Garden State

"We must cultivate our garden." For some reason the first thing that came to my head when I read this was the economic principle of trade. The idea that everyone is better off when people specialize on one single thing and trade to get the most out of our time and resources. Similarly,I interpreted the garden state as a place where everyone would be focused on doing one particular task for the greater good of the rest. Like a family on a farm. Everyone does one chore everyday so that the entire family is able to be self-sustained through the everyone's efforts. In this ideal state, everyone would be content because they would be able to do what they love and not be short of their necessities. If I could do what I love, be happy, and have my needs met, I would want to live in this ideal state. It sounded good to me at first, but it got complicated when I thought about the things that truly makes me happy. Personally I like doing many things. Of course I have my passions and there are certain things that I like to do more than others, but I get a sense of satisfaction in knowing I can do many things. I would be the one on the farm that milks the cows, then feed the chickens, then plant some vegetables, then cook some meals and finish the day off by pulling weeds. I can't really see myself being stuck doing one single thing. My interests change constantly and the things that make me happy change as well, so it's hard for me to see this so called "garden state" implemented in my life. Aside from my personal preferences, I think it'll still hard to imagine this ideal state being a reality in today's society simply because of some ideals and morals that many people have today. Many people like to compare themselves and be better than those around them. Unless people change that mindset of theirs, they would never be able to live in a place like the "Garden State". They wouldn't be happy with just the basic necessities, they would want more and more. I still think it is this greed that drove Candide out of Eldorado. People measure their happiness by what they have materialistically which is why many people think that happiness is tied to wealth but really happiness is so much more than that.