Commercials and the media promote the idea that we are happiest when we have the trappings of wealth. Then we can do whatever we want. We have freedom.
Observations show otherwise. Beyond having abundant income to cover the best food, shelter, leisure and healthcare, wealthy folks don't feel happier or more free. Many, in fact, faced with plenty of hours and nothing to fill them with complain of boredom, not of "too much freedom."
Remember Richard Cory? He was richer than a king. And yet one calm summer night, he went home and put a bullet through his head. Why? Was he lonely? No one needed him? We can only consider our own life's experience and guess.
New parents often find that taking care of their children brings an unexpected joy. So does working at a career we find fulfilling. Undertaking responsibilities. These things don't dull our days—they fill it with purpose and meaning. And--dare I say it?--freedom.
Is this what freedom is about? Or is it enough time and money to chase the empty promise that more stuff equals more happiness?
Rather than Richard Cory’s path, we can emulate Henry J. Kaiser, another wealthy man, an accomplished industrialist who founded Kaiser Permanente Health Care to keep his workers healthy.
He had as much freedom as mortal human could. And so he chose as his motto: “Find a need—and fill it.”