What you don’t have, you don’t need it now – Beautiful Day by U2
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- Joshua Becker doesn’t have or need ice cream
- Nina Yau doesn’t have or need a schedule
- Courtney Carver doesn’t have or need a walk in closet
What is needed in life? What do you have? What do you need?
A long time ago, I discovered my lack of having or needing much of anything. Am I pulled into societal group think like most others at times? Sure. However, my minimalist perspective always overcomes these urges to have or need like everyone else.
Is that bragging? Maybe, but that is not my intention. The intention of this piece is to free you. Free you from that which holds you back from what you truly need…FREEDOM.
What we have and what we need dictates what our lives are like. Depression develops from having too much of what we don’t want and having too little of what we need. This does not stop at the physical object aspect either. I may depressed if I have too much negativity in my life and too little love. The boundaries are not of the minds of others, but of that which you set yourself.
Do You Already Have
You may not realize it, but you may have what you need already. Beyond the basic physical needs (food, shelter, clothing), you may have the things that make you free.
Think about what you have right now. Don’t think of the things that are things. Think of that which makes you happy. Truly happy. It may be a thing or things, but try to think beyond that. Try to think of the things that bring meaning to whatever it is you do. Is your life better by having these things? If you didn’t have them, what would your life be like? These are the questions you have to ask yourself. By doing so, you will find out what you really need and if you already have everything you need.
From here, you can start eliminating that which is unnecessary and increasing that which you actually need to be happy.
What If…
What if you had nothing? Zilch. Nada. Where would you build from there?
I am not sure who taught me this approach, but I am thankful for it.
Every day, when I think about where I want to be tomorrow, I ask myself this question of, “What if I had nothing?” Usually, I find myself realizing I have too much. I try to reduce that which doesn’t get me to where I want tomorrow. At times I succeed and others I am idle. Either way, I know I can rely on this simple question to, at least, not move backwards on my journey.
Ask yourself, “What if I have nothing and need nothing? What would I add to my life to bring meaning and purpose to it? This may help you find the life excursion you so desire.
Schucks...This one is super unique. No similar posts.
I truly believe my depression started with, as you pointed out, having too much of what I didn’t want and not enough of what I did want. And surprisingly, neither of these categories included actual “things”.
Now, I’m lucky to have climbed out of that black hole called depression and start living my life how I want.
Ahhhhh….
I think this is the first time I’ve actually commented here, but I like this post. I even subscribed by email today. I’ve been holding out for reasons that make sense only to me.
Needing something is focusing on the desire rather than on the thing itself. We don’t need anything. If we focus on need, we become people who need rather than people who have.
I have everything. I just find I create obstacles sometimes to keep me from accessing everything.
But I don’t need anything. Needing is a condition of want or lack, and it’s a condition I don’t want to participate in.
Gip
@Marnie – I would guess that many people depressed feel as you did because of stuff not bringing positive value to their life.
I hope I can continue to help you live a happier life. I have been depressed before so I know where you are coming from.
@Gip – Thanks for subscribing Gip. I appreciate it. Sounds like you are headed down the same positive path I am. The less we want/have, the more we actually “have”.
Thanks all for your thoughts…
David
I read that and realized…it is a ‘signifacant other’….thanks for the reminder.
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