Show me the money!!

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Yep, it's what makes the world go round.  At least that is what many think.  To some money is the root of all evil.  Others feel as though money is the measure of success.  The more money you have the more successful you must be.  I once felt that if I ever wanted to be completely happy then money was the answer. It's easy to say that money can buy happiness, but then why do I see so many people who have money who look miserable?  I also have noted that there are people who don't have a lot of money and their happiness is tainted because of this.  I have said many times in the past that if you cannot find happiness without boat loads of money, that happiness will still elude you when or if the money comes.

What I want to talk about today is why we are so fixated on money as the source of our happiness, and why so many people have fallen into the trap of trying to obtain money no matter what the ultimate cost might be.  I invite you into my world for just a few minutes and I hope that these few minutes must might change your life in a very positive way.

Money, whether it be the good old green back, the pound, the lira, the euro, is almost as mesmerizing as anything on the face of the earth.  It seems to be the basis behind almost any decision.  Can you move to a  new location?  "Not likely as you won't be making the money you're making now" so says a good friend.  Can you afford to buy the home of your dreams?  "I wouldn't dare just in case the bottom falls out of the market, I loose my job, or anything else that might come up un-expectantly."  How many people do you know that base almost every decision on money?  Is it any wonder we are in the mess we are in right now.

We have gotten to a point in our society where we have become the "haves" and "have nots".  Don't misunderstand me, I know one needs money to provide the necessities of life.  A roof over your head, food in your belly, and clothes on your back.  What never ceases to amaze me is the lengths people will go to to obtain more money, and while trying to get to the top of the heap, give up the one thing that could really bring them happiness, that being peace of mind.  I've had jobs that paid me an obscene amount of money, but did that bring me happiness?  Not really.  Certainly I had stuff, but all the stuff I had still did not fill the void that existed in my life.  I've also had jobs that others would laugh about, but yet I found myself content and living a life of bliss and contentment.

Let me say this, and if it makes you angry, then so be it:  if you making money is the bases for all of your happiness, then you will forever be without true happiness.  If you equate the amount of money in your bank account with the joy in your life, then you will be as empty as Fort Knox.  Until such time as one can find happiness outside of money, you could have an endless supply of money and still be missing true happiness.  We have done our young children a disservice by pushing them into careers simply because they will be elevated up the social ladder.  If you can teach your children that happiness begins with knowing the reason for being here, the purpose that resides in each and everyone of us, then and only then will true riches follow them throughout their life.

I would not trade what I am doing now for all the riches in the world.  Money is such a non-issue for me.  That's not because I have a never-ending supply of it, but rather because my joy comes from teaching and writing and I could never put a price tag on the happiness that comes to me while doing it.  I like money, I like what you can do with money, but if having money means giving up the one thing that I truly love doing, then money will have to go away.  I hear people who say, "it's easy for you to talk about this, you have money."  Well truth be told, I have been rich and I have been poor, and as the saying goes, rich is better.  Well I always thought I believed that last statement, but no longer.  I will tell you that running or chasing after money is never going to bring you true happiness even if you catch it.  True happiness is knowing that you are doing what you were created to do, and there is no amount of money in the world that would be sufficient for you to give up on your destiny.  For all the years that I chased after money, I can confidently say that I would give it all away, the money that is, if it stood in the way of me walking in my destiny.

Please realize that I am not saying that just because you have money that it is impossible to be walking in your destiny.  What I am saying is that if people would spend as much time and effort on finding their destiny as they did trying to make a buck or two, the whole money issue would work itself out in no time.  Try to find happiness first, and then I can almost assure you that the money will follow.  Show me the money, but not until I find true happiness first.