If perhaps this text had been written by the Nancy of the past, she would have focused on the things she had, but the Nancy of today, the one writing these lines, is happier talking about the things she has never lacked.

One of the great things I have learned is to have only what is necessary and to value the things I have: no more, no less. And the longer I live, the more I feel that you need fewer things to be happy in life, that the more you have, the harder it is to achieve calm, and the lighter you travel, the easier and less burdensome your journey will be.

We live in an age where products are constantly being made that create in human beings the idea of need, of lack, of deprivation. We work to fill the void created by the things we don't have. Without realizing that it is not the one who has the most who is happiest, but the one who needs the least. Just ask great artists, politicians, and athletes, who may have fortune and everything they desire, and yet are still unhappy.

This philosophy, of loving simplicity, has made me a better person and helped me achieve a harmony that I didn't have before. I no longer worry about having the latest cell phone, the most fashionable shoes or handbag, or the most expensive pants, even though I am bombarded by constant advertising and criticized by those around me. I understand that my essence does not lie in what I have, but in who I am, and that cannot be bought, discarded, or transferred.

Right now, I have just enough, the essentials, and better yet, I don't have things I fear losing. For me, what's important are people, feelings, my experience, what I've lived through, nature. My most valuable assets right now are my family, my peace of mind, the sea, the sun, the birds singing outside my window, my joy, my memories.

If I had to give someone advice, I would tell them not to cling to things, because they are just things. Don't put obstacles in the way of happiness: “I'll be happy when I have a car, I'll be happy when I buy a designer handbag.” If you do that, happiness will never come because you will always be missing something. On the contrary, be grateful every day for the things you have and cleanse your life of the superfluous, of the visual noise that distracts you and prevents you from seeing the most important thing in your life: you.

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As I write this, I am reminded of a great quote from St. Francis of Assisi: “I need few things, and even those few I need little.” We could aspire to this degree of detachment. It is not conformism, it is gratitude.