Arthur C. Brooks published a powerful piece in the Sunday edition of the New York Times entitled, “Love People, Not Pleasure.”  Throughout the article, Brooks discusses the difference between happiness and unhappiness (which he argues are not polar opposites) and that our feelings of discontent and unhappiness arise from “loving things, [and] using people.”  The article is beautifully written and rich with examples to prove his thesis.  This paragraph particularly resonated with me:

Love people, use things.

Easier said than done, I realize. It requires the courage to repudiate pride and the strength to love others — family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, God and even strangers and enemies. Only deny love to things that actually are objects. The practice that achieves this is charity. Few things are as liberating as giving away to others that which we hold dear.