Happiness is not for Sale…

Holla buddies. This is going to be the last part of my life lessons series. I hope you liked the lessons I shared with you all. So without any further delay let’s start the last chapter of the series. So the last chapter is ‘Happiness isn’t for Sale’.

‘True happiness is not acquired and you won’t find it on sale’

Have you ever heard someone say, “If I only had _____ I would be happy?“ Have you ever said it yourself? I know I sure have.  Like me, many people have made the mistake of thinking money is going to buy them happiness when really it’s just our way of trying to satisfy the unsatisfiable. It sort of reminds me of a cheesy love story from the 80’s called Can’t Buy Me Love. I consider love to be happiness, and I know for a fact you can’t buy that. If you had to buy it, it sure wouldn’t be love that’s for sure.

Fun, however, can be bought – just like a politician!

Regardless of what you may think, fun and happiness are quite different. People should have fun, and even buy it when they can, but when you confuse it with happiness, you may be missing the bigger picture. Fun is nice. Go on a 10-day trip to Europe, take a cruise, visit an amusement park, go see a movie, but don’t think for one second that it’s where happiness resides. Happiness comes from a completely different place, and it cannot be bought. Happiness is family, love, contentment.

If you go around trying to buy happiness you will find that there will always be “one more thing” to buy in order to achieve it.

• If I only had a ‘better house’ I’d be happy.
• If I only had a ‘newer car’ I’d be happy.
• If I only had the ‘newer mobile‘ I’d be happy.
• If I only had the ’60′ Plasma’ I’d be happy.

So as you can see, chasing happiness with money will only result in a cycle that will continue on to the *next best thing*. There will always be something else you can buy to “fill that void”, but what if you were happy with what you had?

We can’t buy happiness, yet we search the aisles, shelves, and pages of eBay in search of something more, of something to fill the void. The stuff won’t make us happy, though—not in the long run, anyway. At best, material things will temporarily pacify us. At worst, they will ruin our lives: they will leave us empty, they will leave us depressed, and they will leave us even more alone—alone among a sea of trinkets. The truth is we are all going to die, and heaping our tombs with treasure will not save us from this fate.

Can you recall a specific time when you caught yourself chasing happiness with money? What was it, and what made you come to your senses? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.