"They say money can't buy happiness? Look at the fucking smile on my face. Ear to ear, baby."
I have experienced a few unique situations relative to Ben's wisdom, and I have to say that while looking at rather large numbers in your bank account does put a smile on my face, it doesn't reproduce the same feeling as being in love or scoring a touchdown or cutting a SMASH record or giving to charity or swimming with my dog, all experiences I also have booked and reference when people ask me what brings true joy to my life that did not involve making a dime.
So what exactly does money buy if it didn't make me happy, happy like when I was told "I love you" by the girl I too felt I loved?
"Stay in school", "go to college", "get a good job", "earn income", etc. This parental diatribe starts in adolescence (or at 10 for me) and continues for the next decade or so. It really boils down to one simple concept that fuses economics and psychology at the hip:
Money is needed for survival, so the more you have, the better your chances of not dying from starvation or a lightning storm, and you can't be happy if you are constantly stressing about threats to your life.
therefore...
Money buys a reduction, a reduction in the stress associated with not having any money, and lower stress = greater capacity for happiness.
Argue against this all you want. If you live in America, this is fact. Bottom line. The more money you have, the less likely you are to die from 1.) not being able to acquire calories and 2.) not being able to shelter yourself from the elements. Who is likely going to live longer, guy #1 with $5, or guy #2 with $500,000, assuming both are burning equivalent quantities of calories per unit time and are in search of a lean-to on e-Bay?
Argue against this all you want. If you live in America, this is fact. Bottom line. The more money you have, the less likely you are to die from 1.) not being able to acquire calories and 2.) not being able to shelter yourself from the elements. Who is likely going to live longer, guy #1 with $5, or guy #2 with $500,000, assuming both are burning equivalent quantities of calories per unit time and are in search of a lean-to on e-Bay?
Any of you ever been broke? I don't mean "not able to go out Thursday night" broke, I mean "how am I going to consume calories 5 hours from now without stealing" broke. It is the worst feeling in the world, at least the worst I have experienced. This means it trumps absolute earth shattering / mind numbing / extremely depressing heartbreak and a dog running away and total loss of possessions and a few others I'll leave out. It is hell. Your ability to think, feel, help, study, empathize, work, gift are all replaced with a degree of stress intensity we very rarely experience in modern society, accompanying the following predicament:
How am I going to eat when my body consumes all the calories I put in it an hour ago?
...and with stress comes poor diet, lack of exercise, and, yes, ZITS...
Benny clears up your acne by sharing the fact that money puts a smile on his face, "ear to ear baby", because he has collected enough of it to reduce the stress associated with not having it to a point where he is able to experience happiness and no zits. So re-up on your ProActiv if you are stressed and remember we are all really working to avoid it and the further you are from it, the happier you can be! "Ear to ear baby!" Happy Friday!
...and with stress comes poor diet, lack of exercise, and, yes, ZITS...
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