Is Money Everything?
July 6th, 2007Have you ever asked yourself, is money everything? I must admit there have been times in my life where I have certainly wondered if money is everything. Although the times I have been contemplating whether money is everything have been those times when I didn’t have much money and been wishing I had a whole lot more. I guess the only people who ask themselves this question are the people who would like or need more money in their lives. I don’t suppose anyone who had enough money for all they wanted or needed would ever wonder if money is everything, or would they.
I have often wondered just how important money really is since so many people wished they had more of it. Over the years I have heard people say things like, money is not the most important thing, or, money is the root of all evil. Well for me the jury is still out about this but my instincts tell me that money is not the root of all evil and whenever I earn more money or extra money comes my way it definitely makes me feel better. In fact I can never remember a time when I got some more money and I felt worse than I did before I got it. Still, that doesn’t answer the question, is money everything?
When I look at all the people I know or meet who do not like their job or tell me things like, I am so happy I won $50 in the weekend lottery or I hope I win the million dollar prize on Monday night Lotto. They follow up with things like, if I won a million dollars I would never have to work again, or, it would be like a dream come true, or even, I could finally do what I want with my life. Wow, hearing things like that really makes you wonder if indeed money is everything.
I am an Aussie and was raised in a great part of
Whenever I have walked down a main street in Sydney, Australia’s biggest and wealthiest city on a beautiful summer day I have never seen as many smiling happy people as when I have walked through a poor village in the middle of the Cambodian jungle or in the countryside of Northern Vietnam where the people have almost no money at all. What does this mean? Do people who have less money smile more if they have just enough? Do more affluent people need more money to make them happy? I think the answer to these couple of questions is yes. The more you have, the more you want and the more you think you need to be happy. Still, this doesn’t answer the question at hand.
What about people living in the African countries who are literally starving to death or who are dying from diseases that could be treated or at least helped by medicine if they had the money to buy it. Do these Africans ask themselves, is money everything? Or to them is food everything, or medicine to help them survive? Or does money represent food and medicine and therefore they do believe money is everything. The truth is I don’t know and I don’t suppose I could ever truly know or understand unless I was in someone elses shoes.
The more I wonder, is money everything, the closer I get to an answer, but perhaps that answer is only from my perspective or perhaps not. Although, what about things like love, good relationships, self satisfaction through accomplishment, the feelings you get from helping people and all the other stuff in life that is worth living for. Do these things represent something more valuable than money?
I suppose I could mention hundreds or thousands or even more examples of what might be considered more important than money but as far as I can see, what is certain is that money represents freedom. It gives freedom from hunger and disease and enough of it gives you freedom from that job you hate or it allows you to buy that fancy car you have always dreamed about that you thought would make you happy. Having more money might even give you the confidence to ask out that girl around the corner who you think would make you eternally happy.
In summary I think money is certainly important as it allows you more freedom, but is money everything? No, I don’t believe it is everything but if there was something that could be considered, everything, or the most important thing of all, I would have to say that yours dreams are everything. Your dream of getting that big house, of never having to work again, of meeting and having that ideal partner love you forever or maybe even the dream of getting enough to eat or the dream to survive is everything. However, once one dream comes true it then leads to another dream so as long as you keep dreaming you will get closer to having everything. So do not stop dreaming or you might lose everything.
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