With several ‘Happiness and Wealth,’ books and reports appearing in the media these past few months, the ‘chatterarti,’ have been given much food for thought. Yet, whilst the liberal wing of the media are at last beginning to grasp the notion that wealth can never bring real contentment, they only understand it from an intellectual perspective. They can’t really grasp the reality of it. This was brought home to me recently by a letter to one of the papers. The writer was responding to an article about the Spending Review cuts, “apparently it now seems that money doesn’t bring happiness.” This person had obviously read a a review on one of those reports, and was trying to come to terms with the idea. The point is though that he didn’t feel it himself, he only believed what the article told him. That’s the trouble with many people; they will only believe something when they are told it is so.
We’re out of touch with our inner selves, our true nature; we have lost the understanding that that real happiness cannot be bought. This should be as clear as daylight to us, it should be a gut instinct. After all, the most liberated and enlightened beings throughout the ages have only achieved real awakening once they have grasped that desire is but hindrance to enlightenment.
The key here though is to understand that avoidance of something can be just as much, if not more of a barrier to liberation, then attachment. There is nothing wrong with money and material wealth per say, it’s just that we have come to see materialism as the be all and end all of existence. Our delusions encouraged and cemented by the machinations and manipulations of a very cleaver and all-powerful marketing machine. A machine whose role is to constantly churn out the dogma of materialism. ‘Buy, buy buy,’ it shrills, ‘don’t miss out on this amazing offer, this sofa, car, plasma wide screen TV etc.. etc.. etc can be yours for ONLY/JUST £599.99. Hurry, hurry, while stocks last!’
The early 20th century mystic Gurdjieff once observed, that the inhabitants of planet earth are asleep and so most of them are. Try to convince someone digging about in the dirt in some for a few seeds and weeds to feed their family in many parts of the world that you are 'poor.' And observe their reaction
It’s time to come out and be proud to be labelled ‘poor,’ to dispel the stigma that having little money, equates to a life of misery and a lack of ambition. Those of us who are 'poor,' can show others, that there is all to be gained by living a life where one happily forsakes the trimmings of consumerism.
If the writers of those happiness reports and books really want to understand that contentment is available here and now, and not just an intellectual proposition. They only have to spend 10 minutes in the company of any truly liberated being.
Who wants to be a Zeroaire?
Would I become a 'Zeroaire'? Probably not if I could help it. The pursuit and spending of money are not my main focus in life, but it is a useful thing to have both to make my own life comfortable and the lives of people I care about. Old age without enough money, in particular, can be dire and we've recently seen more than we wanted of what kind of 'care' the state can provide. If I were poor I couldn't drive down to see my parents and transport heavy loads for them and I would have been unable to help my aunt get the care she needs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input Karin. I'm saying that whatever position we find ourselves in, wealthy or not, we can just enjoy the situation and not desire more. Of course there is a line in the sand, where poverty means degrading and health threateningweariness, but not many, if any people in the western world would ever get to that position. My partner and I have a joint income of under £10,000 a year, we have a car due to our isolated location), and eat good wholesome foods, our telly cost a fiver. We don't need or desire any more. Oh and I drive to see my mother who lives 70 miles away once every few months too.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you again
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