“Appreciate the little things”. Too often in life do we get wrapped up in our jobs, money, and material items that we forget to take time to notice the small, but beautiful, occurrences around us each and every day. We often lose sight in the truly important moments of our life while we tend to cater to the semi-meaningless tasks that have taken over tremendously. So the question is, what is important? After a busy week at school, a few close friends and I figured it would be fun to stay at a cabin in Big Bear for the weekend. It was only the middle of August so it was not quite cold enough for snow. We spent our Saturday doing typical mountain activities such as riding our bikes through the trails, going fishing on the lake, and taking a hike through the mountain behind our cabin. It was exciting to get out and explore nature. On our way back to the cabin, we found a clearing with rocks that we could sit on. We noticed that it was almost time for the sun to set, so we decided to stay and watch. Why not, right? We all took off our backpacks, and set up camp for the next hour or so. As we waited, we talked and shared funny stories about what had happened throughout the day. Time went by so fast in what seemed to be only a few minutes, and the sun started to disappear behind the mountain. We all fell silent, sitting and observing. The birds were chirping, and you could hear a slight breeze blowing through the leaves in the trees. We watched as the sky went from blue to purple, from purple to a pink-orange, and then to a bright yellow before the sun was finally hidden by the mountain in front of us. It was a beautiful sight to see. I knew it was a moment in my life that I was going to remember and cherish. We all agreed that w... ... middle of paper ... ... do not have a good time on vacation because we did not get the nice hotel that we wanted to stay at. “The things you own end up owning you” is just a quote from the movie Fight Club, but it has a very powerful meaning. We get preoccupied with what others have to say, and it is human nature to want to be the best. But during this time we forget to enjoy the more important things that we have like our good health, food to eat, and a roof over our head. In conclusion, I am not quite sure if we will ever know the answer to the question “What is important?”. Some people will argue that you can not be happy without money and nice things, while others can be happy with nothing but the clothes on their backs. We will always wonder if people will change their ways. The only thing we can hope is that we will learn to appreciate what is truly important before it is too late.
In the article, "But Will It Make You Happy," Stepahnie Rosenblum shows us how to be happy with less money spent and more purchasing an experience. people spent their money to find happiness, but they do not realize that the experiences had more value of material objects. I agree with the author that experiences give people more satisfaction than spending money on materials as well small things bring more happiness.
If I got lost in a desolate desert, I would survive because I value things that are essential and beneficial for survival. King Tut would have died if he got lost because he values items like gold and jewelry, whereas I bring the essentials. This is a good habit because money does not bring happiness into anyone’s life. It is the moments that they spend with their family that bring true happiness into their lives. When people value material possessions greater than their own or their family survival won’t live a happy life.
The mountains were tall (11,000 feet +) and covered with bright powdery snow. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was eager to set-up camp and prepare for our nine day hunt. But, Dad said that we had to drive around and check out all the good places, just to make sure that we were in the best area. This was partially understandable, but since I am a teenager I'm not supposed to understand anything! So, we spent another several hours driving. We went up and down through the mountains and then we saw it. The spot was beautiful; it was right on the edge of a vertical drop-off, over looking everything. It was like paradise, but colder!
A couple of years ago during one of those, on a whim after spending a few days in Arches National Park, my wife and I detoured to the snowy, icy south rim of the Grand Canyon. We journeyed toward it from the east side but got turned back at the National Parks’ gate; the road was snowed under from there on up. After retracing our steps, we traveled down to Flagstaff and spent the night, driving in my four by four truck up to the South Rim the next day. It was an eerie experience to stand on the edge of the South Rim and see only cloud; fog shrouded the canyon’s great gap, leaving us with visual doubts that anything was really there. Defeated, we hit the Visitor’s Center and gathered information so we could go back sometime in the spring or fall with weather more to our liking.
Initial Reflective Essay When I first thought of what I wanted to do with my life after college, the first thing I thought of was helping people. The next step in deciding what I wanted to do with my life was to examine how I could accomplish this goal. I started pondering and I was thinking about how much I love to take care of my body. Health care and personal hygiene has always been an important factor in my life. So I decided to major in Health Sciences.
Up until this year, before taking the class intermediate composition, I thought I was a terrible writer. I was right. Writing isn’t something that I enjoy doing, nor am I good at. Writing is difficult for me because I’m not very good at explaining things in a professional manner, that can be easily well written. While writing you are expected to make little to no mistakes, which is not something I’m great at. I am so much better at explaining things with verbal words rather than written words. I had not taken any extra writing classes before this year rather than the mandatory ones. Like I had stated before, I hate writing, with a passion. I dread writing anything, especially an essay for school, like this one. I’m
In life, especially in American culture, our existence revolves around the physical, materialistic possessions and goals. Every commercial, ad and salesman caters to those who need more “stuff”
We live in a materialistic culture that thrives on having "things." Yes, we must have things in order to live (shelter, food, water, etc.), but the word is misused. Our culture has become so materialistic that we forget what is really important. The "have" mode has almost become the norm, especially with our generation. Even though we subconsciously practice the mode of “being,” many people do not realize it which makes it difficult to appreciate life and all the aspects of “being.” “Because the society we live in is devoted to acquiring property and making a profit, we rarely see any evidence of the being mode of existence and most people see the having mode as the most natural mode of existence, even the only acceptable way of life” (Fromm 25). Majority of people want to be as successful and rich as possible that this idea takes over their mind and eventually lives. Every young person is obsessed with “fitting in” and having the latest and greatest items. This attitude causes adolescents to lose sight of what is important and lose touch with their emotions. Our culture needs to begin to think less about material items and being rich and more about his/her emotions and what it means to be truly happy. It is important to focus on the “bigger picture” and how one must become the best person he/she can be to benefit
Do little things in daily life become significant over time? Analyzing the short story “Little
I can still remember that day. All the beauty of nature collected in one moment. I can still feel the sponginess of the winter-aged leaves under my feet. I felt as though I was walking on a cloud, the softness of the leaves cushioning my every step, they were guiding me along the wooded path to a small creek. The humming of the water moving with the crispness of the air, together they were singing a promise of a fresh and clean new season. It was a beautiful spring that year. Every so often a day like that comes back and I am reminded of posing for our picture together.
I stopped walking and looked up at the faint stars. The seagulls were flying overhead. They were screeching and swooping at the water. I started to wish I were one of them, flying free without any restrictions or limits. I listened to their voice, the screech. Deep down in I could understand what they were saying. I can't explain it, but I was so in love with the moment I thought I saw things as they did. I was in company of animals that had no concept of time, and no worries, and I was contempt with that. I closed my eyes and the faint sun warmed my face, as if shining only for me. The warmth made ...
Instead they rely completely on money to be happy. People often do not appreciate what they have, and they feel like they deserve better, and they complain instead of making the best of what they have. It is not necessary to be rich to enjoy life. Often those who have everything tend to live miserably. People can become too attached to money to the point that they forget about enjoying life and caring for their family. The theme of materialism is shown throughout the story of “The Rocking Horse Winner” to explain how being too attached to money can ruin people’s lives.
“Money never prevents anyone from being happy or unhappy.” The quotation means that money cannot buy pleasure and you can find jubilation in the few subjects in life. Money controls society so abounding individuals never have a chance to figure out what else is important such as friends and family. Your loved ones can be used to create memories and with those memories you can attain true happiness. Human nature is so controlled by money that they do not understand the value of the few concepts in life.
My father parked the car, we all bundled up, and then we climbed out of the car. There was a lovely gift shop next to the congratulator Pike’s Peak sign. My family and I separated as we searched for souvenirs. After finding a shirt, keychain, or pocket knife we started off on a scavenger hunt to piece together the family. My mother was located in the bathroom, she had an overactive bladder and this trip, thankfully, was not too long for her. My sister was examining the gemstones found in the nearby mines. It took a decent amount of time before we found my brother and my father. However, when we found them it made sense why it took so long. The elevation was not being friendly with my brother and stole the majority of his oxygen. We hurriedly purchased the overpriced souvenirs and decided to head back down. Exiting the building we caught glimpse of the breathless view. My mother noticed that it was in alignment with the Pike’s Peak sign and decided that we should huddle together quickly for a photo. We had a stranger take the picture and we headed down the mountain. After careful review, we decided that it was the best photo that we have ever taken together; I still hold pride in it.
Some people find happiness in buying electronics, clothes, and toys. It’s true, materialistic things can bring an abundance of happiness to an individual. However, investing in life makes people happier, and makes their life more significant. According to Robin F. Brancato, in the book Money, “The real happiness comes from social relationships, enjoyable work, fulfillment, a sense of meaning in life.” For example, Nora is a woman who has money, and she’s always trying to buy dresses and shoes to make herself happy. However, she just needs to do something significant with her life (qtd.in Wiseman). In fact, according Williams, “It’s not a name brand that will lead to happiness. It’s a person ability to make their lifestyle what they always fantasized and imagined it to be.” In other words, happiness does not come from being able to buy expensive things; it comes from being able to use money to make one’s life better. In fact, according to Rachel Berl, “a certain amount of wealth relieves financial stress and its associated hardship. But the absence of such worries brings about happiness.” For instance, using money and investing in real estate and life insurance. Doing this, one can live happily knowing their kids can live comfortable when they are grown. The point is, investing life makes people happy and brings happiness to the