Happier With Nothing

If a country is governed wisely,
its inhabitants will be content.
They enjoy the labor of their hands
and don’t waste time inventing
labor-saving machines.
Since they dearly love their homes,
they aren’t interested in travel.
There may be a few wagons and boats,
but these don’t go anywhere.
There may be an arsenal of weapons,
but nobody ever uses them.
People enjoy their food,
take pleasure in being with their families,
spend weekends working in their gardens,
delight in the doings of the neighborhood.
And even though the next country is so close
that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking,
they are content to die of old age
without ever having gone to see it. -Verse 80, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

One, two
One, two, three, four
I don’t need another collar
I don’t need another hat
I don’t need to leave this small town
It don’t matter where I’m at
‘Cause I’m happy being me the most
When I let what makes me happy go
And I finally learned what I need to know
I am happier with nothing
I am happier with nothing
I am happier with nothing
I don’t need you to come back to me
I don’t need another memory
I don’t need to make the world see that I’m not crazy
I don’t need to join in their games
I don’t need to fight to stake my claim
I don’t need the world to know my name
It never mattered if they did
‘Cause I’m happy being me the most
When I let what makes me happy go
And I finally learned what I need to know
I am happier with nothing
I am happier with nothing
I am happier with nothing
And I’m always home
And I’m always yours
And I’ll be alright with or without
The things that I’ve been searching for
Baby, I’m not searching anymore
I don’t need to be told what to do
I don’t need to be assured by you
I don’t need to pay the credit due
Nah, there is none
I don’t need you to come back to me
I don’t need another memory
I don’t need to make the world see that I’m not crazy
‘Cause I’m happy being me the most
When I let what makes me happy go
And I finally learned what I need to know
I am happier with nothing
I am happier with nothing
I am happier with nothing
I am happier with nothing, nothing
I am happier with nothing, nothing
I am happier with nothing, nothing
Nothing
Nothing, nothing
Nothing -lyrics to song “Untitled #4” by The Avett Brothers

“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

You don’t need another thing to be happy.

You need NO-thing.

You’ve learned the secret. Like Joseph Heller when he talked to Kurt Vonnegut, you have enough.

P.S. – This version of The Avett Brothers song. Enjoy. Feel good.