Acquisitiveness

When we meet someone the first thing we usually share is what we do for a living. We tell each other that frame of reference, a box to put each other in. If, on the other hand, we asked what really makes them happy or content in life we’d often get a different response A very high percentage of folks did not choose their job because it is what feeds their soul; they chose their job because it was what they were capable of doing or what was available at the time they needed work or they simply inherited the job. If we’re lucky we fall into a profession that suits our talents and gives us contentment as well. That last part is critical. We’ve known people who were good at what they do but who are miserable.

John was a premier salesman. He could outsell anyone. When John stopped work for the day though he was an utterly miserable person. Instead of being the happy, gregarious salesman he was at work, he was morose, bitter, angry, and just plain mean. The external person was quite different than the real man.

We all, quite naturally, require some basics in life. We need, at a minimum, food, clothing, and shelter. We desire health and someone with whom to share life. Beyond those things, and to some degree including health and others, our desires are external to who we really are. We’ve all known folks who were not in good health or who were alone who were, nevertheless, quite happy.

It seems the more we equate happiness with what we can acquire outside of ourselves, the less content we are internally. Unfortunately, our society is so structured that we are all taught from childhood that happiness lies in being acquisitive. We’ll be happier when we drive the right vehicle, when we have the new style, when we get that new toy, when our team wins, when this person or that cares for us. We’re sure we’ll be happy if other people applaud us and we’ll be miserable if some folks don’t like us.

All those things however, mean our happiness is dependent on something or someone external to ourselves and, if we don’t have whatever it is, we can’t be happy.

We spend far too much of our lives in caring for possessions. We don’t do this or that simply because we have to take care of stuff. We can’t do good things because we have to go into debt in order to have this or that. Sadly, we also forfeit happiness because, these days, we are fed a constant diet of hate. We can’t be happy because there are people who think differently, worship differently, who have different values, sexuality, anything we can be taught to hate so the purveyors of that evil message can profit from our insecurities.

No wonder we never rank very high on lists of the happiest countries. We’re taught so many wrong things from day one.