RUMI

Cada árbol y cada planta del prado
parece estar danzando;
aquéllos con ojos comunes
sólo los verán fijos e inmóviles.

20 sept 2013

Your Money, Your Life, Your Happiness



http://neweconomy.net/people/vicki-robin

“Financial independence is being free of the fog, fear and fanaticism so many of us feel about money.”
“The shift from an ethic of growth to an ethic of sustainability will require nothing less than for each one of us to transform our relationship with money and the material world.”
“So much dissatisfaction comes from focusing on what we don’t have that the simple exercise of acknowledging and valuing what we do have can transform our outlook.”

How much do you really need?

Philosopher John Stuart Mill once noted that “Men do not desire to be rich, only to be richer than other men.” Financial independence is as much psychological as material freedom, involving shedding your past assumptions about what is “enough” for you to live happily and well.
Money is often tied to social expectations: the right house in the right suburb, the right schools and colleges, exotic vacations. Big incomes often equal big expenses. Many people’s existing “financial maps” have led them into a mire of dependency.
Through questioning people who came to their training courses, Dominguez and Robin found that whatever their incomes were, people always thought they would be happier with more money. If only they had an amount equal to double what they had now, they believed, they would be happy.
These days people tend to think of themselves more as “consumers” than “citizens.” As Dominguez & Robin note:
We moderns meet most of our needs, wants and desires through money. We buy everything from hope to happiness. We no longer live life. We consume it.
The “rat race” involves working to buy luxuries that you don’t have enough time to enjoy. According to the authors’ “fulfillment curve,” no matter how much more money you earn, it does not lead to increased enjoyment or satisfaction with life. In fact, if you are able to reduce your expenditure and “declutter” your life you are likely to experience an increase in satisfaction. It is very easy to fall into a bad cycle of debt, spending, and consuming, when all you really want, they suggest, is a reasonable level of comfort and security—a simpler lifestyle. When you simplify your life, you tend to spend less than you earn, and this alone can bring peace of mind.

Frugal people… get value from everything—a dandelion or a bouquet of roses, a single strawberry or a gourmet meal… To be frugal means to have a high joy-to-stuff ratio.

“the difference between prosperity and poverty lies simply in our degree of gratitude.” It’s not about being a tightwad, but about getting maximum enjoyment out of resources.

“Since money has a direct correlation to your life energy, why not respect that precious commodity, your life energy, enough to become conscious of how it is spent?”

You do not have to choose between “your money” and “your life.”  

No matter how rich or “civilized” we have become, we still need clean air, water, and fertile soil to survive.

There are ways in which your working self, your money self, and your role as a family member, friend, neighbor, and citizen can all be reconciled. Life is not just about making as much as you can and spending it before you die, but being in control of your finances so that you have plenty of time to enjoy family and friends and pursue personal interests. Surely this is real prosperity.