By: Helen Wu
Charles Wagner once said that being simple and being happy go hand in hand. Only a person who truly appreciates life knows how to live a simple life and has the courage to curb desires and longings.
Today, we’re all living in society with countless forms of material wealth that is not hard to obtain (clothes, electronics, household items, luxury goods, etc.). However, many people might have experienced this dilemma: the more we own, the more anxious we feel. Eventually, we become addicted to our possessions. The abundance of material goods around us sometimes forms a trap, sucking our minds into an endless pursuit of wealth. We feel jealous if we don’t own things that others’ own. Our value and our status in this society is determined by what we own. When our life, our feelings, our judgement are influenced by ownership, we become possessed, slaves to our desires.
However, the first step in progress is realization. We still have the consciousness to move our eyes away from greed and appreciate nature, beauty of life, and freedom instead. Being simple is a virtue and an art.
We must focus on the importance of life and feel appreciative about what we already have. Only then can we be truly satisfied.
