Originally Posted by manap3000

im just curious; have you ever had a job you werent particularly fond of maybe in the summer, where you bust your hump from 9-5 after waking up @ 6:30 in the morning everyday just to see a "few more dollars" in your bank account, money can make you really happy if you know how hard it is to make money nowadays...not making assumptions but u probably dont......

I used to work a job where I woke at 5 am and got home at 7 PM if I was lucky. I worked for less than minimum wage (5 dollars an hour). And I worked hard. That job is part of the reason I have major back problems now. I cried at work many a time. But the money itself didn't make me happy. The fact that I worked dam hard for that money did. The effort and the sweat and the pain is what made me happy. Hence why I didn't go for an easier job that would have actually paid me a legal wage.

Originally Posted by crazyfree

I personally find that sad. Material goods make me happy when I have earned them and they're a treat, and even then they're just...things. I have and had little growing up and I appreciated every little thing I had...and they made me happy because they were my precious few things. Not because of what they were, but because they were all I had. I played with sticks and stones and paper when I had to.

Happiness to me is working hard, going outside, laughing with friends, and being with loved ones. Taking a moment to breath. Going for a run. Falling hard and then succeeding. The happiest times of my life have been the least plentiful. Living paycheck to paycheck this summer was the most freeing and lovely time of my life. Money can't buy me laughter, love or natural beauty. All it can buy me is entertainment, sex, and gardens.

The only reason I want money from my job is to be able to provide for my children. I never want to have to hold back on giving them the best because of money. If I didn't want kids I would quite happily work for minimum wage the rest of my life doing things for others.

You are part of a small group of people who I call 'enlightened' - you get it. However, most of society is just not there. Most of society gets attached to objects is because they are so difficult to acquire, so our little crazy monkey brains equate some shiny thing thats very expensive but difficult to get as a worthy goal because we are at constant competition. So you go an show a person a big giant rock that came from mountains of South Africa and slaves chipped and brought it to a jeweler and he turned into a diamond and now your flashing it on your ****ing ring. "oooooh, monkey like, monkey like! Monkey did goood , tough to get, tough to get" lol anyways , you get the point. My point is that I completely UNDERSTAND that materialistic happiness is sad but at the end of the day, it still makes me happy. It's just our genes, we are wired to be like this.

I liked your post, cheers.

Originally Posted by crazyfree

Nah, but that’s what I’m trying to say. The traveling is that much sweeter when it’s something you had to work long and hard to afford. It’s oh so much sweeter when you’re sleeping in train stations to afford food instead. And it makes that more special when it’s something rare that you can’t just get “like that” because you don’t normally have money.
Stress is what makes the good times that much better. If everything were always perfect I wouldn't have a frame of reference to know my life was going well. Whenever things are down I know they’ll get better, and when they do I appreciate them that much more.

Like I said I my previous post…the times when I’m most stressed are when I laugh the most because I find the little things matter so much more. I was once stranded with literally 4 dollars in my bank account, no place to sleep and no food. And my god, it was amazing. I was with my boyfriend stuck in a random city and we’ve never laughed so hard. It’s a bit different when you have kids to provide for, but even then, it brings you closer when you struggle with others. And that closeness, that struggle, brings happiness. Why do you think people in the army have “brothers”? Forming bonds with people through the good and the bad…that brings happiness.

At least that’s how I see it.

If I were in your position, I'd not be considering having 4 dollars in my bank account, stranded etc. to be an amazing experience. there are tons of people who struggle on a day to day basis in developing countries, who if they had a choice, would give anything to not have to life like that, they would give anything to be able to live a stable life where they don't have to struggle to make ends meet. I guess it just varies from person to person and the context of the societies that we were raised in, but I'd much rather live a comfortable stable life with no need to ever struggle; those kinds of situations stress me out and really wear me down, and I don't consider them to bring me happiness.

I do agree that people who go through tough times together find comfort in each other and those bonds are a consolation, but the overall negative effects for me are too overwhelming.

Originally Posted by siefer1322

You are part of a small group of people who I call 'enlightened' - you get it. However, most of society is just not there. Most of society gets attached to objects is because they are so difficult to acquire, so our little crazy monkey brains equate some shiny thing thats very expensive but difficult to get as a worthy goal because we are at constant competition. So you go an show a person a big giant rock that came from mountains of South Africa and slaves chipped and brought it to a jeweler and he turned into a diamond and now your flashing it on your ****ing ring. "oooooh, monkey like, monkey like! Monkey did goood , tough to get, tough to get" lol anyways , you get the point. My point is that I completely UNDERSTAND that materialistic happiness is sad but at the end of the day, it still makes me happy. It's just our genes, we are wired to be like this.

I liked your post, cheers.

^_^ Thank you. And I get what you're saying about the material goods things. Glad to see you understand where I'm coming from

Originally Posted by ooburii

If I were in your position, I'd not be considering having 4 dollars in my bank account, stranded etc. to be an amazing experience. there are tons of people who struggle on a day to day basis in developing countries, who if they had a choice, would give anything to not have to life like that, they would give anything to be able to live a stable life where they don't have to struggle to make ends meet. I guess it just varies from person to person and the context of the societies that we were raised in, but I'd much rather live a comfortable stable life with no need to ever struggle; those kinds of situations stress me out and really wear me down, and I don't consider them to lead me to happiness.

I do agree that people who go through tough times together find comfort in each other and those bonds are a consolation, but the overall negative effects for me are too overwhelming.

I think you'd find that many of those people are much happier than those with tons of money. That struggle makes you appreciate your life that much more because you work everyday to survive. The reason people are so apathetic in the west is because they don't understand the value of their life, because we are so privileged to have the opportunity to be as wealthy as some are. Of course that's not always the case-working hard and having little money is very different from the sickness etc that those in developing countries face. But that's a whole other issue that is a result of all sorts of global inequalities and not really what I'm talking about.

As for that specific experience..it sucked at the time, I was stressed and terrified. BUT ...I was alive and I was healthy and I was with someone I loved. What more did I need? I got through it and I'm here. That lack of food made me appracite the 17 cent can of soup that was all we could afford. It's part of why I'm so not picky about what I eat. Everything is food, and I'm lucky to have it.

I'm not saying there's something wrong with wanting a stable life...I just don't believe that it's what'll make me happy.

Originally Posted by crazyfree

I used to work a job where I woke at 5 am and got home at 7 PM if I was lucky. I worked for less than minimum wage (5 dollars an hour). And I worked hard. That job is part of the reason I have major back problems now. I cried at work many a time. But the money itself didn't make me happy. The fact that I worked dam hard for that money did. The effort and the sweat and the pain is what made me happy. Hence why I didn't go for an easier job that would have actually paid me a legal wage.

my apologies i judged to quickly..i guess it was just me who felt the urge to be somebody important, someone powerful, someone who had enough clout to take a longer lunch break, someone who had enough money to buy a nice lunch....

Ohhhh I don't wanna be a doctor. I shan't go near good looking patients.

Originally Posted by manap3000

my apologies i judged to quickly..i guess it was just me who felt the urge to be somebody important, someone powerful, someone who had enough clout to take a longer lunch break, someone who had enough money to buy a nice lunch....

Hey nothing wrong with that Just saying I've had shitty jobs and been there. Not saying I don't want a proper job one day either lol

If you were dead and reading the story of your life, what would you want the pages to say?

Well isn't that great. Aren't you all lovely and perfect people. Besides crazyfree, I bet the majority of people here who are trying to convince themselves they don't care about money would go nuts on shopping sprees if they won the lottery.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

Well isn't that great. Aren't you all lovely and perfect people. Besides crazyfree, I bet the majority of people here who are trying to convince themselves they don't care about money would go nuts on shopping sprees if they won the lottery.

When word gets out that you won the lottery, you will receive many phone calls from long lost "friends". Think about that for a minute.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

Well isn't that great. Aren't you all lovely and perfect people. Besides crazyfree, I bet the majority of people here who are trying to convince themselves they don't care about money would go nuts on shopping sprees if they won the lottery.

Sup I definitely would, but it would be in an effort to increase the quality of things that I often use and need

But being an MD is a far cry from winning a lottery

Honestly I don't think that having money itself makes me happy, but the things that I can do with money can. I don't think that makes me a bad person.

Last year around this time, my bank account became very nearly empty, and I knew I wasn't going to be working agian until the summer. So it became quite difficult to do much of anything with friends without mooching in some way. I absolutely hated it.

The past summer, I did a much better job of saving, and I actually have a bit of stability. I don't have to worry about how I'm gonna get food or if I will be able to do small things that bring me little bits of happiness.

I have found that I need to be busy in my life to feel truly happy. I need to be challenged. In the summer, I was doing grounds keeping. It was physically challenging, but made me bored as rock. I longed for school to come back so that I wouldn't be bored anymore. Now the opposite has happened and my brain is working 100% but not my body so much. September was awesome because I was thinking but I still had time to spend with people I love, plus being able to exercise was nice as well.

I like being able to have a balance of body and mind. I don't think I will be truly happy if I don't get both.

Going back to money. I would like a job that would allow me and my family to live comfortably, not have to worry about rent and stuff like that, because that stress is never good, at least to me personally. I never want to spoil my kids, because I honestly feel that I am the person I am today from having to work for things that I want.

Sorry for the essay

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

Well isn't that great. Aren't you all lovely and perfect people. Besides crazyfree, I bet the majority of people here who are trying to convince themselves they don't care about money would go nuts on shopping sprees if they won the lottery.

That's definitely not a generalization you're in a position to make. You don't know most people on here personally. You can't judge based on .. posts?! With no face-to-face contact whatsoever. That aside, I know plenty of people who don't care about money. Money wouldn't make me happy if my parents, siblings and family weren't around. It wouldn't make up for the people I;ve lost in my family. It wouldn't buy me a higher academic status without my own work and effort. And the list goes on. Similarly, I know that there's a ton of things I want to do before I would spend money on a stupid shopping spree. Yeah, sure we all crave material items, but definitely not as a priority.. I'd want to finish school, help my parents with mortgage and such, help my siblings through school.. etc. Not everyone has money as their main goal in life, many do, just not everyone.
Anyway.. back on topic ..

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

Well isn't that great. Aren't you all lovely and perfect people. Besides crazyfree, I bet the majority of people here who are trying to convince themselves they don't care about money would go nuts on shopping sprees if they won the lottery.

If I won the lottery,I vow to give it all as charity. And I don't care if I don't get credit for it.