Ah yes, the age old question to ponder why you are waiting in traffic... what would I do with 100 million dollars? I would not have any problems or cares. All this crap I have to put up with in day to day life would be history and I could flip the finger to all those bozos that constantly piss me off. Come on, admit it, you have all thought about this great little American fantasy. It is what fueled Manifest Destiny, the Star Wars Sextet, Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, Paris Hilton and all the rest.
So what would you buy with all the money if you found out that you were Donald Trump's illegitimate offspring from that prostitute that he bagged back in 1966? Have you still got that list rolling around in the back of your mind that contains all the things that you know will make your life a paradise here on earth?
Well, I have a reality check for you. One that is going to make you question all the things you have ever been told in life by every billboard, magazine ad, television commercial and rich neighbor you have had to live next to.
The ultimate luxury is 'NOTHING'.
That is right, nothing. To be able to live your life with 'nothing' is the ultimate luxury that almost none of us can attain, and that no self respecting capitalist would dare utter (in fact the CIA is probably looking for me right now just for uttering it here). Now bear with me while I explain this and try to fight off that urge that is telling you at the same time to kill me and to try and commit suicide after realizing that you have been lied to all these years.
The concept of capitalism is based on greed, and the human desire to have what others have, or better yet, to have 'better' than what others have. That is why you are 'trained' to want a Hummer, when it is more logical to ride the bus, why you 'want' an iPod instead of taking all that time to learn to play the piano. Why you want to vacation at DisneyWorld instead of taking a long walk in the woods behind your house.
This whole concept sort of hit me like a bug on my windshield when I was driving to work one day. Actually I was waiting in traffic that was moving at about 10mph on the freeway. The age old thought of what I would do if I won the lottery was dancing through my mind and I started thinking about what the best car would be to sit in while going 10mph on the freeway. After running through, Mercedes, Lamborgini, Bentley, Hummer, it started to dawn on me. If I won 100 million dollars, I wouldn't have to go to work!, so I would not need a car!, and I would not have to live here, and anything that I always thought I wanted, would become irrelevant, since the value was in desiring it, not actually having it. If I could have anything, nothing had any value.
The only real values in life are the intangibles. Those things that you can only experience and not buy are what are important. What is the value of having one day with a dear relative that has been dead for 10 years? To see your child head off to school for the first time, knowing that he or she is taking the first step in a long journey that you will never see the end of? Knowledge, travel, experience, emotion, health, empathy, compassion are the things that have infinite value, that you can never buy. Jet Ski's, jewelry, Harley's, Corvettes, Yachts, Lear Jets and private islands are just various types of closet stuffing. Things we buy because we think they will bring us joy, when in fact they are only egotistical distractions.
So if you had that 100 million dollars, the real VALUE of it, would be to have nothing, need nothing and just be free to interact and experience as many things as possible and touch as many lives as you can. And come to think of it... you don't even need the 100 million dollars to do that! You can do all that pretty cheaply.
Just thought I would give you rats out there in the rat race a different perspective. Now I have to get out of here since the black helicopters are circling and the boys in the black suits are walking up the driveway. And besides, I need to pick up another scratcher ticket at the local Circle K.
No need to thank me....I feel so much better now.
No comments:
Post a Comment