The Week's Point to Ponder: What Money Buys

I just found this quote from an an old notebook I have had since the 90s. It is attributed to an Arne Garbog though it does not cite the exact source (this is the age of Google so I will google him/her up). It goes:

"It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food but not appetite; medicine but not health; knowledge but not wisdom; glitter but not beauty; fun but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants but not faithfulness; leisure but not peace. You can have the husk of everything for money, but not not the kernel."

Upon reflection, I realize that some of the best times I have had, times of real happiness, have been under circumstances where money was not involved. Of course it helps to have some money, it brings all the conveniences but we need to also learn to enjoy our lives without having to buy anything. Nowadays the pressure is on spending, consuming. We now live in an age where we are defined by what we can buy, consume. As I consume, so I am. When you turn on the TV, the radio, open the newspaper, it is always about buying more of this or that. When I walk into a supermarket with my small daughters, they want to be bought for this and that. What is it we really want? And can we only get it by buying it?

"It is not what you possess in life that gives you worth, but what you pass along to others" - Thien Loc Vo