I’ve been thinking about what makes us happy.
I’ve been thinking (and there is nothing new to you about this) that what makes us happy is time, room to breathe, hanging out with the friends and family that we love, letting our minds wander in free space without the intervention of screens or technological platforms of any kind, good sleep, good books, nourishing food, regular exercise of one kind or another and being in nature.
Therefore we need to reappraise what we mean when we talk about prosperity - true wealth is not an affluent life, but a happy one. As humans we should not be proud of our riches, but proud of the quiet, contented joy of living a good life.
Therefore the idea of economic growth is an outdated concept and we need instead to focus (at an individual and a national level) on personal growth, which is to do with knowing and valuing our own worth and integrity, which is to do with good relationships (with ourselves, with others, with nature), which is to do with having enough, not having more.
I’m not advocating for a hairshirt-wearing life of sanctimonious self-denial. That does not bring happiness. I am advocating for a careful life of gratitude and choosing wisely. Choosing wisely what you buy and who you buy it from, how you spend your time, how much exercise you get, what you look at on your phone and how often you do it.
How might the world - education, health systems, working environments - look different if this was a shift that we all made?
And this is what we do here, in this tribe of ours: we advocate for happiness. It’s what we encourage and celebrate in each other. When we are pulled too far one way (work, no time, exhaustion, headache, stress) we make space to draw back across to the other side (breath, peace, moving slowly, gentleness), so that we learn how to spend most of our lives in quiet happiness, helping and serving in our communities, thankful for this simple and healthful practice that changes us for the better, basking in gratitude for what we have, who we love and who we are.
Long may we continue.
So grateful to know you x