It's no secret that the economy is tough right now. It's heavily affected all of us, destroying jobs, foreclosing houses, and bringing wave after wave of general discomfort. (The state of California, the 7th largest economy in the world!, is actually giving out IOUs this year for tax returns, haha. sigh) That being said, what I want to know is, through all this, are we as Americans going to learn our lesson? What lesson is that, you ask? Why do Americans always live so far above their means? We analyze how much we make and squeeze every last penny from our salaries, or even perhaps more, going into debt.
I'm not trying to slam people who have legitimate bills. There are millions who have no choice about this. They have families to feed and clothe. But there are plenty more of us with no excuse and we know who we are. For all the rest, I give you this quote by Henry David Thoreau:
“Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think that they must have such a one as their neighbors have... It is possible to invent a house still more convenient and luxurious than we have, which yet all would admit that man could not afford to pay for. Shall we always study to obtain more of these things, and not sometimes to be content with less?”
The reason I feel comfortable preaching such a financial gospel is because, out of everyone I know, the present state of the economy has affected me the most. I work for a non-profit organization and in the last four months have been paid a total of a whopping $675. And yet, I've muddled through. The reason why is because I've always tried my hardest to spend far less than what I earn. “For my greatest skill has been to want but little.” Another quote from Henry David Thoreau.
To me, it's always been more important to do work that's meaningful than work that's high paying. But often times, in order to be employed in meaningful tasks, one has to be content with little pay. Most of us, however, take the opposite approach. We associate pay with value, and think that when we have that high salary career, we'll finally have found everything we're after. But this is a fatal misconception. For who among us can control those unforeseen storms, like the current financial crisis? (Ok Ron Paul probably saw it coming, but who else?)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that contentment is a skill, one which most of us have not yet learned. I hope that through times like these, we'll learn. What do you think?