In Pursuit Of Happiness, I Mean Simplicity

a solo road trip

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

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This quote has been on my mind a lot these past few weeks. It expresses so well how I often feel about life in our modern, busy and fast-paced society filled with over-consumption, overstimulation, and an unceasing desire for more - more stuff, more success, more money, more power.

What gives?

Some weeks I feel more fed up with it than others. Last week was one of them. Fed up with the BS that is currently happening in the US and all over the world, fed up with how complex and complicated life can be, fed up that the to-do list is never-ending and that my desire to simplify my life right now seems somewhere far off in the distant future.

I decided to take a day off.

I packed my camera, a book, a couple of notebooks, a water bottle, some snacks, and started driving north.

My plan was to go for a hike in one of my favorite state parks, then spend some time on the north shore of Lake Superior, find a cozy place to sit and read, and enjoy some good food.

I wanted to get out, get away from my normal routine, and give myself some room to breathe and room to think. I wanted to escape from the fear and chaos of this world for a while and embrace being human in an increasingly dehumanizing world. I wanted to find some happiness in the simplicity of life.

Sometimes the best way to resist is to press pause in a world that prioritizes productivity. Sometimes rest is the only right answer to the overwhelm.

Sometimes searching for stillness in the chaos is the only valuable action, and silence often gives you the answers you need.

Sometimes the desire for less seems to make much more sense than the constant search for more.

Less will clear your mind, less will teach you who you are, less will show you where to go.

Sometimes the best way to resist is to stay quiet when everyone around you is talking.

Sometimes the only way to find hope is in searching for signs of new life,

and often you will find many signs, however small. You just have to pay attention.

Sometimes it is better to be alone on a lake than be lonely in a room full of people.

Sometimes it is better to allow the darkness to exist right next to the light, and press forward to find the way regardless.

Sometimes it is better to accept your brokenness and see opportunity rather than only tragedy.

Sometimes you simply have to look deeper to see the beauty in something or someone.

Sometimes you will find connection in the most unexpected circumstances.

Sometimes giving yourself some room to breathe by saying no and setting a clear boundary is necessary to stay sane in an insane world.

Sometimes the faintest light reveals the greatest beauty.

Sometimes true wealth has nothing to do with numbers, but has everything to do with the time you have been given to notice the wealth of creation all around you, the wealth that is free for all.

It was a good day.

Thank you for reading!