Horizon of Happiness

In a world driven by consumerism and material success, happiness is often lost among the checkout lines. Happiness we are taught is what we are to strive for. Sad faces are marks of bad behavior and dissatisfaction. Smiling faces are positive remarks. Our brains are just forming and are still beginning to connect information from it's environment into a coherent understanding of the world. As we start to associate happiness with a goal worth working toward, advertisements offer us a sigh of relief as they answer the question of how we will achieve this satisfaction. Things. I apologize to my 12th grade English teacher who told me never to use vague terms such as things, but it provides the negative connotation I am seeking. Material items. Goods. We are engulfed in this world of constantly attempting to raise our social status by swiping our credit card. Our kids are taught this through their tv shows, movies, books, and our own obsession with "the latest." "The latest" is an idea placed in our heads by companies who have turned every last item into one of fashion. Your lamps, stoves, and refrigerators are not solely objects of function but also of sex appeal. When they lose that appeal, as dictated by LG and GE, we trade them in for the prettier and faster. Fashion went from two season to 52, while everything that was not fashion became fashion. We have to keep up with the Jones's; we mustn't fall behind. This new wave of commercialization really took off in the nineties when the average household expenditures jumped 200-300%. We saw a rise in big box stores and goods became dirt cheap due to companies dodging labor prices by moving factories overseas. While this massive shift has been tremendously profitable to the Waltons and Bezos, it has been detrimental to the mental health of the American people. We buy massive houses with money we do not have, fill them with things we will never use, to impress people that do not care, to find happiness we will never discover. Take a step back. Think about everything you own and decide what brings real value into your life. Keep those items and donate the rest. You should not hang on to anything that brings no joy to your life. These items weigh you down as you try and flourish. This is not only environmentally conscience but mentally and physically healthy. Last, I will give you the key to happiness. It is shockingly simple. Choose happiness. You can not place happiness as a reward for a goal or you will never gain that reward. When you achieve a goal you shoot for a larger target, you are never truly successful because there will always be room to grow. Do not place happiness over an impossible horizon. Choose to be happy and you will feel the rest of your world shift toward a more fulfilling life. Just a thought