The American dream, at what cost?

When people are asked, “How many of you are content and happy with what you have?” the overwhelming majority of people’s answer is “I don’t.” And when asked what they want most out of life, the typical response is “I want to be happy,” as if happy is some kind of place, like Disneyland or Happy Land. But happiness is not a destination. It is a process. In fact, happiness is not so much a feeling (contrary to popular culture reinforced by the media) but rather a state of being and an attitude, if you will. It comes from feeling connected to everything and everyone. It is the level of our consciousness that makes the difference between living “happily” or unhappily.

Living in an increasingly artificial world, it is easy to forget our spiritual roots and very difficult not to live the illusion of life instead of life itself. When we live by the motto: “He who has the most toys lives”, instead of “He who has the most joys lives”, we invariably experience an artificial joy that prevents us from living fully in the here and now while connecting with real, real people. . life and real joy. Perhaps it is because, knowingly or unknowingly, many of us fell victim to the illusion of the American Dream and its promise of sweet success based on a materialistic value system.

So before you rush to say, “I want more money,” mistaking material success for experiencing more love and joy, ask yourself “at what cost? Is the high price effort worth the effort to achieve success, by definition? THE AMERICAN DREAM stricture? And the big sacrifice? In the pursuit of THE AMERICAN DREAM it’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important and overlook the many pitfalls of success. You can sacrifice so much just to “get there” just to discovering that there is no “there.” There is more to life than material success and living by the code of outer and superficial values ​​that do not really serve our highest good and purpose. Then you become disillusioned and life easily becomes an experience. empty, devoid of meaning and real, joy or purpose.

This is not to say that you should not live for excellence or even material success. After all, there is nothing virtuous about being poor. How can you help your neighbor when you yourself are suffering from scarcity? It is unfortunate that money has such a bad reputation (“money is the root of all evil”). In fact, it is the love of money, greed, that drives some to commit crimes that is the root of all evil). When used correctly with the element of charity built in, money can be a very useful tool in making a difference.

It is more spiritual to live well for yourself in order to give yourself for the benefit of others. You are an expression of life itself and that requires your active participation in the life process through creativity and prosperity. However, it is essential that you make informed decisions based on the awareness that the promise of THE AMERICAN DREAM, which is based on a superficial and materialistic value system (have it all and enjoy it all and live happily ever after) is just an illusion that It may not be the best thing for you and it may actually do you more harm than good. Success has its own pitfalls. It demands a very high price that may not be worth it.

But if you still insist on knowing whether or not you have reached the “Happy Land”, in the end you will know when you live your life consciously. That means you practice the attitude of gratitude for all the blessings in your life (remember, it could always be worse). Your joie de vivre does not depend on external values ​​such as the accumulation of possessions that produce an artificial joy that is as fleeting as it is cruel. You stop defining yourself based on someone else’s narrow definition of who you are and should be. After all, its true essence, constantly changing and expanding, is beyond any man-made definition. That’s something to get excited about.