My husband and I have a place that we like to visit once or twice a year, up in northern Wisconsin. It's a resort on a lake that's been run by the same family since the 1920s. When I say "resort", that makes it sound fancy, but it's actually a group of small wooden cabins you can rent for less per night than it costs to stay at a Best Western.
The bed in the cabin we usually rent is small--especially for two tall people--but we still manage to sleep well there. The kitchen is also small, but you can cook a meal in it. There's a cosy living room with a fireplace, an itty-bitty bathroom, mix-and-match rustic decor that hasn't been updated in a long time. No wi-fi or even a TV. We love everything about this place--how simple, quiet and old-fashioned it is.
One time we were up there and had just finished our dinner (ribeyes, baked potatoes & salad) and were relaxing with some red wine while watching the stars come out over the lake. The thought occurred to me: "Do people who have zillions of dollars more than I have, enough to buy this little old resort and this beautiful lake and all the land around it and a bunch of other stuff besides--do they experience exponentially larger amounts of joy than I'm experiencing right now?"
I knew the answer was no.
With all the constant messaging of "more money is always better" so you can buy more things and more things and more things, with the ever-present drumbeat of "get rid of that old thing so you can get this newer better thing that will finally make you happy", it's worth remembering that it's not how much we have that brings happiness. It's how much we appreciate what we have.
We all have the capacity to feel joy, to see beauty in our own lives. We don't have to postpone happiness until we've acquired enough things, items, and objects to "complete" us. We can choose to feel grateful and fortunate for what we have now.
I'm thankful for everything I have. Not just today, but every day.
