We attach great importance to numbers. Our life goes in search of wealth. We are trying to get a good education. What for? Because we can get a good job. What for? We can get a good salary and live more comfortably. No matter what our income is, we all want to make it bigger. If we have a debt, we hope to get out of it. When we have everything in order with the salary, we try to keep it or increase it. The safety of a rich person lies in his wealth. When you have wealth, you find comfort in it. You are calm in your life.
In a sense, human value is based on its financial orientation. Look at the various ratings of Forbes magazine. They are all based on a single criterion - money. Who got what, how much lost. There is no other criterion. The thicker your wallet, the higher you are on the ladder of well-being. Because it will always be interesting for a person to find out how much money is in the pocket of a neighbor.
We have a lot of things, but we constantly have nothing but that. We may have a lot of money, but if we don’t like it, it will be our damnation. And maybe quite enough of what is available. Our wealth is what we have. Big money brings both happiness and misfortune. Wealth and pleasure is a gift from God.
People spend their lives climbing the career ladder to admit at the end of their lives that the ladder was put in the wrong building. People can live in luxury, but not enjoy it. It suffices to see how many rich and famous died from a drug overdose. What did they lack? If money brought happiness on their own, people would not be so depressed to commit suicide.
But leave aside the rich. There is another side to life. Far more people on earth earn just a living wage. We are surprised, looking at them, how can they live like this? After all, this is not life, but existence. Many things are not easily available to them, they dare not even dream of them. This is not life, but existence. And yet, they are happy. They are grateful for what they have. They make the most of what they have in their hands. It turns out that happiness is really not in money. And not in their quantity.
And how to bring the two ends together: wealth and contentment? And is it possible?
Jesus taught more to give than to accept. And this commandment is known to everyone from school. We teach this principle to our children. We constantly use this expression in our lives. But do we always follow him?
Most of us are so far removed from this commandment that it does not take it seriously. How to give? To give? Why give? A passion for taking is much stronger than giving. Money makes the world go round. We strive to have things, without giving ourselves an account of what they are for us. We build our own empires, develop our moral principles. We all take, take, take. Just to be. And we end life very badly.
So is there a secret to enjoying wealth? There is. And it is pretty simple.
The real secret of enjoying wealth is the ability to use it for the happiness of others.
When accumulation becomes an end in itself, it leads a person to a dead end. And what to do with it? After all, the trunk does not attach a coffin. Therefore, there is no better way to send part of your wealth to charity.
At the same time, it does not require a large amount of money. This is a habit that starts small and can lead to great deeds. This is a change of behavior in our mind. If you are correct in the small, you will become true in the large.
You can spend millions on charity. And you can buy coffee for your colleagues or medicine for a sick neighbor. But you never know what can be done, at first glance, small, insignificant, but so important and necessary. After all, life consists of little things that adorn it. Generosity has so many different shades. We can be generous with our thoughts, attention, effort, time. Generosity has a great educational value for our children. After all, there is no better example than the example of parents.
Thus, the meaning of wealth is generosity. And when people begin to live with this thought, they will no longer suffer from aimless actions and fruitless efforts. And a person will truly gain joy from his work and his wealth.
Oh yeah, and do not need to feel embarrassed in front of people from his generosity.
