There are certain things in life that cannot be taught, they must be experienced to truly understand. You can hear the platitudes of people claiming to be wise men all that you want, you can read all the latest books and blogs about those who are the self-proclaimed enlightened ones, but in the end I believe that getting your feet wet and actually living something is the best way to actually know how a certain scenario applies to your life.
This is why I am so grateful that even though it is likely coming to an end soon, that I moved overseas out of the United States for a period of time to see what the "other side" is like.
A simple life is a good life
Before coming over to SE Asia at the recommendation of a college friend, I was subjected to what would be considered by many to the be the typical American way of life. Forever pursing the acquisition of more stuff and feeling rather intense pressure to keep up with the times in terms of fashion and superfluous things like fancy cars and bigger houses. These were the ultimate goals. We went on to college because we were told that we needed to not that we wanted to. We got degrees in things that we aren't really all that interested in because they are the things you need in order to get a bigger salary - or so they say. We idolize the wrong celebrities and watch vapid shows for entertainment all the while not really doing anything meaningful with our own lives. We elaborate with social media posts to attempt to make others jealous when at the same time we aren't even getting that much joy out of the things we are bragging to others about.
When I came to Thailand a few years ago I didn't have much of a plan. I was basically just visiting a friend and seeing if it was something that I wanted to do with my own life. At first I was a little bit turned off by the simplicity of it all and was a little turned off by the state of his house even though it was cleaned up more than usual because of my impending arrival. He lived in a simple one-story, one-bedroom house with basic furniture and had a run down motorbike as his only method of transportation. The idea of ever having a car was something he never even thought about.
He didn't go out for lavish nights on the town and the few times we did go out to party, these were at dive bars and not at fancy-pants discos the likes of which we would stand in line at in order to gain access to back in our college town.
He worked a job that paid 1/5 what he could be making back in US and A and budgeted accordingly. He had very basic furniture and never really went shopping in an attempt to improve that.
This was all very foreign and strange to me when I first arrived but this was because I still had most of my mind back in the mindset of the United States - as well as most of the rest of the Western world.
I remember seeing the above sticker on something as a child and I thought it was funny. To me this embodies how a lot of Americans, and likely much of the Western world lives their lives. Forever in the pursuit of more luxury items that they don't really need and probably aren't even going to use very much. Before departing the States I had an opportunity to upgrade to a much fancier car and honestly, I felt societal pressure to do so. I did not NEED the fancier car but felt compelled to do so anyway. In the end I opted to move overseas for a bit first, then maybe get the car when I return. Well I haven't returned yet and I am not excited about the prospect of doing so.... but I do know that it is necessary.
When I do return, which I am doing exclusively so that I can secure a decent future for myself financially, I plan to live a simple life that is very different from the way that I lived prior to coming to South East Asia. I learned from living it that a vast majority of the people over here live simplistically and from what I have seen they tend to be of sounder mind and live life more joyfully despite not having all the "toys." People are impressed by a somewhat large television over here, the idea of having a Maybach or even and Audi is so far beyond the realm of possibility that they may as well aspire to be Batman.
Living overseas in a simple environment has taught me on a micro scale that the more things you own and the fancier those things are, tend to not lead to happiness. I'm not saying that all of us should live in squalor and wear rags for clothes, but maybe, just maybe it isn't so important to have a "Supreme" T-shirt for $70 when the exact same product without the label costs $5.
I do not see the need to live in a gigantic house or apartment when it is just me on my own. I see no need to have a $70,000 car when the $15,000 car is going to get me to the same places. Honestly, I wish we had more of a motorbike culture in the United States because other than them not being very winter friendly, they are a far more efficient way of getting around. I would love to incorporate that into my life but I am not even sure about the road laws regarding such a vehicle. Seeing as how almost everything else is illegal in my home country and state, I would imagine that they are not allowed because: Reasons.
I'm not trying to tell anyone how to live their lives and if you are living "fancy" I do not look down on you. I just think that in my own life I have spent almost all of my own life focusing on the wrong things because I am happier now that I have ever been at any point in my past. I also have, by far, the least amount of stuff that I have ever had in my life.
I just think that a simple life is fine and I hope that I can keep this mentality going when I move back. I hope I can take what I have learned here and apply it to my life back when I am in Texas again - or wherever the road takes me I guess.