Monday, April 23, 2007

Bad case of the affluenza going around

It's official. Too much money can indeed be detrimental to you mental and emotional health. It doesn't take Motley Fool to understand, though this respected source of financial related advice recently reviewed the book Affluenza: how to be successful and stay sane.



According to MF:

In his travels around the world, which took up most of 2004, Oliver James discovered that a worldwide surge in material affluence, coupled with the demands of 21st Century living, appears to increase our vulnerability to emotional distress. Thus, in societies where people place a high value on acquiring money and 'designer' brands, looking good in the eyes of others, and wanting to be famous, the incidence of anxiety, depression, personality disorder and substance abuse is high.


It is not surprising that this chase serves to place happiness further out of our reach. The deep irony is not lost on us here at OFD. That when the search for happiness is an outer-directed one, in can take one to the furthest corners of the globe but one is destined not to find it, because it is an inner-directed journey. The capacity lies within us, latent, waiting to be unlocked when we are ready.

Perhaps this calls for a new play for these troubled and typically unsatisfying times. In the spirit of Godot maybe its Waiting for Happiness?.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Indeed. As Horace said: They change their sky, but not their soul, who run across the sea.