Money can't buy you happiness

[LastFlowers]

I agree with what you write. For instance the weather here is getting hotter and hotter which exacerbates my health issues. So earlier today I decided to order an AC.

And as I was reading through this thread I thought to myself: Oh I feel so sorry for other people who are in my situation and who might now afford to order an AC just like that. Or to have food delivered, or take a taxi whenever they need to. My life has very low quality, but without money it would be a hundred times worse.

Still... right now, if someone could offer me the holy grail of good health in exchange for poverty, I would happily live as a buddhist nun with only a mat, three robes and a bowl, for the rest of my life. That's how desperate and tired I am...

Anyway, thank you for your reply @LastFlowers
And since we're talking, let me tell you I really like your avatar. I suffer from brain fog which makes it hard for me to remember avatars and user names, but your avatar is so sad yet pleasing that I always remember it.

Thank you for the compliment on my avatar, I usually think it's so boring and drab! lol I think you're the first to appreciate it! I'm glad I never changed it then.

And I appreciate the refreshing reply of actually understanding where I was coming from and being able to look at your own situation with more nuance.
That is something that is sorely lacking with most people.
..Also I do understand the sentiment of wanting to trade one problem for another-or perhaps giving up one benefit for another,
if someone were to offer me a billion dollars versus the solution to my physical predicament, I would also choose the latter.
And if I was allowed to pick my poison, I would do so willingly, so long as I could exchange the one that's causing me so much distress.
I think some of us would even gladly switch issues with one another, as what may be survivable to one person, might be a death sentence to another.
So in that way, I do feel for you and understand where you're coming from.
You would no doubt suffer in poverty, but as you said-you are so desperate to have a healthy body that you would take that harsh life if it meant erasing the harshness of your current ailment-and that's a proposition I would also be likely to buy into.
It's too bad that we even have to think about "bargaining", we should just be allowed the right to comfort on all counts.

 

[Callie Arcale]

You would no doubt suffer in poverty, but as you said-you are so desperate to have a healthy body that you would take that harsh life if it meant erasing the harshness of your current ailment-and that's a proposition I would also be likely to buy into.

I have no idea what it is like to suffer from starvation or lack of basic hygiene. Maybe starvation is worse than not being able to walk or having constant panic attacks. Maybe after two months of living as a poor beggar, I'd long for the soft comfort of my cushions and the sweet shelter of my home.

But that's the tragedy of being human: we cannot be content with what we have, we always think "if only this, or that happened, THEN I could be content".

Right now I think: if I was healthy, then I'd be happy. But what if suddenly I became healthy? What would I think then? Would I truly be content, or would I say after a while: "If I had more money/a better job/a nice partner, then I'd be really happy."

Probably...


I think humans are wired to always feel discontent, to strive for more. It's what helped us become so technological and civilized. But it's also what makes us focus on the negative aspects of life and that's why we suffer so much.

I mean why can't I be happy that I can see? I am unhappy that I can't walk, but I am not happy that I have good eye sight. Imagine if I went around all day feel ecstatic about being able to see, instead of feeling despair at my inability to walk... Wouldn't that be something?

Oh... it's all disheartening and quite frankly... gut-wrenching.