Yesterday I wandered through the shopping mall. It is something like the Agora, where I spent much of my time in Athens, but indoors. As I walked through the mall I noticed something most peculiar—I was the only one smiling. Everyone else seemed to be under pressure, rushed, and frowning. People even looked sad after making their purchases. But I thought shopping was supposed to make people happy.
If shopping makes people happy, and if people smile when they are happy, then surely the mall should be full of smiling people. But this is not what I saw. So either shopping does not make people happy or people do not always smile when they are happy. I wonder which it is.
Myself, I was very happy. As I wandered around taking note of everything I did not need, I realized that it doesn't take much to be happy. Could it be that our obsession with acquiring material wealth distracts us from enriching our souls? I wonder if this is why happiness so often eludes us.
-- Socrates
