The Joy of a Small Life

Musings of an INFP

Fulfilled Happy Lives Don’t Need to be Newsworthy

I’ve noticed a paradox in today’s society; we are told the path to self-actualization and inner peace is to be a driven person, doing big things, with world changing work, and yet to be driven is to be discontented. We are expected to be passionate about our purpose in life and yet passion is only possible through discontent. To feel content is to feel complete and satisfied but a satisfied person is not a motivated person. How do we balance these two desires? The answer is to find purpose and joy in common everyday routines in a small life. We need to go back to feeling satisfied with a simple life, a spouse, children, and a steady income. It’s absurd to think that everyone on earth should be doing something profound and newsworthy. Let’s stop looking down on the simple contented small life.

“Perfect Days”

There is a 2023 Japanese movie that captures this idea of small life contentment called “Perfect Days” written and directed by Wim Wenders. In the movie we observe the main character’s simple routine life of cleaning toilets in Tokyo. In America we would expect a movie about a public toilet cleaner to be a story of overcoming oppression and hardship but in “Perfect Days” were shown a fulfilled man who takes pride in his work and finds peace and joy in his life that the ambitious and wealthy rarely have. This joy in simple things is what we should desire in this age of rampant dissatisfaction, materialism, and anger. Contentment is a higher virtue than ambition. Pure ambition is chasing the wind and a lie because it cannot end and it cannot be satisfied. Ambition should always serve contentment. Ambition should only be wielded in temporary spurts to help our fellow man and improve our lot in life. Work ethic is the baseline while ambition is the temporary boost. We must learn to be content with the journey. Take joy in our work ethic and the opportunity to produce things and enrich our communities. Being easily contented is the shortcut to peace and fulfillment.

Contentment is the Ultimate Rebellion

Having a philosophy of contentment is the ultimate rebellion against crony capitalism and tyrannical socialism. If Americans would collectively embrace this idea that we don’t need big houses, new cars, dual income families, expensive vacations, and the latest gadgets we could end much of the corruption of our society. Greed is the cornerstone of our society’s downfall. Our purchasing decisions and willingness to go into debt drives the political and oligarchical machines that rule our lives. The irony is that if we collectively rejected materialism, lived below our means, and took joy in church, family, nature, and work ethic we would cut the legs out from under our corrupt system and become a people who can’t be manipulated or bought. Also, to be clear I’m not dismissing the economic pain we’re experiencing. Inflation is destroying us and making even a simple life nearly impossible. I’m also not in the “kids these days just need to work harder” camp. What I’m saying is we need to reject the ambition and consumption narrative and be very purposeful about where we direct our efforts and think deeply about how we want to spend our lives. We need to reframe our priorities to focus on obtaining things that truly enrich our lives like community, nature, church, and family. So, live in that small house, wear thrift shop clothes, drive the old car, and reject the cycle of debt, ambition, isolation, anger, and discontent. Live a simple, methodical, small life, that is full of deep relationships and has joy rooted in things that are not easily taken away.

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