"If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free, if our wealth commands us, We are poor indeed," said Edmund Burke. True wealth is not about money, but about relationships, good health, and continued self-improvement. It is happiness that comes in utilising the wealth for a good cause. However, wealthy people in the process of accumulating and protecting wealth lead a tense and unhappy life.
Happiness is a state of the mind. As we all know money cannot buy happiness. Therefore one should be content with what one has and strive for self improvement. Unfortunately in the materialistic age one is engaged in the pursuit of worldly luxuries and comforts that only money can buy. In this process other important aspects of life like family relationships, social and even health are compromised.
Ignoring health in the pursuit of wealth is the prime cause of unhappiness for most wealthy people. A healthy man is usually happier for Health is wealth'. Such a person lives a happier and contended life, than a man blessed with only wealth, Since wealth cannot guarantee good health.
The importance of earning wealth cannot be disputed, for it is difficult to visualise living a decent life without money. However attaching too much importance to money is a great folly. There are indeed many things that money cannot buy, like the love and affection of parents, spouse, friends and relatives.
Wealth is also the root cause of unhappiness in the world. Most people are unhappy in its pursuit. While the poor toil day and night to earn money for a decent life, the wealthy spend sleepless nights worrying about safeguarding it. They live in constant fear of thieves, criminals and antisocial elements. Besides these, issues like taxation and legal matters are a constant source of stress and tension.
The threat of deprivation of wealth is not only from others, but also from the family. The innumerable cases of family disputes being fought in the legal courts are a proof of this. Quite often they lead to crimes like murder and abduction. The souring of family relationship and business disputes cause anxiety and tension, leading to hypertension, brain tumour, haemorrhage and other deadly diseases.
The key to happiness is therefore being happy with what one has. Just as one should eat to live and not live to eat, similarly accumulating wealth should not be the sole purpose of life. One should use wealth for a good cause and for the welfare of the society. Great souls like Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi were not wealthy during their lifetime, but their contribution in the field of social welfare would continue to inspire generations.
Benjamin Franklin rightly said, "Wealth is not his, that has it, but his that enjoys it." To be happy one must have enough wealth, to lead a respectable life and use it to acquire rich experiences, maintain relationships and use it for a good social cause. Mindless pursuit of wealth is the root cause of unhappiness.
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This letter is taken from the book 📖 The Art Of Effective English For Classes IX-X.
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