Pepe Mujica of Uruguay on Happiness →

Lucia Newman of Al Jazeera interviewed José Mujica while he was still President of Uruguay on a number of different issues. She closed with the question: “What do you think is the secret for happiness?” His answer was beautiful.

To live in accordance with how one thinks. To talk to the man you carry inside. It’s the companion we carry to our grave. Be yourself and don’t try to impose your criteria on the rest. I don’t expect others to live like me. I want to respect people’s freedom but I defend my freedom. And that comes with the courage to say what you think even if sometimes others don’t share those views.

This applies to the disaffected of my generation who believe they should be living a life of riches gallivanting around the world but are stuck working 9-5 jobs just to feel like they’ll have enough food to eat. The economic realities don’t line up with what we were told growing up and our expectations of comfort and security.