Stuff...and Things

Stuff, what dreams are made of.

We take a lifetime making money to buy stuff.

Then we make money to insure the stuff.

Then we make more money to buy insurance to protect the stuff in case it gets lost, stolen, or damaged.

Then we make more money to house the stuff.

Then we make more money to maintain and repair the stuff.

We feel good when we buy it and then the good feeling is gone.
It's like a drug that you have to keep getting to feel good.

We've all heard there's more to life than money. I just talked to a friend who was asking me about some ideas he had to make money in a business he wanted to start on the side.

Why? To make some money.

In the last seven years I have lost seven friends. All under the age of 65. All but one under the age of 53.

Many of them had extra businesses or things on side to try and really "make it."

Now they're dead and the money they made has gone to their widow.

My friend wondered why I wasn't really interested in getting into some business or other to make it big.

There's more to life than working. More to life than having more jobs, more things to worry about, more things to take care of.

It might be fun for many, I find fun in a more simple life. Few wants, few needs where my fun comes with being with family.

Of all the things to strive for in life, stuff isn't very high on my list. It's fun to have stuff for awhile, but it is a never ending cycle. It's a cycle that wastes lives just taking care of the details of stuff.

Happiness has never been stuff. Happiness comes from love. It comes from knowing where you came from before this life, why you are here, and where you are going.

Spending your life with people and helping others is what really makes a difference.

Happiness. It's the stuff of life, not a life of stuff.

Isn't there more to life?

What do you expect out of life? Money, toys, the wild life?

It's interesting that in interviews of lottery winners, those people many envy, that most were happier before they won.

How can that be? They have everything. Money to buy anything they want and they still aren't happy.

So, what does make people happy.
Someone to love and who truly loves you.
Belief in something larger than yourself, like God.
Doing something for others - service.
Knowing the truth.

The truth can make you free. And happy.
Find more of the truth at Mormon.org