Money

It is amazing how the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Franklin Roosevelt gave a speech concerning the bankers.  “They know only the rules of a generation of self seekers.  They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish…Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money, it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”
I get concerned for second generation money.  So often the parents have worked really hard to get what they have.  They can be rolling in it.  It is up to the kids to decide if they want to earn their way, or live off the wealth of their parents.  That is easy for me to say, as I have never been in that position.
Today too, it is easy to put it on credit, and have it now.  I do not want to go down that road though.  I want only to be able to spend what I have.  A lot of people say “money is the root of all evil.”  That is a misquote.  It is “the love of money is the root of all evil.”  Big difference.  Money is not the problem.  The love of it is.
I try to avoid the “have it now” mentality.  Credit cards can be a real trap. “Pay nothing for four years.”  Don’t worry if you don’t have it.  Have it.  One thing is for sure though, payment will be due.  Deferred pain is still pain.
I knew someone who had gold plated taps.  He was rich.  Yet his richness was seen only as a means of giving.  He was not tight fisted and very approachable despite his station in life.
Another guy I heard about had a really rich friend.  The friend had a house of dreams but did not enjoy it.  The guy I heard about enjoyed it though.  He would luxuriate and have the time of his life.  It was like having it (without the cloud hanging over the head) without having it.
Richness or poorness can be such a head or heart thing.  There are poor and there always will be.  They will always need our help.  They reckon that if all the money in the world was equally distributed right now, it would be back in the same hands in no time.
To me, richness is more about who I am than what I have.  Some of the poorest people feel incredibly rich, and are thankful for so much.  Some of the richest people are incredibly miserable, and are never satisfied.  I would rather be rich and miserable though, than poor and miserable.
I don’t know that it is about the accumulation of things.  We really only need so much.  Anything more is surplus to requirements.  Not having enough to live is worth a fight.  Having enough, but not being thankful for it, to me deserves sympathy of a different kind.
I am thankful for what we have.  It is not as much as some, but more than others.  It is enough.