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Volume 1 (1999/2000)
Issue
1 (March 1999)
Issue
2 (Nov. 1999)
Issue 3 (Dec. 1999)
Issue 4 (Feb. 2000)
Issue 5 (March 2000)
Issue 6 (April 2000)
Issue
7 (May 2000)
Volume 2 (2000/2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2000)
Issue 2 (Oct. 2000)
Issue 3 (Jan. 2001)
Issue 4 (March 2001)
Issue 5 (April 2001)
Issue 6 (May 2001)
Volume 3 (2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2001)
Issue 2 (Nov. 2001)
Categories
Sport: 1
2 3
Lifestyles: 1 2
3
Commentary: 1 2
3
Review: 1 2
3
Writing: 1 2
3
Event: 1 2
3
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Suzanne Mulvaney
Suzanne Mulvaney wonders if true happiness
comes with money
Water, food and shelter - the three basic needs. I'm afraid I'd have
to disagree. I'd be more inclined to say they were a mobile phone, the
internet and a bulging wallet. Yes, in the words of Madonna, "we
are living in a material world and I am a material girl". So, what
does this mean? It means that we have a tendency to attach too much importance
to material things. By this I mean physical comfort and money. Everyone
hang your heads in shame. What a disgrace we are, wanting to live a nice
and comfortable life! Can't we do this without money?
Apart from those that live in a cave and eat berries, I don't know anyone
who can. We've all heard people preaching the wickedness of money, trying
to convince us how unhappy wealthy people are. But, I ask you, who could
live without it, and who would want to? Our desire to be rich dates back
to the beginning of time. Yes, we've been making money since the day that
we were born.
We go to school to get a good education in order to go to college so
we qualify for a good job with a high salary. Don't get me wrong now,
I'm not selfish or greedy. I believe that everyone should have riches,
if they deserve them. My aim in life is to work hard to acquire great
wealth. Then, I can squander it on expensive hobbies, fabulous clothes
and a lavish life-style. I will pursue a life of leisure and pleasure,
for some to condemn and me to thoroughly enjoy. People argue that we can't
possibly be happy with money.
Remember, it's not how much we have but how much we enjoy that brings
happiness. To me, happiness is a good bank account. When I am rich, I
will enjoy everything and anything I have from my wide-screen television
to my million pound wardrobe. Come back to me then and tell me I'd be
happier with less. The reason I will enjoy everything so much is because
I know I will deserve every penny of it. I will remember each morning
I went out to work, each penny I saved and then finally the day I spent
it all.
I completely agree that some people don't appreciate what they have.
They take absolutely everything for granted and it's because they don't
deserve their fortune. They will also never be happy. The more they get,
the more they want. Some people don't see the point in working really
hard for personal wealth. They think you miss some important experiences
in life while you are too busy working. I think I'd make up for anything
I missed while lying on my cream leather couch, eating caviar.
These jealous spoil-sports insist that you can only get instant pleasure
from these material goods. What's left when I get tired of them? When
you die all that remains are memories. The money doesn't mean a thing
then, although you will get a good funeral. It's simple, I'll have memories
of sunny days by my swimming pool and others won't! Love, what about love?
I forgot that all rich people are lonely and spoilt. Ha! Money can't buy
love say the Beatles. True, but just because you're "loaded"
doesn't imply that you will lose all your friends or your family. So,
we've established we're a material world but I repeat myself, what's wrong
with this? What's wrong with wanting to be comfortable and happy?
Money is not the root of all evil, it's the root of a desire to be happy
on earth. This seems totally innocent when compared with the desire for
world domination or a "pure" race. Once you don't become completely
infatuated with those different coloured bank notes, money can be a force
for great good. Think of the famine in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, it isn't
just prayers and good intentions that is going to help the starving people.
We only live once on this earth. You can choose to do either of two things.
One, you can love everybody and soak up the aesthetic beauty of the earth
and be a genuinely good person. Or, you can 'carpe diem' and live life
to the max, with a little help from the faces of Daniel O'Connell and
Catherine McAuley. You can't do both though, so I'm lead to believe! So,
if you think you're able to get by without a mobile, the internet or a
wad of notes, please share your secret. In this material world it is simply
not possible. I'll leave you with the words of Sean O'Casey, "Money
doesn't buy happiness but a little helps to calm the nerves".
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