Money, Money, Money, Makes the World Go 'Round

"'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life,

Trying to make ends meet,
You're a slave to money, then you die..."

~ The Verve

To those who are religious, we pray to God (or to gods, depending on your background; to each his own). We praise Him, and ask Him to bring Peace, Love, and Happiness to our lives and to the lives around us. We put Him on a pedestal and acknowledge Him as a power much greater than ourselves.

To the atheists, we believe in and need nobody but ourselves. Who decides our fates but you and me?--Especially in the United States where the American Dream is so easily achievable.

It seems the general public often searches for someone or something to believe in or to look up to, yet we tend to overlook what should be so obvious to us: We prepare our children to become slaves to money, just as we had been prepared when we were young. This vicious cycle engulfs all of our lives. Money holds our fate; without it's "blessing," we would not survive in our present society, and with it, we could rule the world. Admit it: Money owns us.

Yes, we work hopelessly for money. Your parents raise you in hopes that you not only become good citizens of society, but also that you gain a higher education so that you may earn more money than they had. With money, comes security and happiness. Get a successful job, buy a house, buy a car, raise a family, gain material pleasures, and have your children repeat history. Side advantages like prestige and power of course come along with the majority of successful jobs. This is what is expected of us, and whether you are aware of it or not, that is what you will eventually work towards.

Even as we rebel against society's expectations of striving to be the richest, most prestigious citizens, we are still at the mercy of Money. You want to be free? There's a price that comes with that. You want to travel the world? You want to disappear from the world? You want to SAVE the world? YES, there's a price that comes with all of that.

And in the end, what is money anyway? Realistically, money is the utmost power in society, and we are its bitch.

The Easy Life

Is it a curse or a blessing to find out things in life come easily to you?

There are some people who work to the bone for a measly bread and crumbs meal. Maybe they work half their lives to finally buy a brand new car—the first new car they’ve ever owned, and perhaps the only new car they will ever own. And buying their own house? Let’s not even get started with that. We are not talking just about those in poverty. We are talking about those who are limited in talent, intelligence, and especially, luck. You may be from a fairly well off background, given equal opportunities, work twice as hard as your friendly neighbor, but still it seems they get so much more in return. It boggles your mind! How did they do it?!

Some people have been guided all their lives by luck. Some people were born with a natural talent. Some people are just so smart that they’ve thought up every step of the solution before you even begin to recognize the problem. And what of it? There’s nothing you can do but accept the fact that your life was not born a little more fortunate than the average Joe. 

Now, if you believe you were one of those born to the elite group of lucky, talented, intelligent few, I pose a question to you: Do you remember that one point in life where you realized the fact? How did that sway you in your decision-making?

When you come to the realization that things in life come fairly easy to you, (or at least more so than to the booger sitting next to you) there are two resulting consequences: 1) You realize that the universe has the gem of all opportunities never given to others, awaiting you to just pluck the rewards, what with some hard work and determination; 2) You realize that the universe works in your favor even if you don’t put in much effort, therefore resulting in a lesser work ethic and/or a stress-free life. (PARTAYYYYY!)

So, once again, is it a blessing or a curse the moment you realize that things in life come easily to you? Yes, it’s easy to say, “I’m already working hard. If I found out things in life come easily to me and I can achieve much more as long as I continue this strong work ethic, of course I would continue to work hard—possibly work 10 times harder!” (Chances are, if you are thinking this right now, you probably have not realized you are one of the lucky ones, and you are probably not one of the elite few. Sorry.) However, that is rarely the case as we all weaken to temptation and fall complacent with what we already have.