That's What It's All About

We used to live in new, large colonial home in northern Virginia. Four years ago, we left our beautiful home to move into a little apartment within the city that was less than a third of the size we were used to. My question is, which was better?

Our culture has taught us that more is better. That bigger, more modern and more sophisticated is better. I believe these ideas are inherently fallacious.

What does life mean? What kind of life do we want to have lived? These are questions that we all must, or at least should, ask ourselves. Each persons answer will be different so I am not saying everyone should leave the burbs. However, it is obvious to me that our culture is telling us to live a fundamentally unfulfilling lifestyle. We focus on things over people and relationships. We begin to define fun by acquiring/owning/having something rather than by doing something.

What makes me happy:

• Really knowing and connecting with people,
• Going to bed happy that I am someone that I can respect (it really doesn't matter if anyone else does),
• That brief moment with someone new when you feel that you've really connected even if it was only for a few minutes,
• Playing tennis or biking or basketball,
• Learning new things,
• Doing something good that improves the world in some small way,
• Bringing a smile to someone's face,
• Learning languages,
• Traveling to far away places and spending enough time to really get to know the place and its people,
• Helping others, and
• Anything that includes the BF.