Thursday, February 9, 2012

OH, TO BE HAPPY!

Did you read The Economy and You? If you think  you're happy, don't. It's an illusion. According to the Wharton School study you can only be happy with money. In fact there is a direct relationship between the amount of happiness you have and the amount of money you have.
For instance, we all know how happy (or at least by outward appearances) Mark Zuckerberg is - 27 and worth billions - he's got it made (OK, so he is basically a jerk and has no friends, will never know if a woman loves him or his money, can't go anywhere without bodyguards, worries constantly about his financial people ripping him off and is destined to live a long and, by most standards, a miserable life). Michael Jackson is dead but everyone knows how much he enjoyed life with his vast fortune.  Warren Buffet enjoys his wealth so much that he plans to leave none of it to his family when he dies lest it ruin their lives. Charlie Sheen seems like a pretty happy guy, as does a boatload of wealthy movies stars, politicians, and other glitterati.
 
I admit it, I really don't know any truly rich people personally. But I do know a lot of people who AREN'T rich and just about all of them seem to be pretty happy. How deluded they must be.

Tell me, what do you think? Is there a direct relationship between the amount of money you have and the amount of happiness/satisfaction you have in life? Leave your comments below. 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Consider the contrast between the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The banks of the Jordan are surrounded by trees and greenery, but nothing lives around the Dead Sea. The reason is that there is no outlet. When the water flows into that sea, it stays there. Eventually the salts accumulate and poison the water.

This is a powerful analogy of two ways of viewing finance as a means to achieving happiness. The Dead Sea compares to the world's system, which is based on accumulation and preservation of wealth - the goal is to get enough so you can have enough. But this approach results in self-centered stagnation. People who follow this plan mistakenly believe it's the path to security. But what they fail to understand is that hoarding makes their lives spiritually unfruitful and hinders the good works God wants them to do.