Can Money Buy You Happiness?
There’s only one answer to this.
Yes. Yes money can buy happiness, but it can also buy a lot of other things. Having money is the ultimate privilege, to some it’s an opportunity. For others if given an opportunity can make a lot of money in order to reach their desired level of happiness. People who claim that money can’t buy happiness, I just assume that they chose to squander the spoils of their monetary fortune, mistaking it as privilege.
Happiness could mean a lot of things to different people. Depending on their personal landscape and where they are mentally, physically and spiritually. In my outlook it plays like an either/or option, like Calabasas vs Paris. Living in a studio on your own in Bushwick, Brooklyn versus a two-story in Notting Hill, London. I was happy the first time I lived roommate-free in a 200 ft studio in the East Village. Money bought me independence, but then of course living in an expensive city, I continued to want more money in order to sustain that happiness.
Happiness could be any the following:
Being able to buy a new Apple MacBook without having to save up.
Having affordable health insurance - better yet Universal (if you live in America that is, I read somewhere how a woman was invoiced over $7,000 for her ambulance ride 🤯).
Being able to help others freely, whether it’s donating money or your free time to causes that mean something to you.
Spending more quality time with your family and friends without having to work a second job.
I heard someone say once that happiness is a moment. So yes, money can certainly buy a moment of happiness.
FOR THIS ARTIST, PLEASURE BUYS HAPPINESS
Sunday Morning by Marie Hiot - 40x30cm, Oil On Canvas
French painter Marie Hiot works on various mediums, mostly drawing, painting and sculpture. Now living in Sydney, Australia, the contemporary artist focuses on simple, often naive images of everyday life, highlighting the mundane beauty of the object.
DNAMAG: Why do you paint mostly food?
Marie Hiot: I love to paint food as I used to be a pastry Chef and I do love anything to do with food. I also love cooking and it is a big part of my culture - we can sit around a table for hours in France, just having a great time together, eating.
Food brings people together. I like the idea of it to be very social.
When you find an object that captures your attention, what is usually the thing about it that makes you want to paint it?
It can be many many things, for example painting tomatoes brings me back to my childhood holidays in Italy, we would always go to Tuscany in small villages and go to the market, where the tomatoes looked so beautiful. We would get some food for a few days, get home and cook them. So this gets me back to it. For the Ice Pop sculptures, it came from childhood also, what kid did not love his/her Ice Pop in summer! It's all about what makes me smile. It is also about colours and shapes.
Vanilla Splash Sculpture by Marie Hiot - 8cm high, 16cm wide, 8.5cm deep
If you can spend a day with 1 non-living artist who would it be and why?
That's a great question... and so many names are coming to me, Alice Neel, Wayne Thiebaud, Frida Kahlo, Gustave Caillebotte, Courbet, Van Gogh, Francoise Gilot, Hilma Af Kilmt, Monet, Matisse... To only get one name, I would probably choose Botticelli as he is from a very different time. His paintings moved me and I can stay in front of them for hours. I would ask so many questions about living in Florence at the time. It was such a different time, artists had patrons, they were still painting with tempera. Florence was the hub of the Renaissance and I am sure he would have some amazing stories. I would ask him to walk me through Florence and tell me how it was at the time.
Follow Marie Hiot on Instagram and shop her works.
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5 Good Brands to Shop Instead of Lululemon
credit: Girlfriend Collective
Ask yourself if it’s worth buying from a man who doesn’t believe in diversity (Lululemon’s founder, Google it, I don’t want to give this man space).
Girlfriend Collective: POC owned, cute, recycled activewear for everyday workouts or just bopping around town on errands.
Sweaty Betty: London based activewear and lifestyle brand that empowers women with ‘a grab-my-hand, let’s-go-for-it-now spirit’. Ships worldwide.
Alo Yoga: The most Los Angeles brand you’ll ever wear with its mantra being all about mindful movements and bringing yoga to the masses. Contemporary, minimalist and worth the luxury price point.
Jeanne the Label: Australian activewear brand that focuses comfort and fashion with minimalism and quality, lasting fabrics. Ships worldwide.
Parade: Technically it’s an underwear brand, yet has branched into apparel items. Best thing about the brand is that it celebrates diversity like it’s a parade (hence the name) and is good for the planet as well as the soul. You can use our special 20% off code “dnamag.co” on your next order.
My weekend plans include rewatching Saltburn, because I want to be entertained and Past Lives, because I want to cry again (in a good, healing way). I leave you with a mood to remind that the smallest thing can make you happy for a moment (and it’s free).
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