Wealth
I think we need to rethink the concept of wealth. Ask most people to define a wealthy person they will say that a wealthy person is one with a lot of money. I think this is a very limited definition. Someone who has a lot of money is envied because they have a lot of choice and a lot of status however choice and status are not all that they seem.
While it is better to be materially wealthy than to be starving, the freedom of choice that having money brings is often no more than the freedom to make onesellf a slave to one's desires. Since one can always have something else, one is never satisfied with what one has.
The social status that our society gives to the wealthy completely disregards any moral or human values. One can be feckless or positively immoral but respected simply because one has lots of money. How shallow is that?
My definition of a wealthy man is one who wants for nothing. Even the fabulously rich can be (and very often are) consumed with the desire for more and so be mired in poverty. Someone living in a shack with barely enough to eat and clothe him or herself may see the value of every item they own and cherish the things that bring them joy and so be wealthier than Croesus since their wants are few.
Money does not guarantee happiness, health or wisdom. Why do we waste our lives in the pursuit of false wealth when those of use in the First World at least, and in Northern Ireland in particular, have more than we actually need not just to survive but to thrive also? If each of us could see what we have, we would realise we are wealthy beyond belief. Why struggle for more when you already have everything you'll ever need?
While it is better to be materially wealthy than to be starving, the freedom of choice that having money brings is often no more than the freedom to make onesellf a slave to one's desires. Since one can always have something else, one is never satisfied with what one has.
The social status that our society gives to the wealthy completely disregards any moral or human values. One can be feckless or positively immoral but respected simply because one has lots of money. How shallow is that?
My definition of a wealthy man is one who wants for nothing. Even the fabulously rich can be (and very often are) consumed with the desire for more and so be mired in poverty. Someone living in a shack with barely enough to eat and clothe him or herself may see the value of every item they own and cherish the things that bring them joy and so be wealthier than Croesus since their wants are few.
Money does not guarantee happiness, health or wisdom. Why do we waste our lives in the pursuit of false wealth when those of use in the First World at least, and in Northern Ireland in particular, have more than we actually need not just to survive but to thrive also? If each of us could see what we have, we would realise we are wealthy beyond belief. Why struggle for more when you already have everything you'll ever need?
posted by voluntarysimpleton at 12:13 PM
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