We Should Be Wealthy

But on 3 conditions

When I was a kid, I thought getting a 6-pack box of different cereals was almost the coolest thing that could happen to you. Having a Bugs Bunny pencil case with the full range of crayons almost gave you the right to run for president. And seeing the TV being brought into your classroom at the end of the school day was the equivalent of a week’s vacation to the Maldives. Do I feel the same way now? No. So what’s changed?

Yes, they were simpler times. Yes, my priorities were very different. But the fundamental difference is perspective, not age.

Right now, I can go to the store and get any cereal I want. I get crayons when I need to, but I definitely don’t get gassed up about it. And I can watch almost anything under the sun on my phone or laptop, whenever I want to.

But I also know for a fact that there are other adults out there who would love the opportunity to have those same liberties. Just like there are plenty of people out there who could dance on my biggest aspirations. What you desire comes down to the possibilities that you are aware of. And it seems the more you get, the more you want and the higher your ceiling of what is attainable goes.

But do you become happier the higher you go? I’m not sure you do.

There are depressed billionaires living in mansions and content people living in small rural villages. Clearly material wealth doesn’t dictate our level of happiness. But is the pursuit of wealth an inherently negative notion? Should there be a limit to our wealth? Could wealth actually lead to happiness?

Here’s what I firmly believe.

Wealth should be acquired properly

How you make your money should matter more than the money itself. Using your skills and talents in an honest and ethical way should equate to you getting compensated fairly. Improving one’s abilities, working hard and persevering are admirable qualities in a person, and building wealth through these means seems fair.

On the other hand, exploiting a certain group of people, making exorbitant profits and milking every last dime you can out of a demand you see, is an unjust way to live. Whatever profession or trade we take up should serve others. The more we positively impact other people and their quality of life, the more we deserve the wealth that comes with it.

Wealth is good when we are all wealthy

What we see in society today is a handful of people enjoying incredible material prosperity while a large portion of the population struggles to earn even the most basic of livelihoods. The disparity is disgusting.

The lack of care from those who are more able and those who have the ability to make a difference means poverty is becoming more difficult to break out from, while those sitting on their growing piles of gold are too high up to even see the hands stretched out below.

Now I’m not saying that having lots of wealth is bad. And I know lots of the rich give ‘generously’. But the extremes of poverty and wealth have to go. You can have very wealthy individuals. And you can have others who are able to live a simple and dignified life.

Hard work, professions with large responsibility, and jobs that pose a greater risk to the individual should definitely be rewarded as such. But nobody should have to be born into a world with no education, no opportunities, and no societal assistance.

The world has enough resources for all of us to be wealthy. If we just calmed down a bit on our never-ending consumption, our greed to own bigger and better things, and our fear that there isn’t enough wealth to go around, we’d be a much happier society.

There is a strong link between Generosity and Wealth

“We must be like the fountain or spring that is continually emptying itself of all that it has and is continually being refilled from an invisible source. To be continually giving out for the good of our fellows undeterred by fear of poverty… this is the secret of right living.” — Shoghi Effendi

The more you hang on to your wealth, the less valuable it becomes in the long run. There’s that song about a magic penny that goes something, something, “hold on tight and you won’t have any…. give it away and it comes right back to you”.

Now I’m not saying that everyone should just keep giving away their money to charitable causes. But if our wealth was actually spent on improving the lives of others we ourselves would likely benefit the most from this.

Let’s take education for instance. If our wealth of time, money, and other resources was spent on ensuring every man, woman, and child had access to education, imagine all the untapped capacities and potential that would be unlocked.

Almost a billion people in the world are illiterate, deprived of education, and thus deprived of the ability to contribute to humanity to their full potential. The next big invention, discovery or cure could be locked up in the mind of a child with no way to fulfill their gift to the world.

Generosity not only counters the instinctive greed we may possess but in turn makes us truly happy. A generous heart is a happy one. Seeing the joy that others receive as a result of your giving is a feeling like no other. Seeing the positive impact you have had on someone really does lift your spirits. And even the acts of generosity that nobody sees and do not have visible results will always bring warmth to you, knowing that your actions are helping the world progress and move forward towards a more balanced and caring society.

If we are to truly advance as a society, we need to reconceptualize wealth. We need to see it as a means of living, serving, and growing. There’s plenty to go around. So let’s share.