Money 2

We live in a capitalist era, so there's no need to stress the importance of money. Countless people are sacrificing their lives to earn it. Many videos and articles lure us in with promises of easy ways to make money. Whether we succeed in making money through these methods or not, we end up unhappy. We spend more than a third of our day working to earn money, and this makes us unhappy. I was unhappy too, especially when, in my younger years, I sacrificed even my sleeping hours to make money.

The money that was supposed to make our lives comfortable has gradually come to dominate our lives. Have you ever gotten angry while playing a computer game? I sometimes do. I find myself foolish for getting upset over something meant to bring me joy. But when it comes to money, we do even more foolish things. We hurt ourselves and others, and sometimes even take lives, all because of money.

 

If we think about it rationally, there's no reason for us to be so tormented by money. Fortunately, in most developed countries, there are complete or partial social security systems in place, and many countries provide minimum subsistence allowances. This means that it's rare for people to die of starvation simply because they lack money.

 

Yet, we still suffer because of money. It's not starvation that causes our pain; most of us suffer because we compare ourselves to others. When we compare our lives to the seemingly glamorous lives we see on social media—whether those lives are real or not—we start to feel insignificant. We lose the money we've saved in the pursuit of earning even more, and this makes us miserable. We suffer from poverty due to spending habits that don't match our circumstances.

Of course, there are people around us who truly struggle because they lack even the minimum income to maintain a basic standard of living. However, it often seems like there are more people around us who, despite enjoying a middle-class or better lifestyle, still talk about financial difficulties. This shows that the measure of happiness isn't simply a matter of how much money we have. Even though we know this logically, it's hard to remain indifferent to money in reality. We also know that the more we become entangled in the pursuit of money, the more our lives deteriorate, but breaking free is even harder.

 

How can we free ourselves from the grip of money and find happiness in other things? It's not something I can achieve on my own through a personal epiphany. It’s a problem that requires persuading those around me, which is an even bigger challenge than reaching the realization myself.

 

I still haven't found the answer.