My Family’s Money

The other night I watched The Pursuit of Happyness and it got me thinking about how money relates to that third inalienable right. If you have not seen the film I will sum it up in two sentence – Chris Gardener, a down and out medical supplies salesman, overcomes great financial adversity to become a very wealthy man. The End. One of the implications of the film is that having a fair amount of money, or at least the style and type of life that money can buy, is nearly equivalent to a state of happiness. I say bullshimony.

Seriously, does having money, or at least a moderately to extremely comfortable life with sufficient amount of toys, entertainment, comfort, and care really result in being happy? I don’t think it necessarily does. Aren’t rich people at times unhappy? And aren’t there rich people who we might say are unhappy in general? Yet we could expect a rich person to have all that they need and more. On the other side of the coin, are all people in abject poverty unhappy? I really haven’t meet all the people suffering from poverty in the world, but I would think that at least some of them live perfectly happy lives. So this must tell me that there is something else that defines what makes us happy apart from how much food we have, the state of our shelter, or the amount in our Swiss Bank account.

But what exactly is it that makes us happy? Is it a potion bought from a ninja? A special charm held by Chuck Norris, and if he jiggles it over your supine body while you sleep you have seven years of happiness? What do you think?