At an all-you-can-eat-buffet dinner in a star-hotel, the resplendent sight of dishes – the display of the quality, quantity and variety – psychologically puzzles and we end up eating less than we had mentally mapped. Similar was the state when I stumbled upon the caption “Money and Happiness”, the main article carried by "Deccan Herald" (13/09/2012). My instant thoughts were abundant to dabble with, but, for a moment, just drew a blank.
Check it out; if there are a million volumes and materials on “Why money makes you happy?”, even more are there on “Why money makes you unhappy?” Internet imparts you good and bad information according to your choice. A knife can chop the vegetable, ladies’finger, as well as the finger of a lady. You also know money can be used for giving charity as well as abetting crimes.
The two words, money and happiness – the spice and soul – should always be refreshing and inspiring. While economists have given different definitions of money, the one I remember from my college days is the easiest and comfortable one: “Money is what money does” (Prof. Walkar). True?
You need money from cradle to the graveyard. If anyone says “I don’t want money”, the whole world will be one in dubbing him a “macro-mad”, or he is the biggest liar of the universe. But if you have more money, you are more happy? If there is no money, will there be less corruption? If some one says money may not buy happiness, I would sure like to try. Even God gives “special appearance” only if I buy a special entrance ticket.
How much is too much?
Or how much is “enough” to attain happiness? If you specify a figure, do you have the courage to stop it at that? Or if you don’t achieve the mark, will you be endlessly chasing the target? Finally, when you give up, you may wonder “OMG! I forgot to live”. If a person is pessimistic and/or neurotic, no amount of money will help him/her to be happy. Happiness is probably a feeling you get when you are doing what you really want to do.
Or how much is “enough” to attain happiness? If you specify a figure, do you have the courage to stop it at that? Or if you don’t achieve the mark, will you be endlessly chasing the target? Finally, when you give up, you may wonder “OMG! I forgot to live”. If a person is pessimistic and/or neurotic, no amount of money will help him/her to be happy. Happiness is probably a feeling you get when you are doing what you really want to do.
Also, it is part of our psyche to always compare ourselves with others. Thus, if I make a few hundred dollars more than my nephew or neighbor, I pretend to be happy. But there will always be somebody who makes more than I do, and I will always find a reason to be unhappy. May be chasing money for its own sake is destructive, but isn’t it equally damaging to have such a powerful instrument in your hands while pretending it has no importance?
Again, can money buy happiness? Well, it can help put the right conditions in place. Is it easier to be happy if you have food to eat, clothes to wear and a home to live in? Name any valuable goal in your life, and a little imagination will tell you that money might help. So earn money in a healthy, satisfying way, and spend it wisely, and you have a better chance to be happy.
I wish to share a passage from an article appeared in “Business Insider”:
“As an illustration of the striking disconnect between money and happiness, the average life satisfaction of Forbes Magazine’s 400 rich Americans was 5.8 on a 7-point scale. Yet the average life satisfaction of Pennsylvania Amish (a religious community which shuns the conveniences of modern society to live a simpler life) is also 5.8 despite the fact that their average annual salary is several billion dollars lower”.
Happiness is, the cliché-ridden “state of mind”. Tempted by the sight of something, we create a desire within, which in turn disturbs our otherwise calm mind. When the desire gets fulfilled, the mind again becomes calm, not durable, but lasts only as long as the next desire springs up. However, since we don’t have a fixed list of wants, we can’t decide how much money is enough. The wild goose chase goes on ……………
As some one said, "Money will buy you a fine dog, but only love can make it wag its tail".
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Your thoughts are welcome: krs1957@hotmail.com
A very balanced comparison and thoughtful article. Yes It is definitely not easy to be happy without money but with money also its not guaranteed. And the most difficult thing is to decide that I have enough now as our greedy nature never lets us do that. TX
ReplyDeleteWhile returning the comment in your response , i read your post and i found it great as how people see same things , as you may have gone through my blog , its also related to happiness and the link with money ..
ReplyDeleteAs you said , it depends on our choice , if we will use money to be happy or buy tension for us...
its great post .... it was nice as you shared