“Let's pass over to the really rich — how often the occasions they look just like the poor! When they travel abroad they must restrict their baggage, and when haste is necessary, they dismiss their entourage. And those who are in the army, how few of their possessions they get to keep…”
- Seneca, On Consolation To Helvia, 12.1.b-2
January 23, 2021 7:00 AM
The lifestyles of the rich and famous capture our attention more than those of our neighbors and family. While we ooh and aww how wealth provides meany pleasures, we forget that riches do not always bring happiness.
Seneca is reminding us that wealth cannot fix what is in our hearts. Material possessions will not mend an emotional wound. We cannot purchase a moral code to execute.
Conclusion
Wealth can provide us a degree of comfort, but lavish spending leads to short-term pleasure and rarely too long-term happiness. Believing wealth is necessary for happiness will only lead to more devastation and suffering.