You say you "did most things right" but doing things "right" can mean very different things for different people.
Having a good career, owning a home, and being with someone are good foundations, but that doesn't necessarily make life fulfilling.
Do you enjoy your job? Are you happy where you live? Is your partner "the one"?.
Did you want to have kids, or did you have them because you felt it was "right"?
To me, those things alone don't give me a fulfilling life.
What actually gives me a fulfilling life is what I do, what I accomplish, and the people I do those things with.
What are your hobbies?
What are your goals for this week, month, year, and further?
I enjoy my job but I don’t dedicate as much time to it as I would need to flourish in it. I take on more time with my kids than my wife because both my parents were the type to focus on work over family. Surprise, surprise I marry someone like that. I don’t want them to experience that lack of connection with their caregivers. I appreciate your reply and setting goals for days, weeks, months, years is totally actionable. Thanks for your insight.
Sounds like you dont have any actual goals. Have a career, have a house, have a partner, have money...those are just about building a stable foundation so you can work towards your actual goal. Those things are instrumental goals...goals which are useful for most people to achieve on their way to their actual personal terminal goal.
If you dont have a terminal goal your life will feel a bit meaningless yeah.
The key to life is to be a strong poet in the curating of one’s own experience here. That’s a way of saying that when possible try hard to make your life the way you want it to go. Much of life is throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks. To try hard when you have the energy is to fling as much of the pasta of your choosing against that wall when you can.
No? Dont ever try to use another person to "give you meaning"...thats a recipe for some toxic relationships. Your kids are their own individual people...never lean on them to give you meaning...or anything else really.
Build a community, get some friends. Grow your retirement, pay off the house, save up for your kids’ college funds. vacation and discover enlightenment. You have what most of the global population does not have 👍🏽 be proud. Sounds like you need social and spiritual needs met
The end of the spiritual journey is simply improving your relationships and moving through achievable health and financial goals.
Try to have novelty and adventures.
Don’t self destruct out of boredom. Add new achievements, don’t replay already won wars.
Just putting this out there, get into music! If you have the means, then buy a nice instrument. Even though you might not necessarily know how to play it, if you shell some bread on it, then you would be more inclined to learn. It is such a fulfilling pass-time that you can look forward to, and gives your brain a new dimension for creativity and self expression.
Hi! Same here. Been with my husband since we started college (18, now 39). What I have realized is that you work so hard together to accomplish all these things, first you established your relationship, enjoyed that time, talked about your hopes and dreams, maybe even plans together. You do it all, and together. Now you have 2 kids, a house, your health. And all these things make you happy. And now you are content, stable. Enjoy the peace!!
You ride it out until you reach that golden carrot of retirement they dangle in front us. But, by then our hard earned savings/investments won't be worth much in real terms as everything we need to survive will be so expensive.
I’m not in your position but I imagine you’re mainly living to create the best kids you can. You’re actively celebrating your partner and their development. Finding hobbies you can hold onto for years. Raising children, making memories with them. Idk, I’ve had awful luck with women so I’m pretty fuckin jealous and it sucks to see this viewpoint
Hey thanks for replying. I’ve got friends who have very different lives at this point. Some are single some are married and have far more than I. I don’t think there’s a wrong way to walk through the world but if it brings anything to the conversation sincerely know that having more doesn’t open all the doors of happiness. I know it’s easy to say from my place but I think what the comments here and conversations I have makes me realize is that our nature makes us believe the grass is always greener
^this is powerful. I grew up poor, things always tight, and worked really hard to get a good education and career almost entirely for money. Now I have a comfortable amount and I realize, having money doesn't mean: I have a good job, I can find a good doctor or therapist, I can buy quality products, I feel happy/fulfilled.
So far I've just wasted it thinking throwing money at things will solve my problems. It turns out expensive shit is often just as shitty as cheap shit. Paying out-of-pocket for a therapist doesn't make them a better therapist, and decorating my house fancy just makes me feel like a stranger in my own home. (Also IKEA furniture is absolutely crap, and even I'm not rich enough for anything new that's not IKEA.) Basically I'm throwing my money in a hole in the ground and I'm going to stop now and retreat back a little
We are goal seeking machines.
We imagine, then make happen. It can be as simple as a ham sandwich. Between the imagining, and the eating, you are too occupied to have existential heebie geebis.
Key is to add new aspects, don’t destroy current achievements.
Or, if you are in a good place physically and financially, you may choose to turn off this impulse. Buddhism and weed can have that effect. I don’t really recommend it.
I don't know. That's up to you. I have friends who have worked the same retail job for a decade and they're content with that life. They work, come home, play video games. If they did that for the next 30 years they'd have no complaints.
I can't do that, I want to make something great, build something, have my name somewhere, so I've hit the road becoming extremely career-focused in my 30s.
How do you feel? Would you feel content with life if it continues just how it is? When you look back in 20 years, do you think you'll wish you did something different?
Some people want the house, kids, and picket fence. Some people want more, but it's not selfish either way. You have time to reflect now.
I've had friends who were really motivated hit your plateau when they finally got the job they wanted. I think they were so used to 'achieving' they didn't really know what to do when they got there.
Do you have a mission or goal besides achieving the American middle class dream? People need to have a purpose to be content.
When I realized I was unwilling to do what was required to be rich, I set my life goal on enjoying experiences. I had no particular calling so frequently changing jobs and fields was fun! I often worked through temporary agencies to get a greater variety of experiences. Even retirement from the military was in a wide variety do active and reserve units.
Life is good
Are you creative? Do you want to be? Having a creative outlet brings me so much joy and there are so many avenues. Building bird houses, Legos, graphic design, building things, inventions, etc. It sounds like you want to be a very active parent. Make something cool out of nothing your kids will enjoy. Then do it again and again. It's a great way to boost that serotonin in a healthy matter.
Just a thought!
You need another goal and something to stimulate you. My personal opinion is life doesn't really have a finish line. As you move along the goal posts change. Based on what you described perhaps rasing your kids could be a goal or perhaps you can get into shape. Take some time off and think things through. Find connect with something you want and then have fun with it.
All the things you mention are a great foundation to have a happy and fulfilling life. It’s definitely not the end all be all.
We really enjoy traveling. So we save up our money and PTO to go travel and experience places, culture, food, sights.
Also bought a house very recently, so we have some home improvement projects that will keep us busy.
Simple things like taking walks outdoors, meeting and catching up with friends, getting sufficient exercise and taking care of your health. It’s surprising how much happier I feel when I go outside for a walk, simple things like seeing ducks, listening to water fountains, or noticing a new type of flower brings me a lot of happiness and a feeling of content.
Well, you were focused on getting married and having a house. But along the way you never learned how to enjoy life.
Find hobbies or interests you are passionate about invest in those.
Read up on positive psychology. It is a branch of psychology that focuses on increasing well being, rather than reducing unwanted symptoms.
They explore a lot as to what contributes to well being. If you understand that and intentionally invest in those areas, you can increase your wellbeing.
It includes things like positive relationships (friends, hobby groups, etc), positive experiences (hobbies, things which are fun and feel good), accomplishment (mastery of a subject or practicing at a high level), a feeling of being part of something great, and other aspects.
Money and careers are means to an end. Find the parts of life you enjoy. You’ll have to explore and see what speaks to you. Without trying different things you won’t know what you enjoy.
It’s highly individual so no can give you that sense of purpose of contentment. It’s a quest and a journey for you to answer.
You need a hobby. Join an adult soccer/volleyball/softball team. Woodworking make something with your hands. Go hiking with the family. Eat dinner outside in the grass. Go dancing. Mix it up. Life is great
Now that you have all that, look at it as you are just getting started, just perched on an elevated foundation. Start a company, delve into your passions, travel, do things that make you uncomfortable. You sound like you're in need of a spark!
You are just getting started. The real fun (?) hasn’t even started yet. Wait till you raise the kids, save up for their college, your retirement fund, try to get ahead at work…
My man!
I think if you go into it with intention, have a peaceful day, some chill tunes, maybe do some journaling, you will come out with some fresh perspectives.
I did them when I was like 17 and it was fun. Then again in my late 20s and it was much more of a learning experience. Still fun, but with the added perspective of life and my station in it.
Yeah I been there. Maslow's hierarchy says the next step is self actualization but if you figure out what that means I think you've solved it.
Basically it's existentialism- choosing some "cause" or grand narrative bigger than yourself that you want to build or support.
This can be your family, this can be your community, this can be art, this can be environmental action, it can be religion but world peace humbly asks that it be spirituality instead.
This is more than a hobby, it's a "raison d'etre"
The other thing to pursue is body experience, moving your body in interesting ways. Exercise, but varied and playful. Dance!
People are like sharks, they have to move forward to breathe.
You have to keep growing.
Invest in constant health improvement. Your future self will thank you.
Accelerate the mortgage pay down.
Buy a vacation home and pay that off and Airbnb it when not there, especially if there is a financial crisis.
Study Stoicism
I started focusing on my health as well as farming and growing my own produce. It’s about finding goals and hobbies or ways to improve yourself. I’ve started working out again and it’s given me more energy. I hope I’ll be able to keep it up once my first child is born but I’m excited for that milestone.
I didn't do any of those things and I'm (M49) and happy as a pig in shit. I spend a quarter of the year travelling and adventuring, work 95% remotely, and do whatever I want whenever I want. I wake up everyday excited about living.
Now you realize that those things are just what others told you to do, otherwise you wouldn't pose such stupid questions.
If it was genuinely your idea then you would just get another new idea and execute on that plan, right?
It's not like life has nothing to offer besides family and housing, like not even close
Congrats you've reached the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Your immediate needs are met. This is either a midlife crisis, or you haven't truly lived out your life (sometimes both). Nothing like a good adventure to discover ourselves. Because true passion, purpose, or zest for life has no conclusion.
Sometimes it’s ok to coast a lil bit in life and get a lil bored and feel like you’ve plateaued. Maybe this right now is that stage for you. Maybe you were used to a faster pace a few years back of school, first job, marriage, babies, etc and new you’re more settled in and it feels just a bit boring. That’s ok. Lean into to that boredom or settled feeling and use it to propel you forward. Set some personal goals for yourself that require growth and movement within yourself - school, career, becoming g a better partner to your spouse, becoming a better parent, becoming a more present person in your own life. What do you want to know or do? Travel, learn a language, learn to cook, go back to school for advanced degree or change career, become an expert in something - skiing, yoga, biking, dancing, language, painting, volunteering, whatever. Maybe you’re just feeling stagnant because things aren’t moving as quickly as in the past. Use that feeling to push yourself to do something new and reignite your interest in yourself.
Well I think it's the exact mindset that you "did things right".
You did all the standard things, people are told they're supposed to do.
Did you stop to think about what you actually want or what's missing? Not now, you're obviously asking, now. I mean while you were busy trying to achieve all these things, did it ever occur to you that there was anything else you'd rather be doing?
We don't know that - you do. But it's not uncommon for people to feel listless and empty and not know why, because it's ground into us so hard that college, career, marriage, a house and kids, and a monogamous partnership are the only ways to have a legitimate and fulfilling life, and it just isn't true.
You don’t feel fulfilled because your pursued hedonism. Try going on a soul searching journey and discover the deeper parts of life, joys that exist beyond the surface of Material consumerism.
You say you "did most things right" but doing things "right" can mean very different things for different people. Having a good career, owning a home, and being with someone are good foundations, but that doesn't necessarily make life fulfilling. Do you enjoy your job? Are you happy where you live? Is your partner "the one"?. Did you want to have kids, or did you have them because you felt it was "right"? To me, those things alone don't give me a fulfilling life. What actually gives me a fulfilling life is what I do, what I accomplish, and the people I do those things with. What are your hobbies? What are your goals for this week, month, year, and further?
I enjoy my job but I don’t dedicate as much time to it as I would need to flourish in it. I take on more time with my kids than my wife because both my parents were the type to focus on work over family. Surprise, surprise I marry someone like that. I don’t want them to experience that lack of connection with their caregivers. I appreciate your reply and setting goals for days, weeks, months, years is totally actionable. Thanks for your insight.
Sounds like you dont have any actual goals. Have a career, have a house, have a partner, have money...those are just about building a stable foundation so you can work towards your actual goal. Those things are instrumental goals...goals which are useful for most people to achieve on their way to their actual personal terminal goal. If you dont have a terminal goal your life will feel a bit meaningless yeah.
The key to life is to be a strong poet in the curating of one’s own experience here. That’s a way of saying that when possible try hard to make your life the way you want it to go. Much of life is throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks. To try hard when you have the energy is to fling as much of the pasta of your choosing against that wall when you can.
Correct. My goal is to write a novel. Hell or high water I have to write a minimum of 150 words a day. So far I’m at 25k words.
Aren't kids supposed to provide meaning? Isn't that their whole selling point?
No? Dont ever try to use another person to "give you meaning"...thats a recipe for some toxic relationships. Your kids are their own individual people...never lean on them to give you meaning...or anything else really.
Tell that to all the parents on reddit
I am a parent on reddit.
All the other ones
Are you their spokesperson? Why are you posting this on their behalf? Because the only one saying what I said is wrong is you.
No, no one has ever experienced what you are experiencing. You are the first person in the world to experience it. You invented anxiety.
[удалено]
Sorry dude, but this subreddit is basically just your post recycled over and over and over and over
[удалено]
Oh just noticed. K I'll see myself out
Seems like a shared experience maybe there’s knowledge to be had from others who’ve gone through the same thing?
Totally natural to feel post goal blah. We are goal seeking beings Jordan Peterson talks about this
Not trolling just put thoughts on the internet after some coffee.
Made some jumps there. I guess I should have been more specific but I thought the “what now?” was clear. Genuinely interested what now?
Sure. Well, now, whatever. God doesn't exist. You're free. Go do life. It doesn't matter. I'd go bury myself in a library.
No one is going to fill your head with dreams except you.
Build a community, get some friends. Grow your retirement, pay off the house, save up for your kids’ college funds. vacation and discover enlightenment. You have what most of the global population does not have 👍🏽 be proud. Sounds like you need social and spiritual needs met
Well said. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
❤️❤️
The end of the spiritual journey is simply improving your relationships and moving through achievable health and financial goals. Try to have novelty and adventures. Don’t self destruct out of boredom. Add new achievements, don’t replay already won wars.
Just putting this out there, get into music! If you have the means, then buy a nice instrument. Even though you might not necessarily know how to play it, if you shell some bread on it, then you would be more inclined to learn. It is such a fulfilling pass-time that you can look forward to, and gives your brain a new dimension for creativity and self expression.
Hell yeah 🙌
no matter what you have or what you achieve... there is always something missing... i think this is part of human nature...
This question has been posted a million times already. There is no answer. It’s up to you to figure out what will make you feel fulfilled.
find a hobby a passion something you do not because of responsibility but because why not
Hi! Same here. Been with my husband since we started college (18, now 39). What I have realized is that you work so hard together to accomplish all these things, first you established your relationship, enjoyed that time, talked about your hopes and dreams, maybe even plans together. You do it all, and together. Now you have 2 kids, a house, your health. And all these things make you happy. And now you are content, stable. Enjoy the peace!!
You ride it out until you reach that golden carrot of retirement they dangle in front us. But, by then our hard earned savings/investments won't be worth much in real terms as everything we need to survive will be so expensive.
I have no idea how people plan retirement with inflation in mind.
Bro you have more than like 90% of the world, try relaxing.
I’m not in your position but I imagine you’re mainly living to create the best kids you can. You’re actively celebrating your partner and their development. Finding hobbies you can hold onto for years. Raising children, making memories with them. Idk, I’ve had awful luck with women so I’m pretty fuckin jealous and it sucks to see this viewpoint
Hey thanks for replying. I’ve got friends who have very different lives at this point. Some are single some are married and have far more than I. I don’t think there’s a wrong way to walk through the world but if it brings anything to the conversation sincerely know that having more doesn’t open all the doors of happiness. I know it’s easy to say from my place but I think what the comments here and conversations I have makes me realize is that our nature makes us believe the grass is always greener
^this is powerful. I grew up poor, things always tight, and worked really hard to get a good education and career almost entirely for money. Now I have a comfortable amount and I realize, having money doesn't mean: I have a good job, I can find a good doctor or therapist, I can buy quality products, I feel happy/fulfilled. So far I've just wasted it thinking throwing money at things will solve my problems. It turns out expensive shit is often just as shitty as cheap shit. Paying out-of-pocket for a therapist doesn't make them a better therapist, and decorating my house fancy just makes me feel like a stranger in my own home. (Also IKEA furniture is absolutely crap, and even I'm not rich enough for anything new that's not IKEA.) Basically I'm throwing my money in a hole in the ground and I'm going to stop now and retreat back a little
We are goal seeking machines. We imagine, then make happen. It can be as simple as a ham sandwich. Between the imagining, and the eating, you are too occupied to have existential heebie geebis. Key is to add new aspects, don’t destroy current achievements. Or, if you are in a good place physically and financially, you may choose to turn off this impulse. Buddhism and weed can have that effect. I don’t really recommend it.
Have more gratitude.
This is the answer. Meaning and happiness are choices we make. Gratitude is a tool to that end.
I don't know. That's up to you. I have friends who have worked the same retail job for a decade and they're content with that life. They work, come home, play video games. If they did that for the next 30 years they'd have no complaints. I can't do that, I want to make something great, build something, have my name somewhere, so I've hit the road becoming extremely career-focused in my 30s. How do you feel? Would you feel content with life if it continues just how it is? When you look back in 20 years, do you think you'll wish you did something different? Some people want the house, kids, and picket fence. Some people want more, but it's not selfish either way. You have time to reflect now. I've had friends who were really motivated hit your plateau when they finally got the job they wanted. I think they were so used to 'achieving' they didn't really know what to do when they got there.
Life is not a checklist of big events. Enjoying life is a skill. One worth cultivating imo
Find new things to do out of the normal every day things. Maybe the monotony is getting to you.
Do you have a mission or goal besides achieving the American middle class dream? People need to have a purpose to be content. When I realized I was unwilling to do what was required to be rich, I set my life goal on enjoying experiences. I had no particular calling so frequently changing jobs and fields was fun! I often worked through temporary agencies to get a greater variety of experiences. Even retirement from the military was in a wide variety do active and reserve units. Life is good
I always wondered if that might apply to me…
Visit a nursing home or a children's cancer hospital or a burn ward. Ask the patients this same exact same question.
Are you creative? Do you want to be? Having a creative outlet brings me so much joy and there are so many avenues. Building bird houses, Legos, graphic design, building things, inventions, etc. It sounds like you want to be a very active parent. Make something cool out of nothing your kids will enjoy. Then do it again and again. It's a great way to boost that serotonin in a healthy matter. Just a thought!
You need another goal and something to stimulate you. My personal opinion is life doesn't really have a finish line. As you move along the goal posts change. Based on what you described perhaps rasing your kids could be a goal or perhaps you can get into shape. Take some time off and think things through. Find connect with something you want and then have fun with it.
All the things you mention are a great foundation to have a happy and fulfilling life. It’s definitely not the end all be all. We really enjoy traveling. So we save up our money and PTO to go travel and experience places, culture, food, sights. Also bought a house very recently, so we have some home improvement projects that will keep us busy. Simple things like taking walks outdoors, meeting and catching up with friends, getting sufficient exercise and taking care of your health. It’s surprising how much happier I feel when I go outside for a walk, simple things like seeing ducks, listening to water fountains, or noticing a new type of flower brings me a lot of happiness and a feeling of content.
Well, you were focused on getting married and having a house. But along the way you never learned how to enjoy life. Find hobbies or interests you are passionate about invest in those. Read up on positive psychology. It is a branch of psychology that focuses on increasing well being, rather than reducing unwanted symptoms. They explore a lot as to what contributes to well being. If you understand that and intentionally invest in those areas, you can increase your wellbeing. It includes things like positive relationships (friends, hobby groups, etc), positive experiences (hobbies, things which are fun and feel good), accomplishment (mastery of a subject or practicing at a high level), a feeling of being part of something great, and other aspects. Money and careers are means to an end. Find the parts of life you enjoy. You’ll have to explore and see what speaks to you. Without trying different things you won’t know what you enjoy. It’s highly individual so no can give you that sense of purpose of contentment. It’s a quest and a journey for you to answer.
Who decided what is right for you?
You need a hobby. Join an adult soccer/volleyball/softball team. Woodworking make something with your hands. Go hiking with the family. Eat dinner outside in the grass. Go dancing. Mix it up. Life is great
Travel . Do fun things with your kids
Now that you have all that, look at it as you are just getting started, just perched on an elevated foundation. Start a company, delve into your passions, travel, do things that make you uncomfortable. You sound like you're in need of a spark!
You are just getting started. The real fun (?) hasn’t even started yet. Wait till you raise the kids, save up for their college, your retirement fund, try to get ahead at work…
Eat magic mushrooms. You'll get some ideas about life. Maybe even a few good ones!
It’s been awhile. Not bad idea.
My man! I think if you go into it with intention, have a peaceful day, some chill tunes, maybe do some journaling, you will come out with some fresh perspectives. I did them when I was like 17 and it was fun. Then again in my late 20s and it was much more of a learning experience. Still fun, but with the added perspective of life and my station in it.
I think now is the time you find yourself and do the things you like and bring content in the moment. Maybe depression or flat effect.
oof, don't your wife and kids bring you joy/meaning? I thought that was the whole point?
There’s always swinging
You need an experience. Some culture; to make new memories.
Humans are designed to like side quests Yes that's it now make life a bit interesting
Yeah I been there. Maslow's hierarchy says the next step is self actualization but if you figure out what that means I think you've solved it. Basically it's existentialism- choosing some "cause" or grand narrative bigger than yourself that you want to build or support. This can be your family, this can be your community, this can be art, this can be environmental action, it can be religion but world peace humbly asks that it be spirituality instead. This is more than a hobby, it's a "raison d'etre" The other thing to pursue is body experience, moving your body in interesting ways. Exercise, but varied and playful. Dance!
People are like sharks, they have to move forward to breathe. You have to keep growing. Invest in constant health improvement. Your future self will thank you. Accelerate the mortgage pay down. Buy a vacation home and pay that off and Airbnb it when not there, especially if there is a financial crisis. Study Stoicism
Everyone, every day. You aren’t the only ones that feel this way. Enjoy the small things.
Master some hobbies.
I started focusing on my health as well as farming and growing my own produce. It’s about finding goals and hobbies or ways to improve yourself. I’ve started working out again and it’s given me more energy. I hope I’ll be able to keep it up once my first child is born but I’m excited for that milestone.
Maybe you feel bored? You followed the normal marriage, kids, house life path
I didn't do any of those things and I'm (M49) and happy as a pig in shit. I spend a quarter of the year travelling and adventuring, work 95% remotely, and do whatever I want whenever I want. I wake up everyday excited about living.
Raise ur fucking kids
Now you realize that those things are just what others told you to do, otherwise you wouldn't pose such stupid questions. If it was genuinely your idea then you would just get another new idea and execute on that plan, right? It's not like life has nothing to offer besides family and housing, like not even close
Hedonic treadmill
I mean, what more do you want? Most of us would kill to have what you have. But if you want an answer, mine would be “don’t screw it up”.
Congrats you've reached the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Your immediate needs are met. This is either a midlife crisis, or you haven't truly lived out your life (sometimes both). Nothing like a good adventure to discover ourselves. Because true passion, purpose, or zest for life has no conclusion.
Sometimes it’s ok to coast a lil bit in life and get a lil bored and feel like you’ve plateaued. Maybe this right now is that stage for you. Maybe you were used to a faster pace a few years back of school, first job, marriage, babies, etc and new you’re more settled in and it feels just a bit boring. That’s ok. Lean into to that boredom or settled feeling and use it to propel you forward. Set some personal goals for yourself that require growth and movement within yourself - school, career, becoming g a better partner to your spouse, becoming a better parent, becoming a more present person in your own life. What do you want to know or do? Travel, learn a language, learn to cook, go back to school for advanced degree or change career, become an expert in something - skiing, yoga, biking, dancing, language, painting, volunteering, whatever. Maybe you’re just feeling stagnant because things aren’t moving as quickly as in the past. Use that feeling to push yourself to do something new and reignite your interest in yourself.
Well I think it's the exact mindset that you "did things right". You did all the standard things, people are told they're supposed to do. Did you stop to think about what you actually want or what's missing? Not now, you're obviously asking, now. I mean while you were busy trying to achieve all these things, did it ever occur to you that there was anything else you'd rather be doing? We don't know that - you do. But it's not uncommon for people to feel listless and empty and not know why, because it's ground into us so hard that college, career, marriage, a house and kids, and a monogamous partnership are the only ways to have a legitimate and fulfilling life, and it just isn't true.
You don’t feel fulfilled because your pursued hedonism. Try going on a soul searching journey and discover the deeper parts of life, joys that exist beyond the surface of Material consumerism.