When I was born I was completely happy with my face as I didn't think about it. When I was a teenager I was not, it had spots. Now I'm older I don't think about it. Except just now ending this thought.
When my parents got me an old 2nd hand bike I was completely happy with it, over the moon, I'd go everywhere on it. When I was a teenager I had a really cool bike I'd bought myself, I was not happy with this bike as there were so many other ones on offer. Now I just ride an old bike, 2 wheels is good enough for me, no frills required.
When I borrowed my wife's iPhone I thought "I just don't need this thing" but I got hooked on one simple game on the phone, it was fun! Now due to work and life I have my own Android phone and the hundreds of games on offer stun me with the inability to choose one at all, and when I do I'm dissatisfied with it. I'm about to leave the teenage phase and take the adult perspective again "I don't need this thing!".
When a sad person considers their life they say "I don't like my X" "I made a bad choice with Y" "Why can't I have a Z?". When a happy person considers life they say "actually I don't think about it".
Overwhelming choice is, overwhelming, and leads to dissatisfaction. When your only meal is rice and dried mushroom, and you're hungry, you eat it like it were the best meal you'd ever had. When you sit in the best restaurant money can pay for and choose from the most amazing menu you've ever seen, you're in line for dissatisfaction. "Waiter, this Matsutake salad is slightly too khaki in colour when it should be buff, take it back at once!"
The simple life is promoted by Taoist philosophy, can you see why?
This is a TRT echo post where I repost posts I have made on TRT back here on my home blog. See more: Index.
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