This blog post picked me. I kept coming across this same, reoccurring idea over and over this last week and as it turns out, it was something I needed to hear. (and I suspect we all do!)
When I started down this minimalist path I wanted to reduce stress so I could be more zen, but also so I could be happier. In one of my past memoir posts I shared this quote, which I find deeply profound:
Know that happiness is always available to you. The moment you see the truth of this, you can be happy right away. There's nothing that needs to happen first for you to be happy. You don't need to do anything else, go anywhere else, reform yourself, or become a different person. Happiness is very simple. It's only our tendency to complicate things that makes it difficult."
It reminds me of my current self-improvement project which is to complain less and find opportunity more. When one door closes...(I tell myself: complaining is not a conversation -- negativity begets negativity).
Anyway, I came across this this short video by Gary V about why he's 99.9% happy all the time -- basically he only cares focuses on the big picture. I love that idea, that happiness is not the absence of sadness but the ability to focus on the good in your live above all else.
How to be happy? Check... But what does that have to do with minimalism?
A friend shared this on Google+ (from this article) and suddenly it all came together for me:
You need less than you think you do. All your life you've been led to believe that more is better and that whatever you have isn't enough. It's a prescription for disappointment. Instead, ask yourself this: How much of what you already have truly adds value in your life? What could you do without?
Less really is more. With less I have less stress and also more happiness.
In sum, the pursuit of happiness can make us crazy. The truth is, happiness is about being receptive, about being in touch with the good that's in the present moment and being happy with what we have instead of wishing for what we didn't.
So I ask you, what is something in your life right now that make's you happy?
