Simple Happiness: What the World Needs
With all the sadness and misery in the world, it’s such a pleasure to witness simple happiness in the most unlikely of places.
For our honeymoon, my wife and I went to Vietnam for two weeks. Not only was it great for us to escape our jobs and everything else by relaxing on Vietnam’s beautiful beaches, we got to see something real transpire right in front our eyes. In Ho Chi Minh City, a city where the poor intermingle with the rich tourists (all with a genuine smile by the way) we saw a beautiful sight that had nothing to do with the myriad of foreigners running amok in their poor country.
As we sat one afternoon on a cafe patio, we saw a group of children and an elderly man playing. This isn’t too surprising, all kids play. But what was amazing was the game they actually played. All they were doing was kicking an old sandal around, as if it were a football. Their genuine joy at such a simple game was enough to make our day. We watched, and took pictures, of these children and old man, in tattered and filthy clothes, for almost an hour. They seemed not to care about the fact that they weren’t even wearing shoes or sandals themselves.
Vietnam is a fascinating country, where the people don’t seem to be bothered by their lack of affluence. They take pleasures in the simple things in life (like kicking a sandal!) and ignore the plights of the world. They live a simple life that inspires. They are true to themselves without deception. This is the new model for me: take the simple pleasures from life and allow it to fill you.
Do the same: find the simple things in life and allow them to erase the pains and stress of your mortgage, independent financial advisors, car payments, nine to five gig, or anything else that forces you into the rat race.
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