To wonder what people actually expect and why they can’t just be happy to live simply?

It's just reality.

People are free to pursue their own version of happiness, but nobody deserves to be happy.

I think we can all agree that we'd like everybody to be happy (except nonses, abusers, violent criminals, scammers, etc), but happiness isn't something that is externally conferred, which makes the idea of it being deserved ludicrous.

A sliding scale, and individual to each person.
Thank you for your respectful reply.

Well, that viewpoint sounds like depression to me.

That's exactly what I'm saying.

I respect your reply. It has me questioning whether happiness isn't a static thing but a sliding scale that we all interpret differently. You appear to have a good grasp of, what for you is happiness, I would define as real contentment. Thank you for your perspective. You've given me something to consider. I like that very much.

Well, yes. Some people will be happy with the latest iphone, some will be happy with a walk in the woods looking at trees.
We are all different.
If you can afford whatever gets your dopamine going, then go for it. It is no one else's business really.

Tell that to the victim of the famine in China in the 70s.

Don't be a knob.

There are many fun things that don't cost much money. It largely depends on who you are doing them with or even if you are happy with your own company.

I am not sure what your point is. Are you saying no one deserves to be happy?

Why do they deserve to be happy? Why do they deserve a life that they consider to be worth living?

It's just meaningless drivel.

Who's job is it to provide their happiness and living standards?

I am glad I have a roof over my head, my bills are paid, and I have food to eat and clothes to wear.
Happiness should not be seen as a reward for things. I don't have a lot of money. I find happiness in the simple things. My dog playing, seeing buds on the trees in the spring, hearing my DP crack a silly joke.
But I am also allowed to spend money on things that make me happy too. A take away to eat infront of the TV watching a new DVD. Going out for a meal with a friend. I am into cross stitch as the moment so spent money on threads etc, and I will have a piece of homemade art at the end that will also make me happy and give me a sense of accomplishment.
I am not into all the latest tech stuff but I do have a VR headset which I absolutely love. It allows me to connect with my best friend who moved away. We play games and chat. My mum also has one and joins us. Our sessions are something I really look forward to each week. They don't make me content... they make me happy.

My therapy involved me celebrating the smaller things.... a way to build a collection of positive experiences, and see that my life has purpose and meaning too. Paying the bills was never listed on that.

Why do you think your interpretation of the OP is more valid than mine?

Like XenoBitch said my interpretation was that you should be happy with having the utmost basics one needs and no more.

As it happens, I don't agree with having to have the latest car/iPhone/insert latest obsession here. But I also don't agree that we should be happy with just the absolute basics. I think if you work hard, you should be able to enjoy more.

You, like your therapist, and most of humanity has confused happiness with contentment.

Happiness is your first child, your wedding day, the keys to your first home. These are rare and fleeting, rightfully so, they are gifts, rewards for a good life or good choices.

Nowadays westerners chase that high, that buzz of happiness that continues to elude them. They crave more and more and receive less and less.

Go back to your therapist, and within yourself, and ask the question: What am I really looking for in life? Is it happiness or simply contentment, stillness, calm?

I see what you're saying now. I think the OP's main point is at the end of their statement. What was once considered luxeries are now our norms. That we aren't satisfied with the simple things anymore and must elevate or experience to feel like we are normal is becoming more concerning.

The OP isn't wrong. The joy of being still, of living within your own space, no trappings, no demands, no expectations of "more" is pleasing. The contentment that rises from being more by existing less isn't easily understood. I found it a few years ago and I can't go back to my daily grind. There is beauty in emptiness, in a demand free existence.

Of course I'm speaking in absolutes. We all have desires and demands and obligations. But our lack of life balance is the point of this thread.

Everyone deserves to be happy. Everyone deserves a life worth living. Years of therapy drummed this into me.
How is that wrong?

Or may be you mean that people think they will be only be happy if they have xyz.

I think that part of the problem is that people believe and tell each other, and themselves, that they deserve to be happy and they deserve a certain standard of living.

Nobody deserves anything.

Just because you're alive, it doesn't mean that the stuff you need/want magically appears from the sky.

I interpreted the OP as you should be happy to have the basics and you should not expect more.
However, OP has not come back to clarify further.

You're still missing the point. If you need to be right in any part of your original statement then ok, you are correct, you've accurately stated a few examples of basic survival in modern society. But again, you're missing the point and intent of the original post. Stating unnecessary points that everyone agrees on sidelines the OP's message

Not really
If youre a "professional" then youre getting a decent wage

So dont buy a house or a car above your station and you'll be fine
The real issue is people thinking they deserve everything
No, you dont

You work hard and live within your means - then you will have money left over after bills

It really isnt difficult

The OP mentioned paying their mortgage, feeding their family and clothing their children. Those are the basics to survive.

You are exaggerating the OP's statement. They are clearly intimating that this incessant needs for luxuries that we now consider staples for a meaningful life makes no sense. The basics in life should be the norm and our contentment should be maintained there and not on whether we get takeout or satiate ourselves in frivolous things.

I think that’s the issue though. Two professionals having bust a gut to get great qualifications now can’t afford the lifestyle their parents had. And that’s a bit depressing, isn’t it? If you did all the right things, earn a fortune but a basic house has such a big mortgage you are skint at the end of every month, avocados or not.

The things you mention are on the bottom two tiers of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. That is to say that those are the absolute basics that one needs in order to survive.

Why shouldn't someone who works hard, full-time be able to afford something a little fun? Why can't they enrich their lives in some way?

Agreed!!!