We explore the theory of the evolution of society in financial terms: Has society evolved since the advent of money, and has the world become more positive?
I've been having some problems lately which have lead me to wonder, has the world become a happier one due to money? Has the world changed in terms of happiness from perhaps the feudal ages to where we are today? Consider the fact that we today possess hundreds of times more money than the kings & emperors of yester-year.
Now, I don't believe in studies that "determine" happiness. I've said thousands of times that it is nothing more than a state of mind chosen by the one who attracts it. Has the world become a more positive one due to money? That's the question that ought to be asked.
No doubt, due to the advent of technology, life has become much more convenient. However, does technology or anything at all, affect one's state of mind? Look at any business street in the world. Take New York's Wall Street, for example. During lunch hour, you see crowds of thousands of young men and women of the highest caliber milling down that fabled street.
However, this leads me to ask, are they happy? They are paid perhaps a few hundred thousand dollars a year, they have their Harvard Business School degrees, they have their thousand-dollar power-suits. Yet, look into their eyes, and unmistakably you will find that many of them have not reached contentment in life.
Focus your attention now on the slums of a Third World country, perhaps Ghana, Zambia, or even the poorer parts of Europe, such as Latvia. There you see children with no dreams, no hopes, jumping around with a football at their feet. You hear their laughter, you hear their screams. You feel that undeniable aura of euphoria at its peak. Where do these children end up? Working for a dollar a day at a Nike factory? Or perhaps smuggled off to the British Channel to get killed picking oysters? For one dollar a day?
Has the advent of the greenback aided us?
The unmistakable difference between those hundred thousand-dollar-a year men and those dollar-a-day ones (at least when they were young) is the lack of worries. You see, worries pollute the mind, and worries (unless you are one of the lucky few who know that happiness is only a state of mind) are only intensified the more you achieve.
Now, I'm not saying, in any sense, that people with more money are unhappier. Nor am I implying that poorer people are less morose. The gist of what I'm trying to tell you is that worries make one unhappy. And there is no denying the fact that worries have grown to cloud the world, moreso in this age and day than perhaps 100 or 200 years ago.
"Why?" is the question on the lips of philosophers, scientists who study happiness, and psychologists.
Now, as the world has grown in its years, the messages from the past have gone unheard. Today, go to the streetcorner of any business capital- Milan, Madrid, Manchester, DC, Singapore, New York- and I'll be willing to bet (despite the fact that I'm not betting man) that any five of ten people are crying out in worry and unhappiness.
They push themselves to the limit, daily, to earn that extra ten thousand dollars. But tell me, whatsoever for? For those that believe that money will bring happiness- banish that thought. Nevertheless, money can aid in happiness, if it is used in the correct spirit.
Now, this leads me to my question on why worries crowd the world. The globalization of Earth by conglomerates of different natures- from the likes of Nokia, to Donna Karen International- tempt Man's desires. I'm not saying this is wrong. We all have an undeniable right to earn cash. Yet, each day, newer, more desirable products come from these companies. Man's wants and desires are enticed daily. Satisfaction is unable to be found. This leads to Man become unhappy, and, ultimately, suicidal.
A day from the time you read this article, more than a hundred people will have tried to kill themselves around the world, due to depression that stems from worries. Positive-thinkers from the likes of Augustine Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World) to Norman Vincente Peale (You Can If You Think You Can) have tried to solve such problems. Their works have sold millions of copies across the globe. Yet, there forever will be millions who have not been touched by such gracious acts, who will slink on for life in depression.
I'm no philosopher. I haven't been around long enough to study the Art of Happiness. Yet, common sense tells you is that if you banish your worries and attend to happiness as a fixed state of mind, you will be happy.
Each day there are hundreds of suicides and cases of people hurting themselves. I'm not qualified to offer you a solution, yet I can offer you a true expert's opinion. As a nationally syndicated columnist, Dr. Napoleon Hill wrote an article for the press. I have it pinned up on my wall, above my PC. It is a solution that every suicidal case should read before attempting to hurt himself, or hurt the world.
Here it is:
The Richest Man in the world lives in Happy Valley. He's rich in values that endure, in things he cannot lose-things that provide him with contentment, sound health, peace of mind and harmony within his soul.
Here is an inventory of his riches and how he acquired them:
I found happiness by helping others to find it
I found sound health by living temperately and eating only the food my body requires to maintain itself.
I hate no man, envy no man but love and respect all mankind.
I am engaged in a labor of love with which I mix play generously, therefore I seldom grow tired.
I pray daily, not for more riches, but for more widsom with which to recognise, embrace, and enjoy the great abundance of riches I already possess.
I speak no name save only to honor it and I slander no man for any cause whatsoever.
I ask no favors of anyone except the privilege of sharing my blessings with all who desire them
I am on good terms with my conscience; therefore it guides me accurately in everything I do
I have more material wealth than I need because I am free from greed and covet only those things I can use constructively while I live. My Wealth comes form those whom I have benefited by sharing my blessings.
The estate of Happy Valley which I own is not taxable. It exists mainly in my own mind, in intangible riches that cannot be assessed for taxation or appropriated except by those who adopt my way of life. I created this estate over a lifetime of effort by observing Nature's law and forming habits to conform with them.
No one is asking you to live like a monk. Take the principles in this creed and hopefully you will one day be the happiest and richest person in this world.
You may wonder why I write this in a news magazine. I was lucky enough to have been embraced by the wisdom of such people, and I hope to share it with you through this magazine. This, I have adapted as my creed, and may you do the same.
The world might not have become a happier place, but your world can be. If you decide that your domain, your realm, is to remain a happy one, than it will be. The choice is exclusively yours, in the brilliant country you live in. Money is just a tool to make the world a happier place. Utilize it, along with your positive-thinking, and the world will verily become a much happier place.
May you find your own riches in life, in whatever you do. And there is only one way for this to occur. By making the world a much more positive place to live in.
With love,
Kristiano Ang Executive Editor
Vainquer Teens
The International Youth Support Magazine for the World's Youth
Kristiano Ang, is an author on numerous subjects such as positive thinking and popular culture. He is the executive editor of Vainquer Teens mag (out in June). He may be contacted via this site.
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