A timeless trilogy.
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” Epictetus (1st century Greek Stoic philosopher)
“My barn burned down, and then I saw the moon.” Mizuta Masahide (17th century Japanese poet and samurai)
“One morning, a boy who had everything woke up and discovered that it was all gone. Everything was missing except for his hat.” Stephen Barr (21st century American literary agent and author)
What happens in this timeless fable to a boy who has nothing but his hat? Everything. Spoiler alert: Epictetus and Masahide were right. Loss and persistence give way to the discovery that the boy’s life was turning around. His hat is more than a hat- it’s everything.
And that’s a plenty. Needs and wants are different. We want a lot. We don’t need much.