I enjoyed reading this article. I agree with a lot of what you say. Gratitude jars, yoga retreats, big houses, fast cars... all just lifestyle masturbation, for which we waste our lives working in jobs we hate, etc. etc.

It's an old story with a lot of truth... for many people.

But...

When my wife and I first fell in love, when we were young and idealistic, we spent our days walking in the fields and woods. In the summer we'd sit in the sun for hours. In the winter we'd bring home fallen firewood and sit in front of the fireplace through the dark evenings, playing musical instruments.

We'd lovingly cook simple, healthy meals.

We didn't need a lot, so we didn't need much money. What money we did need, we'd make from playing music on the street, busking for enough to get by each day, being creative, creating beauty.

We did what made us happy. We lived an authentic life. We didn't chase the chimeras touted by society, or line some false guru's pockets following promises of 'inner riches' - we had all the inner riches we needed.

But after a while, expenses come up - things wear out, house repairs need doing, vets fees need paying, house moves can be expensive.

Busking became a full-time job. Playing beautiful music for people was no longer an occasional pleasure, but a daily chore - in all weathers.

Dreams become nightmares.

What makes you happy can eventually make you sick.

And suddenly you find you've fallen so far behind that you have to start working really, really hard at doing what you don't want to do just to catch up, just to survive.

I know exactly what makes me happy, but nowadays I'm so busy working for 'The man' that I rarely get time to do it.