Give

I think most of my life I spend searching for something - the perfect job, the perfect partner, the perfect home. Where are they? Do they actually exist? Can they exist?

It used to be so easy – you took on the job of your Mum or Dad, married somebody from down the road and stayed in the village you were born in. Thanks to globalization and its endless possibilities things look different nowadays. The curse of choice!

Especially in the so-called ‘developed world’, where food and shelter are secured, it seems that new challenges have to be found to justify our presence on this planet. Our strive for perfection gets stronger and stronger, with self-fullfilment becoming our highest goal.

Searching, always searching. The big question is – what happens once we find what we’ve been looking for?

I know very few people who are content with what they have. There is so much desirable stuff out there and so we always feel that we lack something which in turn keeps us from being totally happy.

We want more money and at the same time less material things. More adventure and less risk. More drugs and less illness. More friends and less responsibilities. We hate stress but peaceful times tend to bore us. We are craving security but are constantly afraid of losing freedom. There’s always something we want but can’t have. To sum it up: We are a bunch of truly unsatisfied individuals.

To be honest, I don’t really know what to do about this. One thing which helps though is to shift the focus away from our personal desires. To look around and see if somebody else might need our help. Giving rather than wanting.

It could be a surprise visit to a friend, offering a helping hand, making a compliment or simply sharing an honest smile. Anything which doesn’t involve wanting something which in the end won’t satisfy anyway.

So, once a day, make somebody happy! Perhaps this way, we’ll find happiness ourselves.