Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one. If it satisfies one want, it doubles and trebles that want another way. That was a true proverb of the wise man, rely upon it; “Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure, and trouble therewith.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Most people ask the question, can money make us happy? I think we can all agree that the answer has to be a resounding no. There is a more provocative question for us to ask ourselves. Can we be happy and have money? Or are these two things diametrically opposed?
The interesting thing about that question is that it is most clearly answered when it is broken up into two parts. First, we must ask ourselves, can we be happy? We can all be happy. Happiness tends to occur when we experience situations or circumstances that we perceive as beneficial. People with an optimistic orientation to the world have a tendency to be happy. But happiness has the tendency to be fleeting.
There is no doubt that some of the residual effects of money could possibly make us happy. We can be happy, if we have the money to take a vacation to spend time with our family. Or if we have enough money to help us feel financially stable or socially important. But it is not the money directly that makes us happy. It is always the things, tangible and intangible, that give us the emotional lift not the actual money. But the thing about this type of contentment is that it is always fleeting. People that have lots of things tend to never be content with what they have. Instead, they seem to develop desires for more and different things.
As spiritual seekers we know another word: joy. Both joy and happiness are emotions where we have feelings of contentment or satisfaction. But these feelings differ from one another other based on the reasons causing the feeling and the nature of the feeling. Joy, as opposed to happiness, is typically used to describe feelings of contentment that stem from our inner life.
Joy comes from deep within. It is a knowing that despite appearances the world is a place that is immersed in the Divine. God is with us, although we have to see it with “right eyes.” Joy is an orientation to the Divine that changes how we see God, ourselves and the world.
Money has little impact on joy. We can have money and still feel content. From a place of joy, we can be in possession of money without money possessing us. It is a posture authentic authority from which we have the ability to do great works in the world. Because joy is in our being, every thing that we experience is enlivened by that feeling.
The fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid.
- J. D. Salinger
Read more: Happiness vs Joy - Difference and Comparison | Diffen http://www.diffen.com/difference/Happiness_vs_Joy#ixzz1GC2SBjkF
