Money

[Harut]

but how healthy and happy can you be with an empty pocket?

 

you don't have money, you don't get enough nutrition, you get depressed, and so forth.

and there you go, no money no health.

 

you don't have money, you don't get to go to the school you want, you don't get to drive the car you want, you don't get to buy the computer ( ) you want, you can't buy a present for your loved ones, and so forth.

and there you go, no money no happiness.

[Sip]

I am guessing you live somewhere in Amsterdam then I have a buddy that used to go "shopping" there everytime he went back home (Serbia) to visit the family. But he's married now.

 

Money can certainly make a LOT of things happen. It can get you true love, it can even go a LOOOONG way to improve you health. But I think money is only good up to a certain level ... above that critical level required for survival, it has diminishing returns just like anything else.

[hyebruin]

Love hope and courage!

With your house burned down, your job gone, your account closed, and even your frail health, something inside of you shines so bright even if for a moment to remind you that you are not alone in the universe...that you have guides to help you through the hard times and...then you see the hope in your heart and the love that springs forth to give YOU strength to fight your battles!

[Stormig]

My dear Harut,

 

Many times I have envied the simplicity of a shepherd's or farmer's lifestyle. Barely enough to eat, but not unhappy; perhaps happy if they know how to revere the bubbling brook and the setting sun and the blue sky. Street dogs and cats are also hungry; so are birds. Yet they are carefree and do whatever they want and they never die of heart-attacks and other stress-caused "modern" diseases that our urban types do.

Sure, we don't have to worry about surviving as much anymore, but we succumb to other things. Think about the wars and Man's destructive power, using knowledge more for crap than for benefit.

Man has forgotten that he should eat to live, not live to eat. Likewise, we are slaves to money. Spend decades of your life with two to three weeks' leave a year, 60-hr weeks month after month. Yes, we have to, and farming is no easy task, either. However, farmers are usually healthy (REAL exercise that flows the eustress out of their bones and none of those gym funnies, plenty of fresh air, naturally-grown food) and have been for centuries. What stress and unhealthy lifestyles take from you, no amount of medication or therapy can give back.

By the way, don't buy too easily into the "not enough to eat, not healthy" mantra. I have been told that studies show that those who went through tough times during the World Wars had life-spans longer than those that had continued comfortable lives elsewhere. Modern man eats too much and yet is able to starve himself of nutrients through unbalanced diets. Of course, I am not talking about starving to the extent Africans do. However, it is not something most people have to worry about. It is a non-issue. You would be surprised how much less you can eat and still be vibrant. Don't we observe this in pets, too? Overfeed them until they look like piglets, become lazy, and sometimes even die of heart-attacks like we do, while those kept by knowledgeable owners are lean and energetic?

 

When it comes to happiness and material wealth, I also remember this story my mother had told me when I was young. It goes something like this:

 

There is a noble family that lives in a palace. They have all the material possessions the world has to offer. However, they are most unhappy. (Spoiling themselves to the point where nothing satisfies them anymore.)

One day, they are sitting outside, sulking again. They hear shrieks and laughs of joy coming from behind the palace wall. This prompts them and they go after the laughter.

They end up at the house of a poor, overcrowded family. Asking them what makes them so happy, they get the reply, "Oh, we have a golden ball, we kept tossing this golden ball and having fun with it, this is the reason for our merriness." (Of course, this "golden ball" item at first reminds you of the one lost in The Princess and the Frog.)

The noble family contemplates the situation and immediately orders that a golden ball be fashioned. It is created for them.

However, little happiness does it bring. They toss the heavy object back and forth, sometimes are unable to catch it and get blows and bruises.

Defeated and dotted black and blue all over, they go back to the humble hut. "You," the enraged noble points his finger at the head of the house, "you told us your golden ball brings you happiness, but so far it has brought us nothing but misery. What have you to say about that??"

The head of the family smiles. "Oh I see," he says. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. My wife had a child last month, as plump as can be, with a face as bright as the moon and a smile worth the world. This is why we called this member of our family who has brought us much joy, our 'golden ball.'"

 

Moral of the story: don't be fooled by what you see, for less material robs you of nothing too important.

 

Of course, this is an oversimplification. I for one couldn't live without my PC, my books, etc., because I like to educate myself, and an educated brain IS a happy one. However, I like the message conveyed.

 

To add to what Bruin has said, I think you could also think of "health" as mental health even if physical is lacking or has been taken away from you. Indeed, it takes will and a desire to be happy to keep your mind healthy and to be happy, and also a healthy mind to keep it going. They go together. Indeed, it is no easy task when one is handicapped to put up with it. One can only hope for the support and comfort of loved ones.

 

Also, last year I got an e-mail forwarded to me. This e-mail addressed this topic and said that memories were what couldn't be taken from us even if our health was, for it is the comfort of these we are left with when "imprisoned" and/or all alone (I feel sorry for the elderly people). Therefore, it said, we should experience unforgettable moments not once a year but everyday when we have the means. So true. One of the reasons why I smile when I am walking (and it probably looks weird to people) is that I am recounting good memories to myself when I have the time to be alone and think.

[Harut]

is there anything more essential than money?

[Stormig]

Health and happiness, neither of which money can buy.

[nairi]

You obviously don't know where to shop.

[Sip]

Of course I totally 100% agree with the PC part, but totally 100% disagree with the last part. As education, knowledge, and intelligence level goes up, level of happiness goes down. I am very convinced of that.

 

The supposedly "happy" people I see are those that have somehow convinced themselves that they are happy. Convincing a smart person of something is not that easy ... especially if it's something that doesn't really exist and is just an illusion.

[Stormig]

I think I am happy, Sip. At least under my circumstances, given who I am. I'm fairly healthy. I have been working on some things and getting to see the results (or getting close to that).

When you mention people who have convinced themselves that they are happy, I can't help but think of how I think about some people as like that. I find a lot of people too compliant to mainstream, not sufficiently individualistic, their happiness depending on the approval of some group. Those are the people around me. Now think about people all over the world. They are born into families and hence into religions which they follow all their lives because they knew of no other. There are women all over the Muslim world who are somehow "happy" with being work-horses - wash, sweep, cook, wash (feet), produce babies, submit (to husband), look after children, wince (after beating) - with no other choice. But they are provided for. Is that happiness? Not in my idea.

Maybe someone else, who is totally adventurous, is thinking of me in the same terms. Like millions of people before me, go to school, graduate, go to college, graduate, find work, get married, make children (like billions of women before me, same old, same old), get back to work, retire, look after grandkids... But I am at peace with myself because I know I am trying to create possibilities for myself. I may or may not stick to such.

 

And I was thinking of "education" more as "self-education." And I think a person who can self-educate themselves (to an extent) is on the road to realizing themselves, which is a great thing. So, yes, a person who knows themselves is more confident and happy than one who can't spare time for themselves (I am not talking about beauty-making). And smart people can be convinced that great expectations will only lead to your own frustration if you don't know where to stop. Hence they try to make the best and voila! They are happy.

[Raffi the Illuminator]

Excellent point. Indeed this is something that "plagues" our western culture (materialism) and seems to be growing. I also consider "self-education" for myself to be something that brings genuine happiness. I truly think materialism is something that we should actually try to steer clear from for many reasons, some of which you have already stated. These material possessions do not bring happiness in the true sense. Sometimes we "aquire" or spend because it gives us a sense of fulfillment or sometimes just to "fill up the void".

I'm not sure who said it, but a philosopher once said "take away a rich man's material possessions, and he is left naked and vulnerable -- and he knows this." or something to that effect.

[vava]

Happiness comes from within, folks!

 

We are very lucky people, and I'm afraid many of us don't realise it. All of our basic necessities (food, clothing, shelter) are firmly within our grasp. But it's not just the basics - we lead lives of 'ease'. We have the luxury to read and grow intelluectually/culturally, to explore our environs and to travel. We have the opportunity to entertain ourselves through music, danse, film, etc. For many of us, a weekend skiing, or hiking, or 4x4'ing in the countryside is not merely a dream, but a frequent reality. What more could we ask for??

 

Naturally, money is a requisite for some of the above - and most of us are willing to work hard for our earnings. But money alone cannot make one happy. We have to stop considering happiness as a commodity - as a 'have, or 'have not'.

 

We create our own happiness - part of it is self actualisation (ie for Stormy, 'self-education', because for Stormy, that is what brings happiness) and part of it is spiritual. It is up to ourselves to find what makes us feel happy. I don't think it's a very difficult task.