My Two Requirements for a Happy Life

Sunset at Suan Sati, a retreat center outside of Chiang Mai

According to my Human Design chart, I have two requirements for a happy life.

Not one requirement. Not three requirements.

Two.

They are:

1. Something I enjoy doing

2. The freedom to do it without interference

That’s it.

When I read that sentence for the first time, when I saw the section of my chart that said, “Your only two requirements for a happy life are something you enjoy doing and the freedom to do it without interference,” my heart soared.

SOARED, I tell you.

Because, to me, that sentence felt like liberation.

In order to have a happy life, I don’t need millions of dollars (though I’ll gladly accept). I don’t need a country estate (though, again, more than happy to be the grateful steward of one, beloved Universe).

I don’t need children running around in nappies (that’s what people with country estates say, right?) or the perfect wardrobe or to be invited to Kate Middleton’s house for afternoon tea (what if I received an invitation from Liz Gilbert for the same day?!).

I may want things on that list. I may even wholeheartedly pursue them (ask me about my calling of the soul ceremony).

But I don’t need them.

I do, however, NEED something I enjoy doing and the freedom to do it without interference.

When I told my friend Sneh how impactful that statement was to me, she didn’t get it. “Don’t all humans want that?” she asked with a laugh.

“Probably,” I responded, but then I tried to articulate what it meant to me. “Sneh, when I read that sentence, I felt seen in a way I’ve never felt seen before. Understood in a way I’ve never felt understood before. I felt liberated.”

And maybe that’s ridiculous. Maybe I’m overreacting.

But—what’s the harm?

A former therapist would tell me that the harm is in believing the statement to be true. “If you believe you NEED those things to be happy,” she would have said (because she said this about something else), “You’re putting a condition on your happiness. You’re saying, ‘I can only be happy if these things are true.’”

At the time, I had a laundry list of things I felt like I needed to do every day in order to be okay (I was still working out my depression). I felt like I needed to journal, to meditate, to go for a walk, to…

I don’t even remember what was on the list. It was years ago.

And I get what she was trying to express. What if I was in a terrible accident and could no longer walk? Would that mean that I would never again be okay?

But this thing, this Human Design clue – it feels different to me.

It feels like a map more than a neurosis.

I’m currently in Thailand and ride a motorbike everywhere. If I’m going somewhere new, I pull up a map to check the route to my destination before I leave. Then I drive. If I need to check the map again, I pull over and look. Or I put an earbud in and let Google navigate me.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to get where I want to go.

I feel like I’m getting off track, so I’m going to wrap this up.

I am a human who read a sentence and felt deeply seen and understood. For me, feeling seen and understood feels liberating. For some people, feeling seen and understood feels different – vulnerable, perhaps.

I’m writing about it today because I just had the most glorious morning. I’m staying at a retreat center for a few days and they enforce silence in the mornings. We wake up at 5:30, do yoga and meditate, then we walk to the open air dining hall (where coffee and tea are already brewed!) and eat gloriously fresh fruit that kind-hearted Thai women have lovingly cut for us.

All. In. Silence.

After I drank my coffee and ate my fruit, I found a secluded spot and got to my writing.

I’m surrounded by nature. I’m eating food that I feel good about. I’m moving my body in calming ways. And I have space for my “thing” – my devotional writing practice.

Something I enjoy doing. The freedom to do it without interference.

Happy Keely.

Wishing you insights into what fuels your soul,

P.S. Not every Human Design chart spells out the requirements for a happy life as clearly as mine does. It depends on your chart. Having your requirements spelled out (like me) is good - if there are requirements that must be met for you to be happy, isn’t it good to know what those are?! Not having requirements spelled out might be even better - how lucky are you to not have any REQUIREMENTS for happiness?? Talk about freedom.

To check your chart, go to genekeys.com and click “Free Profile” or follow this link.

More photos from Suan Sati

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