IS MONEY THE TICKET TO A HAPPY LIFE?
You may have heard about bandits who waved guns in their victim's face, demanding: "Your money or your life!" Today, this legendary demand is echoed in a challenging dilemma facing all of us—especially those of us living in affluent lands. This time, however, it is no bandit that presses the demand. Rather, it is the increased emphasis that society places on money and material success.
Such emphasis has raised a whole new set of issues and concerns. At what cost should money and material things be pursued? Could we be content with less? Are people actually sacrificing the real life on the altar of materialism? Is money the ticket to a happy life?
Among human desires and passions—legitimate or otherwise—the love of money vies for the lead. Unlike the desire for sex and food, the mania for money can be constant and unending. Old age does not seem to assuage it. In many cases advancing years may actually increase a person's interest in or concern about money and what it can buy.
Greed seems to be escalating. The main character in one popular movie said: "Greed works. Greed is good." Although many referred to the 1980's as the Age of Greed, what came before and after shows that human reaction to money has changed little through the years.
What probably is new is that so many people see opportunities to satisfy instantly the desire for more. It seems that much of the world most of the time spends most of its energy producing and acquiring more and more things. You may agree that having material possessions and spending money have become a passionate—and often most imaginative—endeavor in modern-day life.
But are people happier as a result?
But are people happier as a result?
extracted from awake!
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