Be happy with the little that you have

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Be happy with the little that you have. There are people who have nothing and still manage to smile.

Many of us want more, more and still more while, in fact, we have all that we really need, at least in comparison to others who have nothing but who, more often that not, are happier than those who perpetually seek for more.

I have, and so have many others, found that it is also those very same poor who will share with you the little they have – without a second thought – while those who have much will not share even a little. “It's all mine and you can go and (enter your own expletive here, if you so wish)”.

It is, and I am not happy to admit that, not always easy to be prepared to share, especially not if you have grown up poor and are afraid to lose again what you have now. But being happy with the little that I have now I, basically, am and I, but then that is me, do not desire to have more than I need. What for?

Though, alas, I do have to admit that I have, at times, I bought far too much in the way of clothing, from charity shops though, I hasten to add, and now have more than I will, probably, ever be able to make use of. But those purchases were all very cheap but good quality and some, though theoretically secondhand, had never been worn and thus I do not, really, regret purchasing them. Whether I'll ever get to wear all of the stuff I do not know. On the positive side though I will not have to buy any clothes, bar the essentials, for a long time to come (if I don't put on weight, that is).

In order to be able to make many things myself I must say that I do own quite a few tools, some new, some old, and I do like to upcycle a lot of stuff (hence the tools) including pallets. If I can make something I need (and want), or repurpose or upcycle for that purpose, then I will do just that. My philosophy always has been that and that is what I grew up with, having little as a child.

Our toys where those that were handmade for us by others, that we made ourselves from natural materials or trash, or those that we found. Our clothes, if we wore any at all, were hand-me-downs, often from other people's children, and some where even homemade. Still, we were happy for we were being loved and cared for. We had fun with those toys we had and even greater fun making them, and fun not having to wear any clothes for much of the time. I believe that it does not take much to be happy, even with little in materials things, as long as the emotional needs are met. And I guess that why so many who have little to nothing but have community are happier than those who have so much in material things.

© 2018

The Secret of Enough

First, the truth

If you are naked, cold, and hungry, and somehow you get shelter, clothing, and food, you will feel better. Providing for these necessities creates a qualitative change in life, and could even be said to, in some ways, produce “happiness.” You feel comfortable and safe. Your internal state-your state of mind and emotional sense of well-being-has improved as a result of these external changes in the circumstances of your body, the result of your having acquired some stuff.

Let’s refer to this as the “enough point.” It represents the point where a person has security, where their life and existence is not in danger.

Now, the lie or myth

“If some stuff will make you happy, then twice as much stuff will make you twice as happy, ten times as much will make you ten times as happy, and so on into infinity.”

By this logic, the fabulously rich such as Prince Charles or Donald Trump or King Fahd must live in a state of perpetual bliss. “Greed is good,” the oft-repeated mantra of the Reagan era, embodied the religious or moral way of expressing this myth. More is better. He who dies with the most toys wins.

Many of those Americans who lived through the Great Depression discovered in that time that “more is better” is a myth. My wife’s grandmother, now in her nineties and still living frugally but comfortably, owned a family farm during that time, and was able to provide for nearly all her family’s needs by growing her own food, burning wood, and making their clothing. Recycling wasn’t a fad to save the environment, but a necessary part of staying alive and comfortable. Now in her old age, great-grandma has enough money in investments and from the sale of the farm to live a rather extravagant lifestyle, but she still buys her two dresses each year from the Sears catalog, collects rainwater to wash her beautiful long hair, writes poetry, and finds joy in preparing her own meals from scratch. She saw the myth for what it was, and continues to be unaffected by it.

Read more: http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/the-secret-of-enough/