Ever had that friend who had absolutely nothing and somehow managed to stay happy regardless of their situation? Suddenly, you're sitting there wondering, "How do they manage to stay this happy? How is it that with the little amount of things that they have, they're this happy?" I'm one of the few, and to be honest, I'm glad no one asks me how I manage to stay happy regardless. It isn't something we want to share because it tends to get used up too much. We aren't really looking for pity or for a shoulder to lean on in any case. If anything, I would want people to understand that I value things to a great extent. Even though we have nothing we really hoped for, we have what we need and that's what matters most. Don't look at those people differently because that's not what they want. They want you to understand that they don't need to be pitied, but to be understood.
Through all of the things people go through they tend to generate a true value in the things they have, the life they live and the place they're in. You truly begin to understand that although you are having tough times, you come out of it. However, it is an endless cycle—good, bad, good, bad. It's the phenomenon known as "regression toward the mean," things can't always stay good or stay bad, they have a way of eventually balancing out in the end. Regardless of the bad, I always have a way of turning things into a positive energy and I know that my family and I will always get out of that bad.
Friendships are definitely one of the top values on the list. Many people have these relationships with their friends where they will occasionally talk smack to each other and I can't quite figure out why. Personally, I was taught to value friends and to always cheer them on and lift up their spirits, but I guess that's just me. Although it's a different type of friendship, it isn't one that catches my fancy and it's quite toxic.
Close knit communities are definitely one of the best things you could find in some low-end neighborhoods. Roko Belic, a well-known filmmaker went around the world to find out what made people so happy. He noted that, although prominent, people in America were not happy at all. But Belic noticed that the ones who didn't have it all were actually the happiest. While making his movie, "Happy," he traveled to places like Africa and India to find the happiness that he was so eager to get his hands on. He finally figured it out after some time and noticed that it was their connection to the communities. A question to take in:
Why is it that people who have so little and have suffered so much seem to be happier than those who are more fortunate?
To answer that in my own way, I find that people who struggled more tend to have a stronger connection than those who have been fortunate in their lives. So things become more and more meaningful to the ones who have struggled. They actually work towards their meaningful connections and it becomes something more than just an item or just a friendship. It's something that is truly valued.
In my time of struggle, I'm always looking up to my mom. If anyone knows hard work, it's my mom and I don't know where I would be without her. She has taught me so much about why things should be valued more than they are and I absolutely owe it to her to show my appreciation of things regardless of how bad or how little. Despite the fact that I'm no wealthy person or one of 'the fortunate few,' I can always depend on my struggle to give me the meaning of the little things.Just remember that people who don't have as much as you do not want to be pitied, but to be understood. Especially when it comes to having toxic people around them. They value friendships, family and even the little things that wouldn't make other people as happy as they are. Don't look at them differently because that's the last thing they want. We are all people and it shouldn't change regardless of our social ranks.
