The Simple Things.

Why do we feel we need to complicate our lives?

Why haven’t we learned that despite all this new technology and “stuff” at our disposal, it is still the simple things in life which leave the greatest impacts. Sure we have ipods, xboxes, the internet and computers to entertain us, but what about everything else? Despite all this “stuff” we now have, how much happier has it made us?

Rather than sitting at the dinner table and talking to our family, why do we feel it is necessary to eat with headphones on? Instead of updating your facebook status every 15 minutes to let everyone know how enjoyable your night is, why not finish it first, then tell us all about it in the morning? And even better, why not get up from your computer and try something you’ve always wanted to?

Why not go out to a pool for a swim and cool off during this heatwave? How about starting the pile of books you have been meaning to read every since the end of classes? Or what about that painting you started a month ago, but is now sitting in the back of your closet?

I can be almost certain that this message has been sent out multiple times, maybe that is why I am repeating it. The simple message of “get out and do something” has been reiterated to our generation ever since we were in the first grade. And at the beginning of summer, I told myself I would. Instead of doing the regular brainless activities, I wanted something different. So I challenge you, to do the same. To engage in simple activity you’ve been meaning to do all summer. Go…

Ride your bike. Go to the beach. Cook your family dinner. Draw a picture. Write a blog. Read to your sister.

or even just catch up with a friend or two in person.

Do something you love, or try something new. Remember the simple things.

New Beginning.

So here it is, a new start on a fresh blog.

What I am trying to achieve is a balance between the new technological advancements has to offer everyone, as well as what has been lost or forgotten in the process of modernization. We often forgot about the many simple pleasures that nature and the world provided to us amongst the many things we tend to keep ourselves occupied with (ipods, facebook, television dramas). Happiness, for many of us today, is focused on the material: money.

I’m sure many of you have been told something along the lines that “Happiness is a choice” or that “money can’t buy happiness”. So why is it that we tend to forget those facts? Why do we continue to listen to corporate marketers who insist that buying the newest pair of sneakers or latest video game will make us happier?

Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness (2007) writes:

“…The production of wealth does not necessarily make individuals happy, but it does serve the needs of an economy, which serves the needs of a stable society, which serves as a network for the propagation of delusional beliefs about happiness and wealth. Economies thrive when individuals strive, but because individuals will only strive for their own happiness, it is essential that they mistakenly believe that producing and consuming are routes to personal well being“

Daniel Gilbert helped put the jumbled thoughts in my head into a concise sentence. I do not need to fall into the pit of consumerism. I am fully capable of being more conscious and aware of advertisements that attempt to sell me their products. I do not need to follow the latest trends to believe that I will be seen as “cooler” or “sexier.” Rather, I will be comfortable with who I am, as a conscious buyers, and not allow my confidence, beliefs and self to be defined by the goods and products I buy or consume.