Window Shopping

Relativity is one of the biggest obstacles to mental health. When we wish we were in the position of someone else, and judge ourselves through others. When you hear about good fortune of people you know, and it does not make you feel good. When you go visit friends or family in bigger houses, or when you go on holiday, and are constantly aware of the things you do not have. Window shopping into other lives. We only have a small peak. We never see the full picture. We cannot understand their full story. We only see the conspicuous. We do not see the trade-offs. We do not see the challenges. We glimpse a single angle snapshot of another life path.

Letting go of that idea is vital to be able to fully focus our energy on whatever our bits of the puzzle are. Whatever our choices are. Whatever our position is. That is not accepting your role in life. It is letting go of the idea that people are better or worse.

Through an Opening

Fat Men Searching

Bob Dylan sings about fat men and thin men looking for dignity. Searching high, searching low. Have you seen dignity? It is one of my biggest quibbles with Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations”. He chips away at the idea of wealth creation as a battle to the death, but doesn’t quite let go of the linear development of the age. There is still the idea of more is better. He just argues we can all have more. Against barriers. For mobility. But he also argues for a greater expense for supporting the dignity of the monarch in an opulent society. “As in point of dignity a monarch is more raised above his subjects“. One of the biggest obstacles to financial security, and even adequate climate responses, is “the lifestyles to which we are accustomed.” Tying dignity to conspicuous consumption. If you want to become financially secure, one of the most powerful tools is to become a Minimalism Geek. Get a copy of “Seneca – letters from a Stoic” and chew on the lessons on how to become immune to life’s setbacks. What people see without effort, is not who you are.

Wealth as Opulence

Louis XIV of France "The Sun King"

Reigned 1643 -1715