The Greed Disease

WE HUMAN BEINGS have a major problem, we have an insatiable need for more. Even those of us who are so called, ‘Well off’ still crave even more riches, more fame, a bigger and more lavish house, car, lifestyle etc. The amount of wealth, possessions or influence will make little difference to the hunger for more.

Not only individuals suffer from this greed disease, it is also true for companies, corporations and governments. They have that same unquenchable thirst for more... even if they double, treble or quadruple their profits, they continue to devise devious ways to make more.

Even if we are living the life of the average Joe or Jane, our goals and desires are for more money and more material possessions. We are certain that being materially well off will make us happy and give us a life of ease, so we spend each day striving for riches instead of appreciating the gift of life that we already have.

What is the reason behind this need for more? Passed down to us from generation to generation, we have been indoctrinated from early childhood that we must have money and material possessions if we want to have a happy life. As we grow we tend to ardently pursue these possessions in the hope of their promised rewards.

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above
hoarded gold it would be a merrier world.~ J.R.R Tolkien

The satisfaction in having anything is a relatively shallow and short lived one, for within the desire for more remains a deep seated sense of dissatisfaction, of incompleteness. ‘I don’t have enough yet,’ so the search goes endlessly on and on.

Of course there are legitimate needs that were originally put in place for our survival. These are the basic needs for sustenance and shelter. Each one ensures the continuation of our body, for without them, we would quickly perish. They are the only legitimate and necessary needs for our life experience.

We tend to not realize that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have...

Dan’s Quote: “The attempt to satisfy greed
____________is like drinking salty water when thirsty.”

Inspiration for this post came from ‘A New Earth’ by Eckhart Tolle
Header picture: Rock formation, 'Kangaroo Island', South Australia