having our basic necessities met is really important, but I just purged over 10 boxes and bags of clothes from my room and I am no less happy, I might even be more happy. These things cannot make me happy. Having 5 black skirts that basically look the same are not adding any joy to my life.
As I sat there surrounded by more black and grey socks than I could ever wear in a month, it hit me! We need to daily remind ourselves what truly makes us happy. It may be different for you. But for me, the typical American dream sold to us by companies trying to up their profit ratio and not really make us happy is not for me. I want to see the world and help others and that is the dream I am working towards now!
Leave a Reply