“Money doesn’t buy happiness.” Who among us hasn’t heard this phrase?
Well, most of us disagree, at least a little. This is because money can seem to make us happy.
But it can also drain our life of all meaning, as we work long hours at a job we don’t like only to come home too tired to enjoy our few remaining waking hours.
Several years ago, my husband and I found a way to approach money that had a positive effect on our happiness. Now, three years later, we have become quite good at it – so I would like to share with you what has worked for us.
I did this meditation once with a stranger at a seminar years ago, during which I found myself with tears, much like what Richard describes below. Check it out. Try it with a friend.
If you want to know God
Then turn your face toward your friend
And don’t look away.~Rumi
I sat looking directly into the young woman’s eyes.
She looked right back.
After a few minutes, tears began flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.
We kept looking.
Twenty minutes into our gazing session, the tears stopped.
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ShannonKeep your heart open for as long as you can,
as wide as you can, for others and especially for yourself.~Morrie Schwartz
I distinctly remember the time I first thought about love.
I was 5 years old. It was a bright, sunny day outside and my mother told me that she and Dad no longer loved each other; and that they wouldn’t be living together anymore. My little 5-year old world was rocked.
I remember trying to take it all in—to process it all as fast as a 5-year old brain could. Thoughts rushed through my mind one after the other. I would no longer be living with one of them and seeing them everyday.
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Valerio BoncompagniThe more I broaden my interpretation of what can be called a ritual, the more I find them, and find myself creating them in my life.~Lisa Weiner
I was sitting with my therapist in the midst of college finals. It was one of our last sessions together before I would return home for the long summer vacation. It stunned me that my sophomore year at college was coming to an end. Where had the time gone?
“I feel like it’s too soon,” I told her, “Like I’ve worked through all these changes, and now it has to come to an end. It’s strange, but I almost don’t want to leave anymore.”
She looked me in the eye. We both knew I had gone through a hard semester, both academically and socially. That year, I met my biological parents for the first time, reconnected with family in a country 14 hours away, and lost myself in working too much and sleeping too little. I had contemplated not returning to school or taking off time the next year. It was surprising to both of us that I might actually be enjoying my time there—right when it was about to end.
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Anna GayFamilies are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.~Brad Henry
There’s a vase full of roses on our dining table. Each week it’s a different color or a new variety. The first time I had the roses there, as soon as they turned slightly droopy I threw them out. Why not, right? I mean they weren’t doing anyone any good, looking so old.
One day, instead of throwing them out, I trimmed them a little bit and put them in a smaller vase. They perked right up and thrived for quite a while before it was time to throw them out.
As time went by, I got wiser. As the roses aged, I found a smaller vase to fit the trimmed stems. Then later transferred them into a mini vase. Finally I floated the blossoms alone, minus the stems, in a large white bowl to accentuate their beauty.
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Anna GayAdversity is like a strong wind.
It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn,
so that we see ourselves as we really are.~Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha
Have you ever faced the kind of adversity that crushed you to your soul and left you feeling paralyzed and numb? Have you ever felt so lost that it seemed as if there was no way out of the darkness?
I thought that I have faced adversity and overcome it. In my life I have battled illness, financial loss and relationship trouble and yet I endured to be strong, healthy, financially stable and loved. It wasn’t until several months ago that my biggest challenge was about to stare me straight in the eyes and make me buckle at the knees.
Half way through November of last year I lost the most influential person in my life—my mother. She was not only my Mom, but my best friend, my business partner and my soul mate.
I recently read a gem of a book called “The Millionaire Fastlane”. Despite feeling skeptical by its title, its phenomenal content surprised and delighted me. I’ll say more about the book at the end of this article. Until then, enjoy this article from the book’s author, sharing an important message for us all.
Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying.
Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day.
Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now.
There are only so many tomorrows.~Michael Landon
Today I am confessing something big.
Not many men would disclose this information, but I will.
My two favorite movies are Titanic and The Notebook — yes, two perennial favorites among the ladies and unmentionable by my male counterparts.
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Eduardo Izquierdo
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