Money
How much money do you have to have to be happy? How much money do you have to have to feel powerful? How much power do you have to have to feel control? How much control do you need to have power and money? What makes you happy?
Lately these questions have been on my mind. Who am I? I am just another living being on this planet trying to get by in this world, for what? Is it money, power, control, happiness, survival (I sure didn't ask to exist)? I am not sure why we as human beings are where we are sometimes in life, although I do know that I want to be happy. I want to be happy as much as I can. I'm sure the motivation for what most people do is to be happy as the end result, however far down the path that happiness may be.
I think this is different in every society, neighborhood, city, country, county, household and civilization. Maybe the more money a drug dealer makes in a poor ghetto type area makes them happy. Maybe someone else is happy just to be able to survive and be with loved ones every day. I know of some people who are happy simply by helping others. Who really knows?
Does living in a "ghetto" or existing in what society calls a bad, poor, corrupt, distressed area mean that you cannot have happiness, power, control or money? I don't think so, I'm sure there are people living in these areas that have money, power, happiness, control and love.
On the opposite side of this "ghetto" world i would guess there are also many people with money, power, happiness, control and love living in rich "nice" areas.
This just makes me think about how "bad" or "ghetto" these places really are. Is it the money that causes this? The desire for power or control? Or maybe corruption?
There really is no answer, I guess it's just human nature otherwise there would be no such thing.
However, I have to question myself on what such a thing should be.
Lately these questions have been on my mind. Who am I? I am just another living being on this planet trying to get by in this world, for what? Is it money, power, control, happiness, survival (I sure didn't ask to exist)? I am not sure why we as human beings are where we are sometimes in life, although I do know that I want to be happy. I want to be happy as much as I can. I'm sure the motivation for what most people do is to be happy as the end result, however far down the path that happiness may be.
I think this is different in every society, neighborhood, city, country, county, household and civilization. Maybe the more money a drug dealer makes in a poor ghetto type area makes them happy. Maybe someone else is happy just to be able to survive and be with loved ones every day. I know of some people who are happy simply by helping others. Who really knows?
Does living in a "ghetto" or existing in what society calls a bad, poor, corrupt, distressed area mean that you cannot have happiness, power, control or money? I don't think so, I'm sure there are people living in these areas that have money, power, happiness, control and love.
On the opposite side of this "ghetto" world i would guess there are also many people with money, power, happiness, control and love living in rich "nice" areas.
This just makes me think about how "bad" or "ghetto" these places really are. Is it the money that causes this? The desire for power or control? Or maybe corruption?
There really is no answer, I guess it's just human nature otherwise there would be no such thing.
However, I have to question myself on what such a thing should be.
posted by Paul at 1:20 AM
10 Comments:
Happiness comes from God my friend. Seek God, and then happiness will follow
My friend, what if you do not believe in god?
Now, I am not saying I do or do not believe in god. It is just a point that I am bringing up.
Someone once told me that people believe in a higher power such as god because they can't live with the idea that when you die you become nothing and have no thoughts and simply don't exist anymore. Most people can't even image this because they have always existed even when sleeping, unconscious etc...
I wonder what it would be like to simply not exist, have no thoughts, no sole, no feelings, reactions and to just not exist anymore. Similar to the Billions of years + before you were born.
I heard someone else say something to the effect that the most obvious solution or reason is most likely true.
We are here now, no one really knows why. There are so many unanswered questions in human existence. All we can do is learn from others and act upon our human instincts to live. One thing is common though, we all want to be happy.
You say happiness comes from god. Well, what, who, how, when and where is god? Is it fact or an idea? Maybe just a thought or lifestyle. If that makes you happy then god bless you!
Like I said before, I am not saying I do or do not believe in god. I am
simply a free thinker and am not afraid. With fear comes anger and hate and other negative feelings which bring me far away from how I want to feel which is happiness.
True happiness is in part a matter of perspective. It is a choice. Things do not make us happy. happiness is living out purpose.
Happiness is NOT always a matter of perspective, not to say that we cannot adjust our thinking to a position which allows to accept life as it is to a certain degree. But no matter how much our mind tries to perceive certain situations, there is still hurt and pain to some degree when a loved one dies etc. That is the harsh reality.
And slums in America are different from slums in most other countries. You are probably more likely to be raped, beaten, and robbed in an American slum than in an Asian slum for instance. Why? It is the nature of our country and of capitalism. In capitalism there is always a winner and a loser... but in America everyone has some opportunity to move up in the world- it is up to the individual. So survival of the fittest takes over, and the people who remain in the slums are the people who couldn't break out of it- and if you notice a lot of these people have dysfunctional social issues like drug addiction, high rates of family instability such as a father walking out on his kids, etc. It is a consequence of the way things are set up in our nation, naturally the losers will be people who cannot compete and they are usually the ones who lack life skills. So over time, there is a build up of such these types of people in slums.
Unhappy people can be found in both the hood and in the rich neighborhoods. some people have everything and they are still not happy. some people i know are not happy cuz they're black and poor. that's why i think a lot of guys are always drinkin and smokin, they know they won't amount to nothing, and thats just sad. im lucky im in school and transferring to a good college soon. i hate to leave people behind but what can you do? its not about the quantity but the quality. rich people who are sad probably have a lot of nice material things, but maybe not loving relationships. or they are so preoccupied with themselves and their possessions, and not other people. poor people on the other hand can be unhappy when u feel you're not loved or cared for. when you know rich white kids have it better then yours, when u see people killing each other. if everyone just looked out for each other and cared for each other, regardless of class or race, i guarantee you we'd all be happy.
truthfullly paul i admire your awareness about the things that go on in the ghettos of america. But truthfully the answers are in front of your face bro to people are in these conditions all over america especially black americans due to miseducationt from society and there own local communiteies as well as being underdeveloped i the arena of business...When i grew up nobody taught me how to pool resources with my peers or others in the community to create some type of ripple in the business world. And thats due to elders of the race that have been condtioned to be jus laboring consumers instead of being valuable producers. There are alot of arens in reality that perpetuate this condition from post slavery pyschological underdevelopment willy lynch syndrome etc...I could go on for days about problems. But a realistic solution to these situations is for blacks n other races to pool together their resources into the communities creating business oppurtunities for the people by the people with some type of defining ideology that differentiates thenm from others so that no dilutig of the groups objective should occur..If practiced over a wide scale basis the trickle down effect would be extraordinary being that we as people are heavy consumers and trend setters on the youthful society based level..Im no scholar shyt i never went to college im jus a exhussla from Shadyvill/Jamaiaca Queens observin american society from my point of you..If you scrutinize the system and its history youll find some answers...Happiness is found when ones inner self is expressed into the pyshical world positively..If only schools taught u how to harness your god given skills and direct to the world instead of slappin a wrench in ya hand n feedin u hand me down info about being a laborer instead of a producer..our country would be in a better place...Future is da name bro..peace and 1 luv im gone...
Future From Shadyvill,
I couldn't agree with you more! I really like you perception on life and humanitarian environments. I am just an open minded person who speaks his mind and posts images of what creates a certain feeling in one's mind (I have noticed it is different for everyone). That is why I thought that a blog dedicated to this subject would be a great conversation piece of knowledge and also with the images posted it would really let one's self explain their true emotions.
First off let me say I don't know how to fix it, but I've thought a lot about why ghettos exist.
I think that ghettos are ghetto more because of how people live, than by their economic status or their outlook on life.
For example I lived among ghettos for two years as a missionary for my church (Don't worry I'm not going to bring in religion) and what I saw was that the biggest things that caused ghettos were families, lack of moral standards and addictions.
Families were broken where I lived in North Carolina. I hardly saw a functional nuclear family. I saw fatherless homes, siblings that hated each other, and mothers that didn't care for their children. I believe that if families were functional, that the fathers were at home, then the crime goes down, and education would increase.
So many women were pregnant out of wedlock, and when this happened the guys would run. Leaving women to raise children with no stable job, no solid place to live and no parenting training. I noticed that people focused more about satisfying their sexual desires than actually improving their situation. Sex was always on the mind of the people I lived among. I like wearing a tuxedo and looking and feeling nice, but I don't wear a tuxedo everyday, or else it looses its feeling. Sex might feel good, but if it is done everyday, then the special occasion will also wear off.
Addiction was the last cause that I noticed. It didn't matter what it was that they were addicted to, that took priority over everything refined (Education, Morality, Talents etc.) The addictions were for Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, Pornography, it didn't matter. The people thought about their addiction and that was it.
I believe if there was a way to help people learn to have functional families, live moral lives, and overcome mindless addictions, then slowly the ghettos will disappear.
Two wiki psychology links for you on this matter:
Maslow's hierarchy of needs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
Race, Evolution, and Behavior (book):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race,_Evolution,_and_Behavior
I am Rich, I am powerful I feel like I run the world. My world that is. I am rich with love, I am full of power, empowered by children. I run my world, cause I run my life and no one else does. I have no more money than anyone else. Materialistic we struggle like everyone else. But in my family we have each other. We are healthy and my children smile every day. That is what I call rich and powerful. And that is what makes me feel blessed.
You can sit in pity and feel sorry for yourself. But can no one help you, unless you help your self. Get up, stand up and be strong. Don't give up on hope and faith. And you will see that also you will be rewarded.
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