I traveled for several months across the country

and I stayed with different host families along the way.

What I found to be consistently true with everyone I met

is that all of our suffering is self-inflicted.

The folks who complained the most about their health, for example,

were the ones who served bacon-wrapped meatloaf for dinner, with pie and ice cream for dessert.

[nervous laughter in the audience]

And the families who complained the most about not having enough money, about "struggling to get by,"

they were living in gated communities,

with two-car garages, and a private pool in the back yard.

I looked around and thought, "These people are so poor, all they have is money."

"They're still missing the one thing that actually makes us rich."

We are far beyond survival,

yet as a culture, we tend to cover our own eyes, and then cry that it is dark.

After a few months of observing this, the pain in my heart became way too much to bear.

I wanted to surround myself with people who were at least consciously aware of our habitual tendency to self-destrcut.

So I moved into a Zen monastery, completely off the grid, with no cellular or internet connection.

it was wonderful!

[laughter]

My intention was to make it my home,

but after a year at two different temples,

I realized that I am of no benefit to the world if I keep myself tucked away at a monastery somewhere,

and there WAS something else besides despair in everyone I met:

There was a hunger for inner peace, for tranquility,

for that internal conflict to stop.

But we can't all take a year off to live in the mountains,

and the first time we DO try meditating,

we often end up with one eye closed,

and the other one checking the time.

[laughter]

No patience whatsoever.

Our attention span has gotten extremely short, hasn't it?

Thanks to text messages and tweets,

we consider anything over.. what is it? 160 characters?

too long to read.

So even when people are interested in inspiration,

and there is no shortage of motivational books out there,

those books are simply too thick and intimidating for most of us.

I envisioned a very simple guide to being happy,

and in it just two words:

Be grateful.

Be grateful. Because gratitude has a way of turning what we have into "enough".

And THAT is luxury. THAT is being rich.

Now that TED is challenging us

to come up with the important elements that will dictate the success of our future cities...

Well, success means being happy.

So if we're going to design a successful city,

we need to make sure the people in it are happy.

But how do we do that?

We have been so terribly misguided by the notion

that happiness is something we have to pursue.

And it's in that pursuit of happiness that we have actually lost our way.

So instead of chasing happiness like a hamster on a wheel,

I say slow down...

Sit.

Make "Sit Happen"

There is nothing you need to buy.

There is nowhere you need to go.

Just a few minutes each day of taking inventory of everything in your life worth appreciating,

is the first step we can take to guiding the next generation

away from this growing sense of entitlement,

and toward a deeper appreciation for life itself.

We casually say things like, "Take a deep breath."

The breath is not something we just "take".

Breathing is a gift.

It is a miracle that is offered to us over and over again,

yet much like our health, we often take it for granted right up until the moment we no longer have it.

You see, "SOMETHING" is making your heart beat right now,

your lungs function, the grass grow, and the planets spin.

That "something" is keeping us alive,

and even though we can't see it,

we put a lot of trust in it to wake us up tomorrow morning.

We don't KNOW that it will, we blindly trust it.

So whether you've ever admitted it before or not,

what you have is faith.

And it doesn't matter whether you call it "God", "The Universe", "Mother Nature" or "Father Time",

because the name you give it, isn't as important as the appreciation you have for it.

Your beliefs don't make you a better person, your behavior does.

So let's promote gratitude in the same way that "going green" has become so popular.

By doing that, we would be bridging the gap between rich and poor communities,

because everybody's life would be enriched.

By changing the perspective from which we view the world,

if we look at it through the lens of love and gratitude,

we will transform people.

We will transform places.

And we will transform the way we do things.

So when I sat down to think of ways to improve our current living situation to a new "version"... a new "City 2.0,"

I found it crucial not to think small or limit this project to one community,

but to think BIG, and I mean globally!

Because if we're going to create a city with gratitude at its core,

we want to create a platform that can be replicated,

so that our city is not an anomaly, but the new standard for all future communities.

So who is this "We" that I keep talking about?

Who is this organization of people,

who are going to get together and take on the responsibility of making these really important changes?

It is us. It is you and I. We are that organization.

We can tap directly into people's hunger for inspiration

through our daily interactions with our friends,

with our co-workers,

and through social media.

[laughter]

Don't rely on government or television to be the leaders of hope and positivity.

You, yourself, can become that beacon of light!

So let's plant seeds of compassion in the minds and hearts of the next generation,

so that they can sprout into the most empowered and optimistic leaders of tomorrow.

We can do this.

It starts with you making "Sit happen".

Sit happens in my household every day.

[laughter]

By nursing our spiritual health,

we, as individuals, can create global change.

That is my message to the world,

because I believe that gratitude is an idea worth spreading.

Namaste.

[clapping]