That's part of the problem with American culture — everything revolves around having more: more stuff, more money, more status. You're so bound to accumulation that you forget there's a different kind of richness in having less. Less to worry about, less to maintain, less to chase.
You could be fruitful and genuinely happy by simplifying, by letting go of this obsession with ownership and control. But instead, life becomes a constant cycle of buying, upgrading, storing, insuring, and eventually throwing away. It’s exhausting, and it never really fills the void.
You’ve been sold the idea that freedom means choice — but only if you can afford it. Meanwhile, the more you have, the more you owe: in time, energy, attention. And what gets lost in all this is the space to just be — to create, to connect, to enjoy what’s already around you.
Happiness doesn’t come from what you own. It comes from how lightly you carry your life. And somewhere along the way, that got forgotten.
You could be fruitful and genuinely happy by simplifying, by letting go of this obsession with ownership and control. But instead, life becomes a constant cycle of buying, upgrading, storing, insuring, and eventually throwing away. It’s exhausting, and it never really fills the void.
You’ve been sold the idea that freedom means choice — but only if you can afford it. Meanwhile, the more you have, the more you owe: in time, energy, attention. And what gets lost in all this is the space to just be — to create, to connect, to enjoy what’s already around you.
Happiness doesn’t come from what you own. It comes from how lightly you carry your life. And somewhere along the way, that got forgotten.