What is the ultimate life?

I have asked this to myself repeatedly for many years. I have always envied the lives of others, and have always wondering how others found happiness and combined it with their lifestyle. I will be honest and say that I think very few people are truly happy. And I will tell you why.

I believe to be truly happy, not only do you need "happiness", you also need to feel centered and aligned in your daily life. What this means is that you need everything you do to be an extension of your beliefs and your ideals. For this reason I feel that very few people, even "happy" people, are truly happy. I do not believe for a minute that the happy go lucky guy in your office feels that what he does at his desk for 8 hours a day is in alignment with his beliefs. I suppose it is possible, but the better possibility I believe is that these people have somehow convinced themselves that they like what they do.

I count myself in the total of people who are not truly happy, and I believe that I have narrowed it down to my job; the problem being that I get paid to do something that is not in keeping with who I am as a person. I have never felt that co-workers truly know the real me, and this is because my job has always defined me, as opposed to me defining my job.

So what is the ultimate life or lifestyle to ensure happiness? For a while I thought it would be endless travel. Others think it is being rich. Others, as mentioned above, are happy to sacrifice their time for a paycheck to buy big houses and nice cars and flat screen tvs. For others it is having a family.

I think that it is a combination of all these things. I have finally realized that endless travel wouldn't be the ideal for me. I like home and I like some routine. I also know that it is not about money for me. Currently I have a "good" job and a good salary, and clearly I am not where I want to be.

I think for me to get to a place where I am truly happy, I need the following things:

• A job or way of earning money that is in alignment with my beliefs and passions


• A modest home that is in harmony with the land


• Simple furnishings, not deprived in any area, but not extravagant


• Time to reflect on life itself and to be awed by nature and the world around me


• Companionship (and possible family at some point)


• Simplicity and understanding that being alive is life

I suppose I am halfway there, but not all the way. I think if I get to this point, I will be a truly happy person and then all the the other things that I daydream about will fall into place. I will get to experience the world, whether 10,000 miles away or in my backyard. I will know I'm successful because I will have a home and a companion.

Tools:  Digg This