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Can We Fully Enjoy Both Material Wealth and the True Richness of Life?
By Life-Musings.com | February 24, 2009
Can one wholeheartedly chase material wealth, yet still keep focused on the things which matter in life?
Can one fully enjoy the pleasures of materialism and consumerism, yet still swim in the warmth of kinship, warmth and love?
I had a little discussion with friends recently, and the following are my musings.
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I would then challenge the premise that one can have both. Yes, technically one can have both, but can one *have* both? Usually, there has to be compromise, and something has to give. Some people can smoke and indulge in sinful food and still be healthy. But generally speaking, such things damage health.
Coming back to materialism, there are several ways I can think of which could compromise the “things which matter in life”. To drive big cars and carry fancy handbags, one usually has to work very hard and very long hours. First compromise — time.
Next — if one were a filthy rich billionaire, how do you even know who are your real friends? 2nd compromise — with money comes insecurity.
Then there is mindsets and attitudes. If one can earn lots of money while remembering what’s important, well and good. But the reality is that many people are so driven by material wellbeing that they *forget* and lose sight of what is important.
I also think there is a fundamental difference between being (financially) rich and being materialistic. If I earn $1200 and I spend $3000 on a handbag, it’s quite different from someone who earns $1m and spends $10,000 on a golf club.
How about young girls [...] who sell their bodies to buy branded goods? What’s that all about? How could that happen? Maybe one reason could be that their parents are too busy themselves indulging in materialism to look after their kids?
Materialism is an empty shell cooked up by people and corporations who are making millions off it. Countless social research has reiterated that, as long as our basic material needs are met, money makes no difference to levels of happiness.
And it has also damaged basic human values and structures. Even the whole economic recession is down to too many people in certain countries spending beyond their means.
And the world’s solution to the woes? Encourage people to spend more. How ‘wisdomous’.
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