ALAIN DE BOTTON'S LIST

"Mankind is perpetually the victim of a pointless and futile martyrdom, fretting life away in fruitless worries through failure to realise what limit is set to acquisition and the growth of genuine pleasure." Lucretius, quoted in The Consolations of Philosophy.

"Happiness may be difficult to attain. The obstacles are not primarily financial." from The Consolations of Philosophy.

Alain de B's acquisition list begs the question (about acquisition), but only for an extreme Buddhist, so it's as good a place to start as any:

1. some form of shelter
2. friends
3. a garden, "to avoid superiors, patronisation, infighting and competition". Of course, it is mightily hard to obtain one in London, but per se, a plot of earth may be 'owned' in some sense, or occupied, or just there to surround you! Even here.
4. time to think/read/meditate
5. er, he finishes with a joking desire for a reincarnation of a Madonna by Bellini. He's gently suggesting that the desire for a soul-mate might remain in any romantic heart, and OK, he has a point. But he's bending the rules! (And how many of today's Bellini's Madonna lookalikes would be interested in Alain without his lucrative book deals?)

What does Buddha say? What would Puskas do? What about Jesus, Nietzsche, Proust and all the great names that have graced this little group of blogs? And what about you? This is my suggestion box. Drop in your lists. They've got to be practical, and honestly drawn from the peaks of your experience.