Who are the Jones' ?
Do we know them? Can we see them?
The Jones' are the people you compete with on a regular basis.
Houses, Cars, Toys, Clothes, Vacations, Etc. Everyone has got to have better than the next. Society has made people so
self-centered and materialistic that we have no more time to do the things that help us grow as a person. In the past we respected
people who accomplised things and today we respect people who can buy all the so called luxuries in life. There's nothing
wrong with being successful but each person's definition of success is different.
I once met a man who had all the money you could dream of and yet he still spent most of his time working to acheive
more money, is there anything wrong with that?
Yes and No. In life like nature there must be balance. Can you imagine if the planet Earth had only one season? Think
about it.
Like Earth life must have balance. What is balance?
Balance is being able to have the right amount of work and play in your life, 50/50 would be great although today most
people don't even have 20% of play.
Over the past 5 decades, there has been:
- a breakdown in the extended family
- a dispersal of communities
- an increased focus on material wealth
- an overwhelming prevalence of news media
- and an increase in focus on 'the self'.
All of which, and more besides, add up to a potent recipe for depression.
Who cares what people do or have. Life would be so much more simple if we focused on bettering our relationships
than trying to impress one another. Some of the best friendships I have established in my life focus on the relationship and
spending quality time. There is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition from time to time as long as it does not get
in the way of the friendship.
It is a fact that we all have basic emotional needs that must be met for us to thrive and enjoy life.
After the primary human needs for food, water and shelter come commonly shared emotional and physical needs.
In a group of close friends individual concerns are group concerns and vise-versa. You know that
if you have a problem other people will help you and you are expected to help out when others need support. We know we are
meant to do these things but it's not a 'built in feature' of modern society in the same way.
These days we are much more 'self-focused'. The idea of considering the wider community to be more
important than the self is almost impossible to understand for most people.
In my life I value relationships alot more than material wealth. Any fool can make money and buy
expensive things but real wealth is created in the home and the recipe is Love, understanding, and focus.
Tom Fidas
