Last night, I watched Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann and based on the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Millionaire Jay Gatsby had everything money could buy. The one thing he wanted most of all was something he couldn't buy, love. The movie got me thinking. In our uncertain world, has our outlook on what makes us happy changed? Does money still make us happy? Or did it ever?
Today’s youth, me included, are constantly searching for happiness, but I don’t think we understand what happiness truly means.
Often, we spend money on things in our quest to be happy, but instead we are left feeling unsatisfied after the new has worn off.
Now, imagine going to the grocery store, and the aisles are empty. Movie theaters, restaurants, malls, amusement parks, hotels, and airports are closed. You are unable to see your friends, hug your grandparents or go to church. Welcome to the now. At this moment, is money bringing you happiness?
As a society we are always trying to keep up with the Joneses. We must have the latest and greatest. More and more. Bigger and better, but often when we accumulate, more and more material things, we are no happier than we were before.
Maybe this is because happiness can’t be bought, especially in times like now when our world is suffering through a pandemic of unprecedented proportions.
Happiness comes from within, an inner peace. When we want something, it stimulates our brain. We become excited and once we attain what we want, we don’t value what we have, and we are always left wanting more.
It has taken a pandemic to force to take time to rethink our wants versus our needs.
The way we spend our money has changed in the past 50 days. Without the outlets to spend money, we have been forced to reevaluate our priorities.
Our focus has been shifted because of a loss of actual human connection. We don’t think about buying that new iPhone. We are investing more in people and not things.
As President Dr. Nido Qubein of High Point University states, “Some people try to use money to achieve happiness. If they use the money selfishly and unwisely, they’ll have nothing left when it’s gone, and they’ll be unfulfilled…Happiness is a thing of the moment. Fulfillment is lasting.”
Our nation spends millions of dollars on clothes, shoes and handbags thinking “that new handbag” will make us happy. Now we are thinking differently about money, values and happiness.
Recently, communities, neighbors and friends are bonding together in ways they never have before even from a distance.
Take a walk, watch a sunset, read a book, write a letter to someone or just laugh. These things don’t cost but might just bring you an inner peace.
We have become accustomed to trying to satisfy our happiness with material things it may seem difficult to adjust to this way of thinking. Happiness doesn’t have a price tag. Everyone wants to be happy, but happiness is relative for each person.
One thing is for certain, when your happiness is dependent on only money, you will never achieve what you are looking for. We should focus less on what money can buy and more on how I can make a difference.
Maybe now, money spent to make masks for nurses or buying food for kids in need of food will bring more happiness than any purse that could’ve been bought at the mall. Money can’t buy happiness, but if money is spent purposely it can bring a sense of joy which is happiness.
It’s a win win for everyone. Next time, you buy a coffee pay it forward for someone else. Instead of buying a new pair of jeans, buy a food care package for a family in need. Most importantly always remember to hug your loved ones and never take them for granted. Appreciate the little things.
The pandemic will end and hopefully we will not forget the little things that didn’t cost a cent that brought us peace; maybe it was taking a walk or watching the sunrise. Appreciate what you have and enjoy every moment because time is one thing that money can’t buy.
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