Portrait: Jonathan Mann

“I feel jealous of friends who have a lot of physical space. Albeit in a sort of keeping up with the Joneses sort of way. I covet their space, their house, or their land. I covet that with no actual reason and if I ask myself if I’d be happier with that space, realistically, I wouldn’t be. It’s just wanting. In the same way that I want the new iPhone because it’ll make me happy but it won’t because of course it won’t.

I think everyone finds it somewhat difficult to be content. Happiness is a fleeting state; and you wouldn’t want it to be anything else. I am happy, but sometimes I’m not. One of the things that makes me feel unhappy is jealousy.

I can remember being like 12 and really wanting a basketball hoop. ‘This basketball hoop will make me happy!’ I remember having that feeling, then I got it, and it didn’t make me as happy as I thought it would. That’s just life. We’re sort of complete in our incompleteness.”

—Jonathan Mann (@songadaymann)