Posted on 12/24/2006 8:23:18 PM PST by Forgiven_Sinner
I would add that on that same note regarding all those rich liberals wanting to KEEP the Death Tax aka Estate Tax.
I think they have EVERY right to will their entire estate to the government if thats what they want to do.
Don't make the rest of US do it though!
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect; It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections."
Since you mention religion, let me point out that There is nothing new here that wasn't already considered in the Bible. The problem of happiness, wealth, life and success was pondered in the Book of Ecclesiastes, and even back then he said there was nothing new to be learned on it:
"What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun." - Eccles 1:9.
He found out that it was merely vanity in striving and accumulating.
"10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." - Eccles 3:10-11
"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep." - Eccles 5:10-12
Happiness does come from within, it's a decision you make based on your action to make your place in the world and your expectations of your success. The equation could be:
happiness = results - expectations.
All this article tells us is that wealth simply creates not just changed results but changed expectations. It becomes chasing the end of a rainbow for those who dont stop and think about the bigger picture. In truth, every form of success does that, and good successful people often set the highest expectations. Pondering this myself I concluded "My ambition is the enemy of my happiness." It's a matter of resetting expectations.
I've never seen poverty cause happiness, so this idea that wealth is somehow a problem in the happiness arena is quite funny. I've strived to be frugal, save, build wealth, and have achieved more financial success than most. No it doesn't make you happy, but it gives you the means to do things that wouldn't otherwise be possible. It's a gateway to success, not happiness, and it's up to you to turn your success into happiness. I can say, as someone once quipped "I've been rich and I've been poor, and rich is better."
In the end, the pursuit of happiness is not about finding fleeting glimpses of joy. You pursue happiness to find success and avoid failure, to get more out of life, yet life is not really lived well unless you can take both success and failure in stride and understand them both as different shades and contrasts in life. Often, failure teaches us more and shapes our mettle, preparing us for whatever challenges life throws at us.
"In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him." - Eccles 7:14
Knowing you are in God's hands in all things will help you in keeping that perspective. You can find contentment and satisfaction in knowing you have produced a harvest from your labors, your effort, your investments, and your talents.
There is nothing new under the sun, but whatever you do strive to be the best and do the best:
"10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, [2] for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going." -Eccles 9:10
And in your constant striving, understand that the fruits of your efforts can be enjoyed, for it give the means of leisure, of doing and experiencing things and the ability to give to others and to not be without things that make life comfortable and enjoyable.
" 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man." - Eccles 3:9-14
And so it is. Strive for success and enjoy the life you have as best you can, thanking God for the blessings he bestows on our lives.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Rich liberals have armies of accountants and lawyers figuring ways for them to avoid estate taxes. What they all have in common is their desire to re-distribute MY wealth. Sounds to me like they want something they shouldn't have. More to the point, they want something we shouldn't let them have: UNLIMITED ACCESS TO OUR WALLETS!
The liberals I know will never be happy until the government coerces me to do what they think is right, even though they're not willing to do it on their own.
They tell me that it is less important to have what you want, then to want what you have.
I'm grateful for what I have, and I am happy.
Aquinas is essentially an updated version of Aristotle as seen through corrected Moslem Empire eyes.
Well said. Merry Christmas and a blessed, happy, healthy and prosperous 2007.
My version is much better:
"You might as well settle and just learn to deal with it because this crap ain't getting no better."
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