[Hackers]

I will admit that I've lived a very privileged life. I have traveled the world to the point where I struggle to feel passion about going to a new place, and it comes down to picking different cities a lot of times rather than countries. I grew up with everything I needed. I was not spoiled, but I did not want for much either, and that was always a choice by my parents to ensure we didn't grow up as entitled brats more than because we couldn't have something.

I've felt this way for a long time. Sometimes I almost envy the people who are poor. They are free to make decisions that I am not free to make. I would lose a lot to give it all up. There is something peaceful about having nothing and the idea that you can only go up.

I know this isn't a rational thought. I've been to slums and ghettos and other poor areas in several countries. I know it's not an easy life. But, I'll also never forget how happy I've seen children, even in the poorest and most disadvantaged areas. There is a blissfulness to not knowing what you do not have.

Does anyone think about what it would be like to reset, have nothing, and have the freedom of no expectations or worries of losing what you have? You cannot lose what you do not have, you can only gain what you need & want.

This is a phenomenon and privilege reserved for those who would never appreciate the scenario until escaping it.

[Deany]

No for me it's opposite I want $ so bad. SB my ticket to that Kappa

[Hackers]

No for me it's opposite I want $ so bad. SB my ticket to that Kappa

Can't disagree with that, I also want more $.

However, I can sadly or confidently say that $$ can't solve everything.
Unhappy people can find unhappiness in millions, or even billions.
Happy people can find happiness in soil, with nothing to their name.

I am in a better financial spot, but there were happier times when I made 20% of what I make now. Not across the board though, and really even back then I was not "poor".
There are also many other times where I'm far better off now than before too.

It's all about what goes on in our noggins.

I think if we look at Bill G, Jeff B, and Elon M, and a few others, we can see that even having billions of dollars can't make us happy people with healthy relationships.
> not political, these are just the first 3 billionaires that came to mind when thinking about their divorces and general dissatisfaction with the world

If we take a look at who's saying things are broken and not working, half of the public speakers are multi millionaires.

Money truly cannot buy happiness. I know that for sure... What I don't know is whether being poor can buy happiness.

One of the most serene (but underappreciated) times of my life was being in the woods for months without a cell phone/internet/computer, and making fire with sticks & string, and living under tarps on flat mats with a backpack as a pillow.

It was a simple life experience without distractions, without possessions, and we all wore the same clothing with no indications of wealth. We showered with heated water in bean cans. Sometimes our hair would freeze before we could dry it.

I wonder if the world would be better off if we all put ourselves to this test.

Finding happiness with no material possessions is possible, but perhaps it is only a positive in my life because it was TEMPORARY.
hint: I also didn't go voluntarily. Many years ago I was sent out to the woods for a few months :)

[Rsynced]

Why would anyone do that, go to jail and get a test of how it is daily...

[DAL-SHA]

I must admit sir , that's a unique perspective you are viewing the world there ..

[JoshAllen]

I kind of get what you mean, but hell no.

After working with the homeless, it is not a life I envy. It is very hard daily.

[Undead]

Does wealth equate to happiness? Probably not but it does make life a lot easier and we need all the help we can in this godforsaken world. Although, sometimes I see these happiness index lists and many poor countries feature higher up than the more wealthy places.

[Hackers]

Why would anyone do that, go to jail and get a test of how it is daily...

You are joking, but I have had the same thought there about how it's a shame I won't get to experience a prison sentence temporarily. i don't plan to change that... But sometimes I just want to experience it ALL and there are some things I'll likely never experience.

I went to strict boarding schools though and that's enough for me to know my thought about jail is irrational.

I must admit sir , that's a unique perspective you are viewing the world there ..

heh, yeah i know. I don't actually believe being poor would be easy or good.

Perhaps a more fair way to say it would be, "sometimes I think about giving up all the $$ and just starting over"

I kind of get what you mean, but hell no.

After working with the homeless, it is not a life I envy. It is very hard daily.

Yeah, I know realistically, I don't actually want that life at all.
I think there are parts of it that are nice, but the negatives outweigh the positives.

Yes to hiking around without obligation...
Not to doing that in the rain while hungry...

Does wealth equate to happiness? Probably not but it does make life a lot easier and we need all the help we can in this godforsaken world. Although, sometimes I see these happiness index lists and many poor countries feature higher up than the more wealthy places.

I'm telling ya man, I never saw more smiling children than in the middle of fucking nowhere in Kenya, in an orphanage & school for kids who lost their parents to AIDS.
That was a big experience for me and it was just so obvious.

These kids were so much happier than us (we went when we were pre-teens / teens) for a trip that the school helped organize (find families who are interested to help them save costs by going together during a school break).

But, it's all relative. Would they be happy if they knew about certain things?

Entire classrooms didn't even own tools to write, and most of them didn't have a concept of maps or continents. They couldn't identify Africa for example in a few of the classes (we stopped asking).

Would those same kids be happy if they had the same life they do now, but with full awareness of what else is out there?
Possibly not :/

So, perhaps our happiness is based on what we feel we need, or what we still want rather than what we have.

A broke child with no food isn't unhappy that they don't own things they dont' know exist. They might just need a meal.
A billionaire with out of reach goals can still feel like a failure.

The happiness is defined by what we're aware of not having, rather than what we know we do have. IMHO.

[Undead]

You are joking, but I have had the same thought there about how it's a shame I won't get to experience a prison sentence temporarily. i don't plan to change that... But sometimes I just want to experience it ALL and there are some things I'll likely never experience.

I went to strict boarding schools though and that's enough for me to know my thought about jail is irrational.



heh, yeah i know. I don't actually believe being poor would be easy or good.

Perhaps a more fair way to say it would be, "sometimes I think about giving up all the $$ and just starting over"




Yeah, I know realistically, I don't actually want that life at all.
I think there are parts of it that are nice, but the negatives outweigh the positives.

Yes to hiking around without obligation...
Not to doing that in the rain while hungry...



I'm telling ya man, I never saw more smiling children than in the middle of fucking nowhere in Kenya, in an orphanage & school for kids who lost their parents to AIDS.
That was a big experience for me and it was just so obvious.

These kids were so much happier than us (we went when we were pre-teens / teens) for a trip that the school helped organize (find families who are interested to help them save costs by going together during a school break).

But, it's all relative. Would they be happy if they knew about certain things?

Entire classrooms didn't even own tools to write, and most of them didn't have a concept of maps or continents. They couldn't identify Africa for example in a few of the classes (we stopped asking).

Would those same kids be happy if they had the same life they do now, but with full awareness of what else is out there?
Possibly not :/

So, perhaps our happiness is based on what we feel we need, or what we still want rather than what we have.

A broke child with no food isn't unhappy that they don't own things they dont' know exist. They might just need a meal.
A billionaire with out of reach goals can still feel like a failure.

The happiness is defined by what we're aware of not having, rather than what we know we do have. IMHO.

I think children in the West don't have much of childhood anymore. They have all of the latest gadgets but they're exposed to things that they shouldn't be. Its sad when you see them glued to a screen rather than being outdoors creating their own entertainment.

[Hackers]

I think children in the West don't have much of childhood anymore. They have all of the latest gadgets but they're exposed to things that they shouldn't be. Its sad when you see them glued to a screen rather than being outdoors creating their own entertainment.

100%

my mom had to really force us to sit still and watch TV, we were outside every single day basically

[plops]

I get that feeling.

I grew up close to the same way, all needs met at the very least and our parents always put us first. It gave me a solid baseline and has allowed me to build a slightly above average lifestyle for my family. But that does not come without stress.

I dream, sometimes, of leaving that stress behind but it would come with losing all the extra stuff on side. I am the only salary in the house and in reality we could afford me to drop my salary by quite a bit and still meet bills/food. But no extras. It would be selfish of me though. My folks struggled hard to get us where we got to before I started my family and their parents struggled even harder than them.

To put it simply though, yeah, I do like the idea of dropping everything and living a 'simpler' life.

When everyone is out of the house, I am buying a van and converting it to a small camper, gonna take the wife out and just drive.

I would not call being poor free though. If anything it really puts you in more constrained spot.

[Palestine]

I only dream about being rich enough so that I can help others and change their lives for the better. I wish I had it like that so I can bless those who need it

[Pimping]

Honestly no since i grew up some what poor and i hated it
I am not rich by any means but i do ok for myself and i have a safety net. I am happy with that i dont need to be multi millionaire rich as long as i have a place to live and my necessities paid i dont need much else.... and having a good savings nest is enough

[Hackers]

Honestly no since i grew up some what poor and i hated it
I am not rich by any means but i do ok for myself and i have a safety net. I am happy with that i dont need to be multi millionaire rich as long as i have a place to live and my necessities paid i dont need much else.... and having a good savings nest is enough

This is a good thing to bring up. On one hand, I long for a simpler life. On the other, I will absolutely feel like I have failed if I am not a multi-millionaire. I know this is not a "nice goal", but it's how I feel. For me, millions is a bare minimum, and perhaps that's why I have these weird thoughts that being poor could be freeing in a way.

[Pimping]

This is a good thing to bring up. On one hand, I long for a simpler life. On the other, I will absolutely feel like I have failed if I am not a multi-millionaire. I know this is not a "nice goal", but it's how I feel. For me, millions is a bare minimum, and perhaps that's why I have these weird thoughts that being poor could be freeing in a way.

For me i think $1.5m maybe $2m is enough
I can buy a house and a new car and just live/invest the rest and have no worries. I think you have to think about why you want that much and what your goals will be when you get there

whats the point of having $10m+ and not spending much of it or not knowing why you want it in the first place... you know? like i feel if i ever reached $10m+ i wouldnt have any ambition to continue.... since i would already be able to buy anything. what would be the point of making more money after that