"Knowing when you have enough avoids dishonor..." The Tao Te Ching

I have to remind myself every day that I'm one of the wealthiest people on the planet. The population quickly approaches 7 billion and I have more material possessions than at least 80% of them. This is absurd, but what approaches ridiculousness is the way that I still want more.

Megan and I have jobs that, by American standards, do not pay well. Yet, when I say the words "[2.1x]" or fill out a W-4 I'm amazed at how high that is. I have good reason to believe my parents never made more than $[x] in any given year. My household has doubled the income of my parents' household. This is progress to be proud of, if progress makes you proud. For me, it does. Yet I sometimes lose sight of the fact that we are told multiple hundreds of millions of people--billions even--live on $1 a day. We are told that for mere pennies a day we can sustain the nourishment and education of children in third world countries. So why do I become upset when I can't afford a Wii and Beatles Rock Band?

We, for all intents and purposes, own a home. We have a parcel of land, a piece of our universal earth, that is solely our right and property, mortgage not withstanding. The ability to do this, let alone the reality of completing such a transaction, is wealth beyond measure on a global scale. Let's not forget that I spend a tidy sum every month for the added comfort of artificially controlling the weather and the condition of the water inside my home.

Let's just talk about what I do inside this home: automatically wash laundry and dishes; access the Internet with a computer that I own, or that is given to me by my employer; bathe in more water than some people see in a day; sleep on a mattress that, while uncomfortable, beats lying on the ground and has no bugs; spend money to feed an animal that provides me with no food items whatsoever; put product in my hair; throw away or ignore altogether food that a billion people might murder for; entertain myself by staring at the TV; leave on a night light; play video games; I suppose the list of unnecessary activities and items could really be endless.

We own two cars, four bicycles and a 50cc scooter. We have two licensed drivers. There are people in this town who cannot afford the life-changing power that one old clunker would give them. If memory serves, there's a historical study somewhere that supports the mobility of populations as a major key to the acquisition of wealth. If I really wanted it that bad, recession aside, I could easily drive to the bigger market in Wichita and make myself richer.

Speaking of jobs and being richer, I have the luxury of working at a job that is meaningful to me. I am not forced to do whatever I can, anything at all, to feed my children. For that matter, I have the wealth to hire a doctor to safely and successfully put an end to my acquisition of children!

Life is truly good and I am undeservedly fortunate.

So why do I constantly want more, even in the face of all of this knowledge?




Photo courtesy of jeremyclawson.blogspot.com
RIP JAC