Reason 1, Will you ever be rich?
First reason comes from simple math. How much money do you need to be happy from your current situation? I am sure you are spending a whole lot of time thinking about this question in your life. Let's look at some numbers.
I am sure whatever the amount you are thinking in dollars easily comes into the average earnings of top 1% of your society. Now, that there is a problem, as it is likely you belong to 99% of the population. What are the odds of you moving into top 1% of this so called average income category. Very very unlikely. It is a doomed fate for most of the unlucky 99% of us. I am not talking about the ones who are being successful, with constant effort and perseverence, you might. There is no magical formula, it will be a constant push and hard work. Yet you are not guarenteed this is going to work, or stay there once you reach. As you can see, if we tie our happiness with finacial success, invariably lot of our society will become unhappy. As they have shattered dreams at the end of their lives. And the truth is we don't have to.
We don't have to tie our happiness with money. After all money is just a value we given to valueless papers by social conventions. Instead you can give a value to something else.
What about art? What about kindness? What about self discovery?
Reason 2: World most happieset person, is he rich?
Mattiheu Ricard is considered as the most happiest person in the world. How much money do you think he possess? He owns nothing. I don't think he assoicates ownership to his own robe that the is wearing as He is a french Buddhist monk. Does this really mean the happiness is inversely propotionate to the money? More money some person has less happy they are? Is that the devorce rates of top owners of our country are higher?
I would not dare to leave a conclusion as such. Infact we can disscuss this issue in our case scenario next. However, as I can see, happiness having no assoication with money, would be more appropriate, than a positive or negative impact.
Reason 3: Can you stay happy rich?
Imagine you get a 1000 dollars from a lottery. What would you do? If you take a piece of paper and plan, what you would do, you will find out that to do everything 1000 dollars is not enough. What about 1000000 dollars. I am sure you think you would be a lot happier with it. But the problem is, you will feel this as long as you do not have this. Once it becomes something you posess, it would not be enough for your needs, and the mind would move into making it 1000001 dollars instead. And you will find out suddenly there are Lamborginis and Privates Jets that you cannot buy. If you look at this problem, it is exactly like the Jim Carry suggested, about his search for golden globes. Money is a moving target, which we can never reach, and once you do reach, it will move further. Why do you think millioniers want to become billioners and billioners want to race to mars?
Exactly, that is because they haven't understood happiness is not in numbers anyway.
In conclusion to why money cannot buy happiness
In conclusion, we can say that happiness is entirely, inside us. It is not external. You can just be happy, just the way you are. And that is no more illusion than happiness provided by money. I am sure, everyone needs money, cannot become a monk, yet we are going to suffer, if it becomes the source of our happiness. I would rarther, believe, it is coming from innner peace, or truth, or awareness. In that way, the happiness would never dry up in my life.
What is your philosophy of happiness? Do you still believe in numbers?
Thank you for reading why money cannot buy happiness
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