I googled on that phrase and got millions of hits! There are books on the subject, famous people
quoted, and who knows how many others as I just looked at a few pages.
I grew up in the 50’s with parents and relatives who grew up
before the depression and survived it when it happened. They grew up poor, but
didn’t know it mostly because most everyone else they knew were in the same
boat.
Many had the same recollections; they were happy because of
their faith in God, their families and their friends. They worked hard for what they got and
appreciated what they had.
Now we live in a different world. We have faster and better
communication via TV, radio and the internet.
We are plagued by temptation to have more; more toys, cars, cell phones,
clothes, vacations……….. what else?
All this marketing certainly helps business and the economy but it also
now shows people how poor they are. Is
that good?
In my book “Connecting Peace, Purpose &
Prosperity” I suggest that joy and
inner peace are our number 1 need in life.
Most would agree that happiness does not come from wealth or material
things, but we certainly need to make a living to provide for us and our
families. We also need to have a purpose
which I believe is to help other people, right out of the Bible and most
religions that I know of.
I believe very strongly in helping other people, admittedly
for some selfish reasons as well.
Helping others brings me out of myself, my problems and lets me see how
good I have it in my life. But helping
others must be done for their good, or the effort is lost.
WE MUST HELP THE POOR!
But, are we really doing that with all the messages we
send? I started writing that people have
testified that they were poor but didn’t know it; does it help for them to now
know it and realize how much they are missing?
I’m not referring to the base needs, but all the other stuff we
see. We also have politicians telling us
over and over that we have injustice in our system, is that helpful or is it
just disheartening? We hear many harshly
criticizing the wealthy for being greedy and condemn that notion vehemently.
But…… with all
the products and stuff out there, I question whether we can ever provide for
everyone enough so that they can buy all the things the “greedy”
can. Are we promoting the insatiable
wants that we criticize the greedy as having?.
So my question is: are we helping the poor and lower income
folks with their lives or teaching them to be greedy like the ones we don’t
respect? Are they better off listening
to all the politicians debate equality and “discovering” they have it
bad, or were they better off when they “didn’t know it”?
That is not so say we shouldn’t help disadvantaged
people. My thesis is simply that I
believe people really want to be happy; to live lives that are full of joy,
happiness and peace. That includes
making enough to survive, living within one’s means, and giving to others when
possible. Like my parents and
grandparents did, and they were happy!
