When was the last time you felt truly happy in your life? Maybe you will feel that is a deep question, maybe too deep to start an article, but actually, it can be really easy to answer. Maybe it was just taking a coffee with a friend, going for a walk in nature, travelling in another country or spending time with your family… But, if I’m asking you the question it’s because most of the time, we are not really thinking about it. We live our lives without paying attention to our feelings, especially when they are positive, as if being happy was our normal state. 

Therefore, I decided to talk about happiness. To reconnect to our positive feelings first, but also because, if there’s one thing that people in our society all seem to aim for, it’s without a doubt, happiness. This search for happiness naturally leads us to think about the conditions that could make it possible. Thus, we can ask ourselves, does it take little to be happy? Before you start thinking about it yourself, I just want to make sure the question is clear. In the common language, happiness means a pleasant, balanced, and lasting emotional state, which a person reaches after achieving essential goals and desires.

Being happy with only what’s necessary : “the little” to be happy

From this definition, we can already start answering the question. The word “essential” in “essential goals and desires” tells us what can lead to happiness.  If we talk about essential desires, that means there are also non-essential desires. But, what are essential desires? Drinking, eating, sleeping, and protecting ourselves from cold or heat are considered basic human needs. From this, we could say that “the little” simply means meeting these essential needs and giving up the rest. If happiness comes from meeting essential needs, then yes, happiness can be found in having little. But let’s be realistic: having “what’s necessary” may be little, but it’s not always easy. Today, meeting basic needs is becoming more and more difficult for many people. So, how can we claim that “living with little” is enough to be happy, when that “little” isn’t enough to cover basic needs? The goal here isn’t to start a political debate on inflation and purchasing power, although I’d have a lot to say about it… It’s simply to remind ourselves of our current reality: not everyone starts with the same chances in life. Some people don’t even know what “little” or “necessary” means, because they never have the luxury of asking themselves that question. 

Beyond the necessary : “little” in modern society

If we go back to the question “Does it take little to be happy?”, we’re already assuming you need something to be happy… because having little still means having something. Until now, we’ve treated “little” as “the necessary,” but maybe we can go further than this philosophical idea. Let’s be honest, I don’t think anyone could truly be happy with just eating, drinking, and sleeping (okay, except if we are eating and drinking in a kafana). If we go beyond the idea of “the necessary,” we need to rethink what “little” means in today’s world. I believe (actually, I’m sure) that nowadays we don’t know how to be content with the essentials. That is logical: we live in a system driven by the economy, which only works through consumption… even overconsumption. So, if changing the whole political system crossed my mind, I’m afraid that politics can not solve every problem in the world. This is why I will address us. Us, the consumers. Us, the citizens. Without waiting for any reply from your side, I’m guessing one of our goals in life is to be happy.
Let’s think about what we already have. What is already around us. What we truly need to be happy. You might realize that happiness lies in appreciating what you already have. Happiness lies in the present moment. Happiness lies in the people around us. In the time we spend with them, but also in the time we spend without them, because being alone is also a part of our happiness. Despite what the Stoics might say, happiness is in the small pleasures of life. Collecting small joys adds to our happiness. Let’s be Epicurean, leave behind overconsumption and excess, and choose a simple, sufficient way of living, freely and consciously chosen.

After all, where is happiness?

To be happy, you don’t need little or a lot. You just need to be free to be yourself. Free to choose to travel to Macedonia rather than other countries, and even more free to opt for green travel to go there, because you should enjoy the journey as well as the destination. Free to enjoy every night in a kafana, because, you know, ajvar and makalo are absolutely tasty. Free to take your time like Macedonian people, to never be in the rush. Free to prefer eating in the dormitory instead of your house, not because the food is better but just because you like the people around the table. Free to play cards everywhere, with everyone and even more with foreigners, to secretly steal their cards at the end of the game. Free to take a nap every two seconds because you need to be at 100% for the thing that really counts for you. Free to spend all your money outside, even when you don’t have any left in your wallet, because you can always borrow it from your friends; money will come back, not time. 

In conclusion, feel free to not seek happiness, because maybe it’s only when we stop searching to reach it that we realize we already have it. And as C2C sang, “you’ll never feel happy, until you try!”. 

Youna Léauté-Guillet