Happy or Rich?

“Would you like to be happy, or rich?”

Happiness and monetary wealth seem to be polar opposites to a lot of people, particularly those of fundamentalist religious backgrounds who believe that you “cannot serve God and mammon both” or eastern philosophies that urge “detachment to material things”.

I’ve looked at both ideas from inside out and outside in. What I’ve ultimately come up with is: you can have happiness and not money, money and not happiness, both or neither. Money does not affect my ability to feel happiness any more than happiness affects my ability to create wealth. I think the two terms are apples and oranges. LJ does not agree with me on this, because she has seen me react to our lack of funds and how that lack triggers my feelings of insecurity. Still, in essence, I can have fun with the kids, enjoy my relationship with LJ and my friends, enjoy movies, books, walks in the park, etc while having no money. I still FEEL happiness; I just ALSO wish I had more money.

- AJ