The chase for more money has led many of us into near hopelessness or temporary ecstasy. Children grow up thinking that all they need to do is make money, find the girl, buy the house, and/or have the job that will make life truly worth living. The contrary to that is also true. If we don't make all that money, have that one girl, own that house, or have that job then our lives will be meaningless. We'll simply be working for the weekend hoping that something, someone will come along and excite our lives just enough to make us know we can still feel. 

Our kids grow up receiving toys on Christmas, their birthdays, and any other "special" holiday we can drum up. But what are we setting these kids up for? They think that if they make a quick buck they can buy themselves whatever they want. Just look at the way advertising is done today. There are ads EVERYWHERE. Buses, planes, cars, papers, tv, movies, posters, radio... All espousing the belief that if we just had a little more (blank) we would be happy: money, fame, or glory. The result is complete emptiness.

Yeah sure we may make that quick buck, but be honest: does it ever really end there? You wake up one day to find that your life has been wasted trying to earn what cannot be earned: purpose and meaning.

Don't get me wrong I think we love ourselves too much. Everything is about us. After all, we DO spend our time making OUR lives better. But that's not what life is really about, is it? Deep down if we took stock of our lives and were honest with ourselves we would say we have all WE need. We have food. The rent is paid. The car has gas in the tank. But that chase for more only ends up leaving us emptier than when we started. All our goals of getting what we needed left us wondering why we ever did it to begin with. "Why, after all the stuff I have, do I still feel so empty?" "Why do I feel like I haven't accomplished anything?"

But still we complain. We complain of not having the car our neighbour has or how our house could be bigger. So we work harder for more money to get a bigger house and an emptier soul. For still we work to gain more for less. 

I would put forth a suggestion and not have you throw me out for it: Stop. Stop chasing after what will only leave you with less though you accumulate more. Our lives have been so focused on ourselves and earning what WE want that we can't see the family on the streets begging for a scrap of food while you eat well every night. We're so intent on getting that bigger house that we can't see the family taking jackets off to make a roof while it rains outside. How about we stop being focused on ourselves and focus on others. Because no matter how bad we have it, as the cliche goes, someone else always has it worse. I guarantee if we focused on them a little more and gave more time to the harder off in this world we would earn what really matters and what we've been seeking our whole lives: purpose and meaning. 

Life was not meant to be spent in a cubicle or an office building. Nor was it meant to be sped through while we can't see the trees going by. Life was meant to be shouted from the rooftops, appreciated for its quintessential beauty, and shared with the less fortunate. Enjoy life by spreading life. That's the purpose behind the meaning.