Would you rather be rich and miserable or poor and happy?

[AgainstAllOdds]

Get rich or die trying.

[slacker00]

I could handle being rich and unhappy. Happiness is overrated.

The argument about money buying happiness is the poor man's argument. People driven by money aren't necessarily acquiring the money towards an ultimate goal of happiness. Money can be a form of control, control over one's life in terms of having a house & car & freedom to travel or do a wide range of things that money enables. Some people are control freaks and need that kind of economic freedom to buy that kind of luxury that wealth allows. Greed can also become a fixation, a habit. We all start out working at some point in our life, but for some people it becomes an addiction as well as an addiction for achievement. Some people simply spend an inordinate amount of time in the pursuit of wealth, perhaps due to some ultimate end, but probably just because that's the mindset they've come to have through whatever variety of environmental & hard wired features of the individual.

[Heartman2]

The Buddha was a rich kid who gave all his money away and chose poverty. My favorite teaching of his says it all, "It is your wants and desires in life that bring pain and suffering, to overcome pain and suffering you must overcome your wants and desires." This is the spiritual path, the highest level of happiness and satisfaction. The Buddha chose poor and happy.

Jesus taught,"it is easier for a camel to pass thru the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to enter into heaven." "if a man asks for your coat, give him your cloak also." Jesus chose poor and happy.

When Gandhi died, all of his possesions could fit in a shoebox. He took a vow of poverty for the last 30+ years of his life. Gandhi chose poor and happy.

I realized many years ago, when I began my own spiritual journey, that the following is true.

Material wealth leads to spiritual poverty
Spiritual wealth leads to material poverty

I chose poor and happy many years ago.

The higher you move up the spiritual ladder, the more you begin to care about and want to help others. It is impossible for the wealthy to reach the highest levels of spirituallity and happiness.

[smitch124]

The Buddha was a rich kid who gave all his money away and chose poverty. My favorite teaching of his says it all, "It is your wants and desires in life that bring pain and suffering, to overcome pain and suffering you must overcome your wants and desires." This is the spiritual path, the highest level of happiness and satisfaction. The Buddha chose poor and happy.

Jesus taught,"it is easier for a camel to pass thru the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to enter into heaven." "if a man asks for your coat, give him your cloak also." Jesus chose poor and happy.

When Gandhi died, all of his possesions could fit in a shoebox. He took a vow of poverty for the last 30+ years of his life. Gandhi chose poor and happy.

I realized many years ago, when I began my own spiritual journey, that the following is true.

Material wealth leads to spiritual poverty
Spiritual wealth leads to material poverty

I chose poor and happy many years ago.

The higher you move up the spiritual ladder, the more you begin to care about and want to help others. It is impossible for the wealthy to reach the highest levels of spirituallity and happiness.

But sometimes being rich is a necessary step in the journey...

[ijustwant2bpaid]

Do your clients know you post pictures of naked boys? If I had a boy and you talked to him i would have to open up a can of you already know and it would be gme over for you. Why do you do these things Rogue Scholar. You need to think about your actions sometimes.

[RogueScholar]

What kind of job does a philosophy major get?

Well, when I went to college it was with the intent of entering the seminary to get my M.Div. (Masters of Divinity) in preparation to be an ordained Catholic priest. A degree in the humanities is often the best preparation for religious life. After some time at the Seminary that ended up not being my path, for a number of reasons. So currently I'm working on saving up enough money to live off while I earn my doctorate in Philosophy, in the hopes of joining the faculty at my Alma Mater.

Really you can parlay Philosophy degree into almost any job you want. Studies in abstract thought leave you with a formidable set of "mental muscles" and any job that requires writing well and thinking deeply can make good use of a "philosopher." Most people with this major generally end up pursuing careers in the law, though.

[L2Gunz]

Well, when I went to college it was with the intent of entering the seminary to get my M.Div. (Masters of Divinity) in preparation to be an ordained Catholic priest. A degree in the humanities is often the best preparation for religious life. After some time at the Seminary that ended up not being my path, for a number of reasons. So currently I'm working on saving up enough money to live off while I earn my doctorate in Philosophy, in the hopes of joining the faculty at my Alma Mater.

Really you can parlay Philosophy degree into almost any job you want. Studies in abstract thought leave you with a formidable set of "mental muscles" and any job that requires writing well and thinking deeply can make good use of a "philosopher." Most people with this major generally end up pursuing careers in the law, though.

so when you become a catholic preist are you gonna groom the little kids into what you want them to be you sick weirdo..

[RogueScholar]

Do your clients know you post pictures of naked boys? If I had a boy and you talked to him i would have to open up a can of you already know and it would be gme over for you. Why do you do these things Rogue Scholar. You need to think about your actions sometimes.

Do you have any idea of who my clients are? Obviously not, because if you did, you'd realize that the last thing that they care about is what I post on SBR or what kind of porn I look at online. What exactly is it that I need to think about before I do, man?

[SBR_John]

Excellent thread. A lot of spot on points made. Slacker summed up my take;
"The argument about money buying happiness is the poor man's argument. People driven by money aren't necessarily acquiring the money towards an ultimate goal of happiness. Money can be a form of control, control over one's life in terms of having a house & car & freedom to travel or do a wide range of things that money enables".

[Killer_Demo]

i grew up with nothin gotta die with something

[Chi_archie]

give me poor and happy

[CaneDawg]

poor and happy

[reno cool]

hg and mudcat are right.
If money doesn't help achieve happiness then nobody should want it.
The problem in the culture is that we're taught to consume as much as possible, which will in turn bring us respect, relevance and happiness. And the struggle for this empty promise often leads to emptiness, isolation and depression.

[BestPlay2day]

I'll take poor and happy. What's the point in being rich and being miserable? I remember seeing a show on lottery winners and most pissed away their money, got divorced, and ended up worse off than before they won.