Those Moments When We Have Everything, Without Needing Anything Else

There are wonderful moments when we have everything, where every aspect is held in an almost prodigious balance. However, little by little, this magic disappears or, quite simply, expires and lapses. It is then that one realizes that ultimately, what really matters in this life is to be in harmony with oneself, to keep calm, to be in harmony. peace.

Zygmunt Bauman, Polish sociologist and philosopher, tells us that nowadays we live in a consumer society that invites us to covet those things that others think we miss, to stop looking at what we already have, and to make fleeting use of what we are offered. It makes us, in a way, dissatisfied creatures, people who value immediacy and not calm, who covet what they don’t have instead of appreciating what they already have.

This culture of indifference means that we often despair by never seeing happiness arrive, and if by a miracle it does happen, it is as fleeting as a blink of an eyelid or a drop of dew that disappears a minute. once the sun reaches its zenith. It is then that we throw the blame on society, the political spheres, our superiors, our family, or even this person who perhaps promised us eternal love without knowing that his concept of eternity does not exist. ‘did not go beyond a quarter.

We therefore become orphans of self-esteem, emotional wanderers who will take time to understand that sometimes, having everything is accepting what surrounds us: ourselves, our family. , our friends, and our ability to create, not to be molded.

Most of the languages ​​that exist in the world have the peculiarity of containing in a single word ideas which in other languages ​​need many more terms to define them. In Japanese, for example, there is a curious expression called  Yūgen ”(幽 玄),  which would translate as that deep, mysterious and intense emotion that a person feels when observing the universe.

It is above all the ability to look at the world from the heart or the feelings in order to acquire the deepest wisdom about what surrounds us. Such a capacity can only be acquired from this relaxed, centered and calm mind which has learned to prioritize, and transform simple moments into eons charged with meaning; this is the thought of Reinhold Messner, considered the best mountaineer in the world.

He was the first person to reach the world’s tallest peaks without oxygen, and most of the time alone. He is a lover of nature and extreme experiences who has often been criticized for his character. He learned early on that true happiness consists of moments, that the most intense, complete, and genuine well-being is not in achieving or accumulating things, but rather in doing what the we love and observe the wonders that surround us.

Reinhold messner

This mood consisting of this impression, this feeling that we have everything we need and that happiness surrounds us like an invisible but comforting veil, this is what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi defined in 1990 as a state of flux. Immersion in an activity, the own positive feedback that we feel when we reach a pleasant feeling of well-being and self-efficacy, this is what defines this basic joy of being. that everyone should aspire to.

There is always something missing in the human being; buying a state-of-the-art phone presupposes that a new one that will be even better will soon emerge. Landing a job makes us happy, but this happiness disappears when the task becomes routine and we do not feel fulfilled in our professional life. We launch into passionate relationships, but little by little this emptiness appears where once again we feel that something is missing, that this love is incomplete.

One could say almost ironically that “these voids”, these indefinable, eternal and sometimes even agonizing needs, are like this “Trojan horse” hidden in our brain which will always invite us to seek something more. Because dissatisfaction invites research, the search for a new discovery. However, before you become eternal Ulysses on a journey of no return, it’s worth stopping and simply enjoying what you already have.

These moments when you finally realize that you have everything appear when you discover your passion and devote yourself to it. Reinhold Messner found his in the mountains, and we could find it elsewhere, in our work, in our family, in sport, in art… Because happiness is above all a goal and an activity is making decisions and balancing the present moment with a mind that feels centered, satisfied, competent.

This is what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls the “soft spot”, that state that one attains when one moves away from pressures and anxiety, when one puts an end to mental noise and when resistances fall. , as well as limiting attitudes… A whole adventure in our personal development where it is worth investing every day, at every moment.

Images by Andrea Marsh and Art Mesmer-K