Money Money Money...
I have never linked to another blog before, but wow this one really spoke to me. (Thank you KM from Facebook – oh, and I loved the link to your art, I’ve shared it with quite a few.)
Seems a man in England got tired of his wealth and gave it all to charity: http://neatorama.cachefly.net/money-happiness.htm The story itself is fascinating as it reminds me of an episode on House, in which a billionaire, whose young son was dying of an undiagnosed illness, decided the illness was his Karma for having accumulated so much wealth, and, in an effort to make the boy well, the billionaire knowingly made a very bad business decision, which resulted in his going bankrupt, but the boy got well.
More fascinating, however, than this man in England giving away all his money are the comments the post generated. Some of those comments are funny. Some are crude. And some, like the post written by Hebrew Hammer, which I copy below, are well thought out:
First of all, if the guy wants to give away his money because he feels it has no value for him, there’s no problem with him going for it. More power to him, in fact. With that said, a couple of observations:
1. I think Karl is sadly misguided if he believes that money leads to misery, and that material wealth inevitably blinds one to the source of true happiness (because of an assumed preoccupation with material things).
Happiness results more from one’s outlook on life, one’s social interactions, and one’s own assessment of self-worth than from material possessions. In short, happiness is more of a product of intangibles than a measurable dollar amount, and this is relevant because if Karl feels that he will be able to “buy” happiness by turning the idea of material possessions and happiness on its head by giving all of his money away, I think he’s going to be very disappointed (and broke).
This article only provides a glimpse into Karl’s thinking, but I think it’s fair (and obvious) to say that Karl has been spending a lot of his life looking for happiness down dead-ends (the pursuit of money, for example), that he’s going to find out that there are no shortcuts to happiness, and that there is no way to buy it–either by amassing wealth or giving it away.
Given this, it follows that being rich and happy is possible with a positive mindset, and that if Karl is trying to buy his way into happiness by becoming poor, he’s making a mistake that is just as bad as trying to buy his happiness by making as much money as possible.
2. I hope Karl has a plan for living with his much more modest means, because I would worry for a guy that’s broke, unhappy, and an emotional wreck.
3. To the many posters who can’t read, it’s not $3 million dollars, it’s £3 million pounds, and there is a difference (the pound is worth more, meaning his fortune in dollars is higher than 3 million).
Good luck Karl; I hope you find what you’re looking for.
