Affluence and Appreciation

I became enamored with the idea of HAPPINESS a couple of weeks ago after watching the movie "Happy".  I shunned the idea of searching for happiness for years--by definition, it seemed hollow.  Of course, I love to BE happy, but searching for it would only bring suffering.  Yes, searching for happiness and clinging to what we think will make us happy do cause a great deal of suffering, but it turns out we can CULTIVATE happiness; we can practice habits that lead to happiness.

I LOVE that there are so many resources; scholarly articles and clinical studies on HAPPINESS!!!  One of my favorite on-line hangouts is The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.  It gives me goosebumps to think that Westerners, Americans in particular, may finally be ready to set aside our race to be the smartest, richest, prettiest, best and explore how to create a life of meaning and a society that cares about the well-being of everyone.  Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I don't think so.  I am a dreamer, for sure, but I also know that when we put our minds to something, we can do great things!

Oh, I'll step off my soapbox now.  What I intended to touch on today is another piece of the happiness puzzle:  Appreciation.

What good timing.  Just after the "holiday" on which Americans will drop $7 BILLION on costumes, candy and decorations (ok, that's a whole different soap box) we will embrace the season of Thanksgiving during  which we reflect on our blessings and what it means to live in a democratic society.  I'm being a little cheeky and I really don't mean to bash because I certainly don't hand out green beans to the neighborhood children (we tried that--once.)

Our insane level of affluence makes it difficult to really appreciate what we have.  I'll just give you a few personal examples:

• I'm rarely thankful that my children have shoes when I'm tripping over them (ditto for wet towels.)
• I don't always stop to think of how blessed we are to have an abundance of food, especially when I'm fuming about how much of it I'm scraping off plates into the garbage disposal or trying to figure out how I should combine the 1,000 ingredients in my pantry into something new and tasty.
• When I'm sleep deprived from ogling Pinterest or peeping into my friends lives on Facebook, I forget to be grateful for the electricity that brought me the gadget.

My point is that when you have only bread to eat, you are thankful for that bread.  We spend so much time comparing what we have to what others have, and trying to keep up with all we have, that it's difficult to really appreciate our overflowing abundance.

I won't go into purging our clutter or reducing consumption today, but I would encourage you to focus on what you really appreciate over then next few days.  Studies have shown that college students who recorded what they were thankful for just once a week showed improved mood.  

I am thankful that I live in society that provides free education and sees the value in educating girls.  I am thankful that I am permitted to have opinions and I am thankful for the many, many teachers I've had in the form of formal educators, authors, friends and, well, not friends.  

I'd love to hear what you're thankful for.  I'm holding you in the light