Spending time with the Sheikh and his family, I was struck at how grateful they were for small things, and how often. In Sumaiya and her sisters, I saw none of the vague dissatisfaction I’d seen flourish around me—indeed, in me, growing up. As a member of the American middle class, I was raised in a nation of strivers, a nation founded on the right to pursue happiness. Our discontent was productive. It got things done. The drive to do better propelled you through graduate school and up career ladders. Through spin classes and salary negotiations. A world of infinite favors didn’t yield
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