by Christyl Rivers

Created on: July 29, 2011

Prosperity, if one considers the word to mean wealth, rather than content and joyful living, contaminates our values.

It intoxicates, and contaminates in the same way our driving want and destructive desire for always having more, more, more takes us out of the present moment with whatever joy it has to offer, and puts us on a mad track treadmill toward being buried under rubbish. 

Our values have become trashy, in fact, so that on television, in culture, in music, and in all our need for gadgets and "the latest" things, we forget that having things is not the same as living a real life.  We forget that money costs too much.

Money, or more accurately love of money, drives us to never appreciate the many blessings we already have. Modernity, with its insane pace of heavy workload just to fulfill heavier obligations of too much of everything, has created a world we are not only consuming the life out of, but it is consuming us as well.

We want the big house, nice car, tons and tons of never-ending, never permanent distractions of electronic games, mobiles, upgrades, big screens, and junk and gadgets forever.  We become so in debt we lose our connection to people we love, and the natural world which is the cost for “Having all the Toys.”  One day, we look up and realize we have literally trashed our lives, our home,  and our dreams.

What are our "values?"  These, if we are wise, include valuing loved ones, a clean and wholesome, healing environment, and spending quality time within that environment.  Connection to something greater than ourselves, is what real value consists of, and our belief systems are threatened if they do not include connection, compassion for living systems, and awareness.

Hard work, too, is a value, but it is useless without a recognition that we work hard to live, not to work.

Of course, this is not the only reason why some of us have no life, and all work. Some of us sell our lives cheap, and discard what is of real value to have respect and prestige.  Prestige can be a great thing, if it is balanced with contentment.

Unfortunately, prestige can become a slave driver in and of itself.  When we think we are working for that soon to be earned promotion, respect, honor, pride, or what ever one may call it, note that it is always in the future, not in the moment.

Real contentment is in having awareness in this very moment, that there is some gratification in doing the work, and/or play

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