Money and Happiness

Well I know this topic has been done to death over the years but I thought I'd add my 2c worth of random rambling.

Firstly it is clear money is not proportional to happiness. Money is required to meet the basic living requirements of life which are:
Food
Shelter
Clothing
Utilities (Electricity, water etc)
Transport (To/from work/leisure activities)

In cases where these basics are not available more money may in fact mean more happiness or at least more comfort. Beyond this however the correlation is not so straight forward.

People who chase money to accumulate material possessions tend to have a raging fire of craving and desire burning within them. When one craving is satisfied instead of dousing the fire it is like pouring petrol on it. The fire rages larger and they move on to acquiring the next item on a never ending list.

Such an endless pursuit of money and goods leaves the person with very little time in which to enjoy the fruits of their labour. We only need to look in the more affluent suburbs
to the rows of mansions that act more like bed and breakfasts to the families that reside there. This lack of time to relax and unwind leads to the cliche of the modern stressed out go getter taking relaxation classes after work unable to play catch with his kids on a Saturday morning.

Once the wealth has been accumulated there is always the danger of losing it. This adds more stress and worry to an already packed schedule. We see large insurance policies, careful tracking of investment portfolios and a keen eye for any sign of economic trouble.

Status is another big reason for accumulating wealth and possessions, I mean who wants to be seen driving to work in a beat up old Ford? This leads to a largely inflated ego and a tendency to look down on those less fortunate in life. Why talk to the cabbie on the way home, what could he possibly have of value to contribute when he hasn't even got a university degree? Yet ironically its the cabbie who has the widest range of experience, hearing stories and opinions on a daily basis from the poorest to the richest members of society.

Yet no matter how much money is accumulated you can always find another who has more. This leads to feelings of jealousy, anger and resentment bubbling to the surface. Unable to see and enjoy what has already been accumulated the person can only see what they don't have.

What about those people who don't spend all their time chasing money and material possessions? Well I would have to say I fall into this category and it still does not lead to happiness. Having more time is fantastic, it allows you to do things you want to do and to ponder the unanswerable questions in life. You come to realize that money is not the answer but don't know what is.

Human beings may be genetically programmed never to be happy with what they have, this would make evolutionary sense. Always trying to get the bigger chunk of food or the bigger cave would give you the best chance at survival. To possibly risk your life to get it, you better have a strong motivation - the thought that once you acquire it you will be happy. Of course if you were happy once you acquired your cave, food, weapon of choice you would have no motivation to do anything else. In this way the mind has learnt to constantly dangle the carrot of happiness in front of our eyes and keep us blindly raging forward.

Perhaps the answer lies in spirituality and religions of the east which is the direction of my present search. Or perhaps it may be that money inherently leads to unhappiness, I.E if you have money you cannot have true and lasting happiness. The answer may be in the simple life of the farmer, who grows enough to feed himself and his family, trading or selling just enough to fulfill his basic needs in life, never knowing or caring where the world at large has gone. Ironically, much fame and wealth awaits the person who can find and spread the true solution to this problem.