Three pillars...

In the pursuit of happiness people… lose their happiness. The thing they try to hold so tight becomes unreachable. It’s just like chasing after the wind. Effort and energy needlessly wasted. Why does that happen? Because we don’t understand basic mechanisms that create our body.
First of all, we look for happiness in material things. And no wonder, since this whole world is constructed to stir desires and the compulsion to possess things. In effect we try to catch something we don’t really need. Thus if we don’t need it, it won’t make us happy. It’s like running to a Fata Morgana on the dessert. This cannot be real!
Second, each one of us defines happiness in a different way, based on the image he has conceived in his mind. Let’s say that Mr. X doesn’t need the latest iPad to be “happy”, but he believes that beautiful, white, and straight teeth would help him reach the highest level of happiness.
All those assumptions are built on a crumbly foundation. They won’t give you anything, except of the short burst of excitement. That’s a very nice state of man’s mind, but swiftly passing and volatile.
Happiness though, is something really deep, permanent, not depending on changing outer circumstances. Happiness is not a state of short ecstasy, nirvana. One can be sad, but happy; one can grieve over a death of someone close, and feel happy at the same time. Do you understand? I want to point out that the word ‘happiness’ has become abused and distorted nowadays, that’s why all of us have a different opinion on this matter. Nevertheless, happiness is an inner state resulting from our good behavior and the making of good decisions. Therefore, no matter how bad the situation becomes, it won’t make us unhappy.
When the European goes to Africa his mind is blown away and his brain starts burning. Why? He sees people deprived of everything he uses in his every day life: the newest smartphone, a car, a washing machine, a dishwasher, and whatever else his using, BUT STILL he notices smiles on their faces. They’re friendly and talk to him. They seem to be happy, without needless stress.
What makes them happy? The thing we lack. A simple life. We are the masters of complication, insatiable holders. Our consumerist lifestyle was supposed to make us ‘happy’, but leads us only to disappointment and depression
But why? Because true happiness is related to gratitude and based on three simple pillars:
1. To have something to eat
2. To have something to wear
3. To have shelter
That’s all! There’s nothing left behind what could make us happier. These are our basic needs. Only satisfying your real needs can grant you with lasting happiness.
How come? You may ask again. We have some more needs. Well, maybe a few, but most of them boil down to those basic three in the end. The rest are comforts and fantasies.
So now we have found the three pillars, is that the end? No, we must know how to apply them. Look, the world of commercials, the environment we live in exerts a great influence on us. These elements try to program us, and in most cases they succeed. Therefore, most people reading the things above will consider them as rubbish, nonsense. Indeed, for the world of consumerism, this is foolishness. They don’t want you to think differently. It’s contrary to their strategy. So… don’t let them program you. You have your own program you want to stick to. Then, if you begin to feel ‘unhappy’, check your three pillars: do I have something to eat, to wear, and a place to lay my head? If so, then what else do I need? I have everything sufficient to live.
It’s true it isn’t easy. If you were programmed all your life, then a change in thinking won’t come easily, but it is possible. Consider your environment. Sometimes we need to stop or limit interactions with some people. Because how’s that possible that your neighbor bought a bigger TV screen, and your brother a car, but you got nothing?! — you think looking at ‘the haul’ of people around you, and you begin to think about material things. But you completely don’t need them.
When you break free from old patterns, then you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Nothing comes for free in this world. Just think about the pressure focused on young people to have their own house. The world of commerce shows them how “happy” and better their life would become. Unfortunately, it’s just a dream, something elusive, nothing more. Look at the reality. For most of those young people a house means a life-long debt. Life in stress for years. What if I get sacked? Will I be able to pay my debts? What if the lending rate goes up so high that I lose my house eventually? The market is sensitive. One crisis after another. Currency exchange rates go up and down like crazy, and everything impinges on you. What if you lose your job? You’re chained. They won’t show you this on TV. The thing which was supposed to be a source of happiness now becomes a cause of frustration. You begin to quarrel with your spouse about the money, and now your marriage is also on the line. One wrong decisions is followed by hundreds of others.
On the other hand, a man living a simple life has no such worries. He has no debts. Well, he has no house either, but when he loses his job, he simply packs his suitcase and shouts: Welcome new adventure! He’s not confined to a place, he changes city or a country easily, without feelings of grief or loss, and takes up a new job. Even though the salary may not be as good as before it suits his three basic needs. He doesn’t need a new car because he’s aware that the goal of having a car is to reach the destination. We work to live, not live to work!
In the meantime, the credit takers usually have no time to enjoy their own house which rather becomes their night shelter. Before they repay it, they may get a heart attack, leaving the house for children (if they had any), who likely sell the house as soon as possible. What is this all effort for?
I don’t mean we shouldn’t buy things. But our point of view on that matter is at stake. Do we really need this? Or is this just a fantasy? Do we see the consequences of our choices?
If we’re aware of what we do, then we’ll be happy because we have everything what is needed to live, and usually far more than this. Thus we have no reason to complain. We may not have our “own” house, but we don’t have our “own” debts either. We may not have a lucrative job, but we don’t have enormous stress either.
What then do we gain? We’re more flexible, we don’t have to work too much, we have time for ourselves, for the family and friends, and finally, everything, what we receive beyond what is needed, brings us a lot of satisfaction!