Originally Posted by kinglibra

A man is as rich as he is contented

The saying describes that the measurement of richness of a person depends on his level of contentment. That is to say that the amount of wealth possessed by him, cannot grant him surety of happiness. Therefore, the wealth of a person is resides in the happiness and composure.

In today’s world, man has distorted the criteria of happiness. He assumes that if he earns more money, he will be satisfied. Thus, he yearns for temporal possessions and seeks luxuries of life. But unfortunately, this practice have brought even more frustration and anxiety to him. The pursuit of affluence traps man in the quagmire of greed and selfishness, who then indulge into immoral means to fulfill their desires. Almost everyone is heard to say that if he were as rich as someone richer than him with whom he envy, he would be happy. Give that person the amount of money that he wants, and he will find another person, richer than him, to envy with and remain as discontented as ever. This is because the hunger of desires is insatiable, the more he gets, the more he wants.

Contentment is a state of mind which depends more on one’s approach than on one’s possessions. It is usually attained by the persons, who remain grateful of all the blessings upon them and possess the spirit of serving the humanity. The blessings can be in the form of good health, a loving family, good friends, and the fulfillment of basic necessities. This can be realized by comparing oneself to those who are less fortunate. Harboring compassion and helping the poor section of society from one’s own hard earned money or through social services, also brings comfort to one’s mind. The pursuit of riches will escalate the internal unrest of mind, which can be overcome by adopting philanthropic approach.

It is apparent that the real wealth of man is his level of satisfaction in life. Thus, it is unrelated to his bank balance and the luxuries of life but rather depends on his approach towards life. Therefore, it would be a wise choice not to run blindly after the riches, instead adopting an approach as to fulfill one’s basic needs and serving the cause of humanity to one’s capacity. This will help to eliminate social evils, while love and brotherhood will flourish in the world.