But now I come to think about it, while I may or may not have some of them, I think I’d do the following:

Pay off my debts, and those of my family (mortgage’s, etc.).
Quit work and concentrate on Psionics and magic, learn as much as I could, practice as much as I could, maybe visit a few magical/mystical places (Tibet for example).
Fly out to see Sean and ask, in person, how the hell he comes up with all this stuff to baffle my brain :oP

Graham

~Genoraven

That’s easy… buy my son a book store.

~ Dad

Lifes a bitch and then you die. The world is full of greed, corruption and most of all chaos. Dont worry about other ppl, its pointless. Alls it does is keep you up at night. Worry about your family and yourself because you have enough problems of your own to be worrying about whether or not a child dies. Millions of children die every day. That CEO that makes 2 million a year pays toward taxes along with many other ppl with millions, which keeps the economy going smoothly allowing things to be cheaper for you to purchase in the long run and that CEO is probably taking care of all his family members making thier lifes as nice as his. you say take out 300k for him a year, maybe he is, and also giving 300k to his sister and 300k to his brother and 300k to many other family members which adds up fast. I learned along time ago how the world really works, and I wept when I found just how bad it really is out there. The world isnt nice…. dont be nice or it will eat you alive just like those who do out of the kindness of thier hearts, because then the sharks take advantage of you and run you into the ground. like I said, worry about yourself and your family.

What about those people who have entered bankruptcy because they bought that new Mustang instead of paying their Visa bill. Should the CEO making $2 million per year help them then?

I get your point, and I don’t disagree, but most of the time its not that simple.

As for the other point, I think that most people, at least subconsciously, equate external objects with internal feelings. For example, I own a new car. I own it for reliability, and I pay the price for it, but it is something I value greatly, and I always will, so I will always budget for a reliable car, and hopefully I will always be able to afford it.

My take is this: Life is about endorphins. Endorphins are the chemicals released by the brain that cause that happy feeling you get. Whether it is sex, helping people, or wearing a rolex, we all do it for endorphins.

Just trying to stimulate some discussion

Remember when you simply couldn’t wait to acquire something? You had your eyes set on a certain cell phone or iPod. Or maybe something bigger like a vehicle or a boat or a beautiful 3000 square foot colonial. You dreamed about it at night. It helped you get through those bad days at work. Then finally the day came and you purchased it. You beheld it as if it were the answer to all your dreams. How do you feel about it now? Perhaps if it’s still relatively new, some of that “new car smell” still lingers. However, with time your satisfaction will subside, and you’ll have set your heart on a different dream.

It’s not something that you should feel bad about, it’s human nature. Once something has been attained, it has a tendency to become unappreciated. New clothes will wear and fade. New gadgets will quickly be replaced by even slimmer, faster versions. Young puppies will become old dogs. Without constant effort, time slowly brings disorder. This constant effort to please one’s self is one way to go through life. I believe that this is the path taken by the majority. This, sadly, is the path that I find myself upon time after time. But there is another path.

The way to achieve happiness is not by working to make yourself happy. The way to truly become content with yourself is to help those around you, especially those less fortunate. Greed is the evil that causes unhappiness. I don’t want to make myself out to be a communist; I understand that the world is a better place because of capitalism (think medical advancements). I do, however, believe that undue hardship is a direct result of the greed of another person. When someone is forced to enter bankruptcy because they can’t afford health insurance and their child needs a medical procedure to save his/her life, it doesn’t seem fair that the CEO of the health insurance company is making $2 million a year. Again, I understand that that individual may possess incredible executive talents, but is that worth the death of an innocent child?

Here’s the key: Help someone else. Do them a simple favor. Express a kind word to someone that needs it. Will this solve the world’s problems? No, of course not. But if someone does you a favor, be a good person and pay it forward (as opposed to paying it back). Maybe even two or three times. Help a few people out and spread it as if it were one of those lame e-mail chains. Every time you think back on the good you’ve done, you’ll still be satisfied.