How to be Happy: Be Poor!

"What kind of crazy talk is this?” you might be saying to yourself. Poverty and happiness does not go together, especially in this materialistic world we live in. For many people happiness spells “Moolah.”

This happy poverty I am talking about is not just being materially poor, though for some material poverty might actually help them to find happiness. The poverty I am talking about is being “poor in spirit.”

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Jesus

What kind of topsy turvy thinking is this?

Fr Robert Barron proposes to read it this way, “Happy are you if you are not attach to the material things of this world.” Happy are you if your life does not revolve in seeking the goods of this world. Happy are you if you are not addicted to accumulating stuffs.

Our hearts are wired for God. St Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee, O Lord” God is our ultimate satisfaction! To fill our hearts with stuffs will always leave us empty in the end.

Have you notice the vicious cycle of being addicted to stuffs?

Let’s say you wanted a car for the longest time. So you labor and labor for it. Then you get your car. You are ecstatic! You even sleep with it!

But after sometime you start to get bored with your car. Now you panic! The happiness that you had for your car is now gone! Now you want a new one, a better one. The cycle starts again. For the rest of your life you are trapped in this cycle of addiction to stuffs. Your life in the end has been a series of labor and boredom.

People who are addicted to stuffs have something in common. They have this sense of misery because they don’t have what they want. And their “wants” are getting bigger and bigger to the point they are not attainable. Their desire is insatiable!

Happy are you if you are not attached to the things of this world. For your joy is not defined by what you have materially. If you “have” or “have not”, your life continues. You can continue to enjoy life’s simple joys.

And lastly, happy are you if God and His will is the source of your fulfillment. For He alone can really make you happy!