Living for wealth and missing out on life

[Scepcop]

I'd like to share this chapter I read in Darryl Sloan's book "Reality Check", which you can get at http://www.darrylsloan.com

Page 164

The wealth virus

The reason why it’s so easy to become materialistic is because
of the value we place on material. But what is the material
universe? It’s just a frequency your consciousness is tuned to.
It has no more solidity than a videogame. The pursuit of wealth
in the real world is the same in principle as scoring points in a
videogame. In life you can use your wealth to buy a new car; in
a game, when you accrue enough points, you might have the
choice of equipping your game character with a variety of
164

power-ups. The game ends, and the points vanish. Likewise,
life ends, and all contact with your wealth is gone forever.
Oh, sure, your wealth still exists in the world, and you may
feel a sense of satisfaction in leaving it to your sons and
daughters when you die. But let’s take a look at the way of life
you’re perpetuating. You’re born; you have a few years in which
to enjoy a childhood; then the business of making money
begins. At some point, you may get married and start a family.

Instead of enjoying your money sensibly whilst looking after
your family, the system dictates that you must make more and
more money, to invest in your children’s futures. So you work
harder and harder, thinking about your kids needing cars and
college later on. Now there is no room left for you to have a
life of your own – to pursue things you want to do. This kind
of altruism sounds commendable on the surface. But in living
like this, what are you really offering your kids? A chance to
live in exactly the same way you’re doing – to have a brief
childhood followed by a long life of slavery to the system, as
they seek to do for their own children what you did for them.

In principle it’s good to labour for your family’s future, but
it’s important that this doesn’t get out of control. When you
have a family, you can easily allow so much of your life to
revolve around preparation for the future instead of living in
the now. You become a slave to the future, never stopping to
realise that the future, being the future, never arrives. Wealth,
instead of being used for what it is – a means to an end –
becomes an insatiable monster that must be fed by you, then
by your sons, then by their sons, into infinity. Wealth itself
takes on more value than the lives that use it.

If we want to live a life that has any meaning, we need to
first have a life. And that means living in the now. The pursuit
of wealth turns you into a junkie to the future, always grasping
for what’s ahead and never stopping to enjoy what’s here. It
may sound selfish to claim the right to enjoy life in the now,
but if you deny that right to yourself, you perpetuate the system
that denies it to your children, too.

[ProfWag]

[craig weiler]

[Craig Browning]

As Joel Grey & Liza Minnelli said long ago, "Money Makes the World Go Around, the World Go Around. . . "

Then there's that famed Dolly Levy quote, "Money is just like manure, it does absolutely no good unless you spread it around."

But my favorite reference, which seems more applicable here, is that THE LOVE OF money is the root of ALL evil

Even Buddha begged on street corners in order to eat. Money and Materialism have their pragmatic place in life, the problem however comes when we misplace our priorities when it comes to such things and get overtaken by the ego-centered trappings of money; feelings like you must have a Luxus vs. a Kia. . . . truth is the Kia is dollar per dollar a better all around vehicle when it comes to performance, safety and dependability. The Luxus is just a new name for Cadillac -- a nice top end car for people that THINK they're rich. But then in the eyes of the truly wealthy, that's what a Bentley is. . .

In show biz there exist a handful of simple rules;

1.) If you drive a used car, make certain it's a classic in good condition or one you are actively restoring.
2.) Always dress at least 10% better than the client/patron when working if at all possible.

That latter one kills me in that I've seen guys take out loans in order to buy two suits, tailor fit that run well over $1,500.00 each. They live off Mac & Cheese by day just to look successful by night. . . tell me this isn't misplaced priority in action. . .

There is a great deal of common sense in the Sloan piece but I can assure you Winston, common sense is a con-artists best friend; they exploit it at every turn in that's it's proven successful when it comes to sales. . . ask any politician.

I loathe how materialistic things have become, especially in this country. I just recently posted some things about how we've lost the meaning of the holidays. . . Not "Christmas" per ce' but the long lived meaning of this time of year and what it seems to represented for all peoples -- a new hope, new life, moving literally out of the oppressive dark back into the light. Even the various symbols (ornaments) of the season are shared things and yet, so few honestly observe those factors, it's all about bribing our fellows with this and that gift and giving merchants reason to celebrate. We've lost our perspective and priorities as the result of expectation and even demand. Try giving your kids homemade presents this year and see how grateful they are. . . But it's not just them, adults do the same thing and we do it year round, always striving to obtain our favorite flavor -- MORE!

So you could say that this is a timely article but as I've always done when it comes to this character, I would step lightly when it comes to how much credit one extends; they more this type gets you to agree with them, the more you ignore their shortcomings and inaccuracies. Like I said, ask any marketing professional, politician, salesman, public speaker, political advocate, et al.