It is not the richer who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

Thinking about this topic, some words from Saint Augustine of Hippo came to mind that are closely linked: Poor is not the one who has less, but the one who needs infinitely more to be happy. Leaving aside the meaning of ‘rich’ as ​​a person who hoards a large amount of money, the categorical statement of the title has to do with that happiness that the saint already told us about centuries ago.

In fact, this happiness comes from other places that have little or nothing to do with the possession of a coin because What makes us rich does not have material valuebut rather emotional and physiological.

A world full of expendable things

Regarding what was mentioned in previous lines, it is worth highlighting that We live in a world in which things surround us that can be considered expendable.: Advertising and new technologies sometimes make us believe that everything revolves around the possession of material objects that may be capable of making us happier.

However, this is not true: we are no happier than our parents were for having a state-of-the-art mobile phone, two cars and three computers at home. Perhaps, yes, we lead a more comfortable life, but the consumption of things like that does not fulfill us as people.

When my sister tells me that she ‘needs’ to buy new season clothes and has two closets full of clothes to wear, I wonder to what extent we are deceived about our needs: We tend to give importance to what does not have it and we forget about what does, until we lack it.

Do I really need it to be happy?

What these examples show is the proximity of the opening quote, so much so that it seems surprising to us that it has been formulated since the Middle Ages. However, this happens because we have repeated the idea it conveys to ourselves hundreds of times: Do I really need this? It is a question that we can ask ourselves in many cases.

As we said, We have so many things that sometimes we forget those we couldn’t live without.: good mental and physical health, the possibility of having personal relationships that give us life like those friends who will always be there or the luck of having a family.

All that and more cannot be paid for with all the gold in the world, even if it is worth it. This is also why, paradoxically, all of this can make us rich in happiness: no one will feel better than someone who overcomes cancer, overcomes depression, or finds in their partner the best support and a sincere hug, for example.

Be happy with what we have

On many occasions we have surely felt frustrated because we did not achieve the goals we had set for ourselves or because we did not have with us what we wanted. In fact, We feel like we need more as we become less satisfied with what we have.

It is true that it is beneficial to set goals that you want to reach, since falling into conformity is synonymous with stagnation. However, it is positive to keep in mind that happiness comes when we enjoy the process.

Wishes do not give happiness, they only decorate it.: It is very enriching to learn to feel complete with what we have achieved or what we have given, to be able to fully receive what comes to us for free and without asking for it.

In short, what comes to us for free and without any material value is what can make us rich, as we have understood from the beginning. Money will give us comfort, but what moves our emotions is what gives us meaning.

You might be interested…