Most people are in hot pursuit of something better in life. For some they want a bigger house maybe a better car. Depending on your situation in life people want things that will contribute to their happiness. Once we get what we want we start to raise our expectations of what will make us happy in the future. Do we associate material possessions with our level of happiness too much? Today’s modern society seems to hold the view that the more we have, the happier we will be, or in a nut shell money buys happiness.

I read an article this morning about Wealth Abundance, in the article it had the line “people who don’t think more money can buy happiness simply don’t know where to shop”. In the same publication I read an article about a Rugby league player who was fighting an injury that could leave him as a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. I couldn’t but help think that all the money in the world wouldn’t help him come to terms with the horrific consequences of an injury like that. Alternatively it is going to take a substantial amount of finance to look after the medicals bills that may come pouring in for the rest of his life

I’m not saying the drive for wealth is a bad thing. Far from it, anyone who is lucky enough to reach the goal of financial security has put themselves in a great position to help others. I just believe we shouldn’t strive for wealth at the expense of our happiness or the happiness of others. The majority of people live with the stress of modern life would gladly acquire more money to relieve the burden of their bills and wants. My question is if you could take away all those pressures in your life would you be happy with your lot? You have to ask yourself are you happy with what you have or do you need more?

Once we allow ourselves a greater awareness of what’s going on in our lives, then can we start to figure out what makes us happy. We need to make sure that the pursuit of gaining material wealth doesn’t get in the way of our pursuit of happiness. What if you woke up in a prison cell tomorrow morning? Do you believe you would still place the same value on your wealth? How much more appreciative would you be of going for a walk and feeling the sun on your face or just being able to talk to your family and friends.

We need to have a greater awareness of our own situation, be thankful for what we currently have and not let what we don’t have affect our day to day lives. Be happy if your life isn’t affected by illness, or that you aren’t subjected to poverty. Be grateful for the family and friends that you have around you. Learn to celebrate the achievements in your life, no matter how small they are. We have to accept that life isn’t always going to be a bed of roses and it will throw plenty of curve balls at us. It’s how we deal with these ups and downs that make us the person we are.

I believe once we find a way to be happy in ourselves then the rest will take care of itself.