Wants not Needs

Juliana Stanford -

    

I was journaling on my flight back to college today and decided to answer a prompt I gave myself a two months ago on 6/12. What is one thing that makes me truly happy?

My journal entry goes as follows: 

All roads will eventually lead back to lessons learned living on the corner of Calle Grau and Estinar (aka my time in Peru). I wouldn’t say it was Andahuaylillas or the beautiful country that specifically brought me such joy, or our trips to Machu Picchu; Cusco; and Rainbow Mountain. Although those things did make me happy, they come and go. I believe I was most happiest because of the simplicity I found from living out of my comfort zone.

We had exactly what we needed in our fridge and nothing more, Madi and I wore each other’s clothes after each other to avoid overloading the washer, Santi and I made the same breakfast every day for more than a month straight, etc. 

 And, we were overjoyed.

 Every day was special. In simplicity, we began to value our “extras” more. The Sunday cafe treats at the quaint yellow hotel, fresh 75¢ flowers, and sharing a tub of icecream all became delicacies. We were in the habit of appreciating where we were and what we had, and that made life in the mountains all the more beautiful. As Jake put it, Living and appreciating where our feet were.

I say that simplicity made me the happiest but it is so easy to forget. I have a car full of stuff for my Austin apartment. Tons of “wants” and very few “needs” as we used to say. Reflecting on this really makes me realize how easy my life is and where my values typically lie. In the US, I find myself going to 3 different homegoods to find a specific quilt because the one that came right to my door from amazon wasn’t soft enough. But in Peru, I was beyond content with a good meal and beating Ryan in checkers. There are very few things we actually need and many things we simply want, I am so much happier when I enjoy having what I need and not being driven by my wants. 

Now that I am home, I am having to remind myself that just because we have amazon prime and a store or solution for everything doesn’t mean I need all the flashy things advertised to me. I want to prolong the joy I found in Peru for as long as possible, and I can best do that if I don’t fall into the habits of typical American maximalism. 

Celebrating what I have, and living with exactly what I need.