MESSAGE #797 ARE YOU NEEDY??
“The less we need, the richer we can be.”
-a Zen master
I know tennis players who always want the latest tennis gear.
I know business professionals who always want the latest cell phone.
I know people who always want to wear the coolest outfit.
Is money important?
Yes and no.
Obviously we need money to survive, but it’s not everything.
If I put $10,000 in cash in front of my dog, she would sniff it and then go look for some crumbs on the floor.
Lama Surya Das said, “The value of anything is always the value we vest in it.”
$10,000 cash and crumbs on the floor are both neutral. Their value, or lack of it depends on our desires and importance we place on them.
The problem occurs when we think we need more than we actually do. We accumulate things like we’re going to live forever, or that “things” will be our source of happiness.
A good friend asked me yesterday what I wanted for my birthday this year and I said, “Nothing. You can donate to a charity for me.”
I have everything I need.
I still have goals and dreams, but every day I try to keep things in perspective. I have gratitude for all of the big and little things I have in my life.
Should the miserable millionaire strive to be a miserable billionaire?
Perhaps we should focus more on the things that have no monetary value.
Appreciating nature.
Our family/friends/pets.
Helping others.
Our health.
You cannot put a monetary value on those things.
Someone once said, “Contentment is true wealth. Success will not be found through the gratification of desire, but in the end of desire – which is contentment. Wealthy is he who enjoys what he has.”
In sports, athletes, coaches and parents put a large emphasis on the results, or winning. That’s not success.
Success is giving your all. Success is having fun. And success is striving for constant improvement.
Character goes a long way. Do the right thing. Everyone says nice guys finish last.
Nice guys are winners before the race even begins.
We all know the name Johnny Appleseed, right? But what did he do?
Johnny Appleseed travelled throughout the Midwest in the early nineteenth century sowing apple seeds. He tended to them, with the knowing that they would someday produce apples, even if he wasn’t around to see them.
He didn’t care about getting a bigger house or wearing the coolest outfit. He was making a difference.
What are you doing today that will make a difference tomorrow?
Thanks for reading.