It's not about the money, money, money.

I have come to a realization this past week: I spend to make myself happy. I have fallen into that pit that so many people fall into. When I am down I shop. The cheesy line "Money doesn't buy happiness" comes to mind. But it's so true. The things we purchase oftentimes are thrown into our closet and begin to collect dust. And when we find that the fancy new car we bought or the name brand handbag we dreamed about for so long and finally gave in to buying didn't make us happy, we buy more in order to fill that unhappiness. And I work in retail, so this is even worse for me.

Working at a store gives me time to fall in love with a clothing item and create an excuse as to why I need it. It happens to all of us. As teenage girls, we just HAVE TO have a new dress for every event. Oh and don't forget about the matching clutch and shoes to go with it. And how can you not get new jewelry for it? We are all guilty of it. We convince ourselves constantly that we need new things. But what if it's not really about that?

When I had the opportunity to go to Haiti last summer, my eyes were opened. I thought to myself, "How are these people so happy with so little?" That was the first time that I witnessed firsthand that money doesn't buy happiness. There were kids gathered in circles singing chants and dancing, women talking and laughing. This is a third world country, one of the most impoverished nations in the world. And yet these people had joy that I had never seen in anybody that I had ever met in my entire life.

The material items that we have filled our closets with have clouded our vision of what true happiness is. Happiness cannot be bought. I envy my friends who live so simply and are happy. The idea of buying happiness is something that I have to unlearn and erase from my mind. I think we all need to be reminded sometimes to just be happy with what we have, because really...it's not about what we have. Just a reminder for you all on this Monday night.

~Christy