Happiness is the main ambition sought after to be achieved in life by most people. Many believe the key to happiness is wealth and a life of luxury, but there are many other lifestyle options that few consider.
At Pleasant Valley High School, there is a pressure placed on students to perform academically in order to acquire a high-paying job, implying the only way to have a happy life is to make a lot of money.
There is a rising trend of the youth in America placing value on money, instead of focusing on living a fulfilling lifestyle.
Senior, Solange Bolger, believes happiness comes from being thankful and appreciating what life offers. Bolger recognizes the growing trend, “I know most people want things in the future which cost a lot of money and I’ve never understood that.”
Joe Gauthier, the resident teacher of Lamrim Kadampa Buddhist Center in Davenport, Iowa, is an example of someone who chose a path different from most.
Gauthier lives at the center and teaches most of the classes there as well as overseeing the running and development of center activities. He receives a monthly stipend of a few hundred dollars with room and board paid for by the center.
Gauthier’s passion for his profession is what keeps him satisfied, “what I do is a choice and a labor of love and I would not trade that for anything.” He is not against making money, however, he is not for making it for the sake of having it. For many years he studied and taught Buddhism while working various jobs, and was happy with that situation as well. He chose to teach full time so he can help as many people as possible find happiness within themselves through learning meditation and Buddhist practice.
Despite not having an overflow of money, Gauthier is content. “I am extremely happy in these circumstances. I enjoy meditation and practicing Buddhism, which I get to do full time.” He enjoys his work because he can help others doing what he loves and pursue his own personal spiritual path at the same time.
Gauthier’s advice to anyone wanting to go into a profession for the love of it and not necessarily for the income is to go for it. He encourages everyone to pursue what they want, even if that means breaking society’s standards of what “happiness” looks like. He said that even despite all of the technological advancements in society, people are still plagued with suicide, depression, violence, division, and war. “It shows that we are missing something very important within us and not finding the happiness we’re looking for.”
