by Adewale Atewogbade

Created on: March 26, 2009

The true answer to the conundrum, "is health more important than wealth" is one that can be perceived only from the perspective of someone who has been really indisposed for a long period of time, confined to a wheelchair permanently, is suffering from a life threatening disease, has an incurable bodily deformation or is 'stinking rich.'

To be wealthy is not just the ability to amass a huge amount of money to spend on whatever pleases one. Wealthiness is a summation of several infinite states of existence, with having lots of money being just one. Some other states include being aware of ones status among peers, having a very sound mind and body, being able to make the right decisions at the right time every time and, a whole lot more.

The general idea here is that being wealthy is a complex situation, and for all intents and purposes an illness in itself. To master and control this situation, the afflicted needs a very high dosage of the prescription recommended for its cure. The one and only prescription for this affliction is healthiness. Thus health is wealth..

To further clarify my position, I am going to cite some examples of lives that has been devastated or elevated by wealth.

Messrs Gotlieb and Drabinsky are two high net worth Canadians. They are well respected in the community for among many other things, their contributions to the entertainment industry through their company, Livent Inc., On March 23, 2009, after several days in court, they were both found guilty of knowingly and deliberately committing fraud and forgery, causing the collapse of Livent. They appeared to have been the lives of the party.

Mr. Bill Gates, built his empire from the basement to the height of its glory. He gives money to charity and seems for all intents and purposes to be living a balanced life.

Warren Buffet, aka oracle of Omaha, also started from scratch, is a huge philanthropist, dictates the direction of most investment vehicles, is very, very rich, but seems to have a very balanced life.

Mr. Madorff, recently sentenced to several years in jail accused of fraud in the financial industry, while working diligently over the course of ten years, right under the nose of the SEC. He was said to have realized the errors of his ways, prompting him to voluntarily give himself up.

These are just the tip of the ice berg. We cannot forget the misdeeds of the likes of Canadian, Conrad Black or what led to the collapse of companies like Enron and World.com or why the planet is currently in a depression.

Wealth, without the proper dosage of health to create a balancing act makes some wealthy people sick. Sometimes the illness assumes chronic dimensions that makes the afflicted take a wrong turn, forgetting their starting point, deviate from their destination, create a lot of very sick people in their wake thus polluting the human subconscious mind, and helping to spread a serious ailment all around.The role that healthiness plays in our lives, whether wealthy or poor cannot be underestimated. Wealth on the other hand is a necessary evil that we must live with. A great many people are not rich, because they are unaware of the role healthiness plays in the equation. Many live life carelessly and hope for the best. Some go in search of lady luck, only to to loose their treasure at the wrong time, becoming sick at the same time. Even the bible informs us that a man will not gain anything if he acquires the whole world and then losses his soul. A body without a soul is definitely very sick. There is therefore no gainsaying the fact that health is more important that wealth, far more important than most people realize.

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