Hands up all those who knew that the author of Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand born in St. Petersburg, Russia, February 2, 1905.Real name:Alisa Rosenbaum
one of my favourite authors.
Tom
Toad you wrote "...specially knowing that she would suffer with all the envy it would cause"....I very much doubt that people who put their noses into other people's lives suffer from it, I think they enjoy it as it's the style of life they have and they enjoy it, either they wouldn't live that way:)
Yes, Ditto.....and so will I, you and every other carbon unit on the planet. We're all going to die one day.
There are only two things in life we all must do without exception. Pay taxes is not one of them, lol...you can choose to go to jail, instead.
You must DIE...and you must LIVE till you die.
If you feel so compelled to express your religious beliefs why don't you start a religious thread about it, uh?
I started this thread to discuss MONEY.
I routinely refrain from debating the existence or lack thereof of some old guy who sits up in the sky trying to convince me he is all knowing, all powerful, that he sees everything everyone does every minute of everyone's life and that he has these powerful Laws that I must follow or else he is going to send me to a place of suffering and pain where I will be send to be for eternity to endure the most horrific torture treatment imaginable....But he loves me!!...and I also have to allow his agents to convince me that he needs my MONEY.
Somehow this all powerful, supreme being of yours does not handle money very well, does He?...He always needs a little more, doesn't He?
But if you insist, Ditto, I will...but not here.
Let's keep this one about money, ok?
Thank you,
Pitchka,
Let me help you with that part of the anecdote.
My ex wife did take pleasure sticking her nose into other people's affairs, but whenever she saw that they were happily making a lot of money without sacrificing the well being to family, health or otherwise, she would turn into a sort of voo-doow witch dark mood because she could not accept the concept of happy wealthy people living in harmony, happiness and peace of mind
Thank you Toad for explaining:) And still I think that such people do enjoy the life they have, complaining all the time...I know some people like that...they complain and complain and they say "oh it's so bad, and my neighbours they are so wealthy, and I'm so miserable" and so on...and still I think that such people enjoy it a lot:)
It's a trap when you view a material posession as a goal of happiness. Wealth and money are tools to achieve an end, not the end in and of itself.
But that same trap applies to relationships. You can't be a complete person in a relationship if you aren't a complete person out of it. A relationship should magnify the aspects of ourselves we value, not supply an aspect we don't have to begin with.
This is somewhat like the situation of if I am not a social person, then being with someone who is social will then make me a social person. Doesn't work that way.
Those of us who have "Peace of Mind" as a goal with high priority in the list of things to accomplish in life understand and appreciate the value of financial wealth as a tool to achieve it.
Those of us who are already happy with our lives have an unbeatable advantage over those poor "incomplete" people who keep waiting for someone else to save them from the 'incomplete' or 'semi-happy' lives they lead....
Why?
Because we're already happy and lead healthy, happy, productive and fulfilled lives whether we find a partner to share it or not.
We are trying to discuss here very obvious things, aren't we? Of course, there should be a reasonable balance in everything, including attitude towards money. I have to admit that life with some money is much better than life with little or no money at all!
Of course, you guys, have never experienced the "no money" situation once you live in the land of prosperity and the craddle of democracy!
Arta,
How can you claim to know what the background is for everyone here or for people from any particular country?
You simply do not know that. We're all different.
We all got where we are walking different paths.
I, for one, come from a very poor background, raised by a devoted woman who scrubbed office floors for a living to feed her two boys. There was always too much month at the end of the money, but she compensated that gap with tons of dignity, integrity, discipline and loving devotion to her family.
Implying that US is the land of prosperity is quite misleading.
Not everyone prospers here.
The vast majority of people here do not, actually.
What this country still offers is "opportunity" to prosper.
There is no such thing as ready-to-eat-prosperity of any kind.
If you come to this country and bring an above average work ethic, you will succeed just as much as any of those who are born and raised here and grow up with the same work ethic.
You beat at least 50% of the competiton if you work hard.
Oh my gosh, what a revelation! Not everyone prospers! At least you seem to have a developed Welfare system. I don't have any illusions and I never had. I'm a workaholic myself, almost!
Heh, that leads to one of the great misunderstandings of government (or at least what our government is SUPPOSED to be).
"...pursuit of happiness..." means each INDIVIDUAL is free to pursue his own goal of happiness within the bounds of not interfering with the rights of others. It does NOT mean that government or any other person is responsible for providing your happiness.
Scott,
Tell that to the gazillion welfare career freeloaders, lol...
Maybe you can convince them to get off their fat lazy asses and go work for a change instead of bleeding the system.
This topic makes me feel so sad, I remember the times when we 3, my dad mom and me, had nothing to eat but cheap fish...and nothing else...thanks God we had our own flat at that times...and still though I remember those times, I'm not on my hunt for money...I realize momey give comfort but I don't want to have more then I need.
Sarcasm? I'm a naive Eastern woman who believes in A. dream but who still knows one have to work hard for it! I don't want to be treated like a "Kleenex" who has signed a contract with her "master" and then the "master" was dissatisfied with her! Poor thing! Another day in paradise!
Money is green in the US for good reason, it stands for greed. I see it everyday and work with people that live their lives to screw people over so they can have more of it. It makes me sick. Of course money helps to live this life comfortably, but people easily get carried away and want more and more and more. I just want to make enough to live a good life with my family not to where I lose sight of what is really important in life.
I dont blame you Arta for not wanting to be treated like a slave. What person in their right mind would ever want that. Its a disgrace to be treated that way and unfortunatly it happens to many people. More than I care to imagine.
Amen.I worked hard all of my life. I may not have much but all I have I have earned with my own head&hands. I am not after somebody else's money. I believe in the Biblical model of the family where a husband is a head of the family& a provider. A wife is his helper. In the same time I am a woman with University education and with a good profession/job and I am able to provide for myself. I don't want to be totally dependent on my husband. Who know what bad joke the devil might play with him the next day? There are a lot of arrogant men with weird ideas. And they will definitely get what they want or rather buy. Let there be a good deal!
Arta: "I'm a naive Eastern woman who believes in A. dream but who still knows one have to work hard for it! I don't want to be treated like a "Kleenex" who has signed a contract with her "master" and then the "master" was dissatisfied with her! Poor thing! Another day in paradise! "
Arta may i be the devils advocate here? How many women are themselves to be blamed for being in such a situation. Or to quote a article about why women always pick the bad guy
"With bad boys, we know what to expect. We'll try to change them, it won't work, and we'll be left heartbroken. But, it will be entirely NOT our fault. Whereas if we date Mr. Nice Guy and doesn't work out, we're going to have to take some ownership of the failure. SOME WOMEN ARE JUST MORE COMFORTABLE PLAYING THE VICTIM."
My opinion ,of course it will be your own fault! no women in the west (except maybe Greek Tukey and Ireland) has to choose the golden cage its them that are to greedy and lacy to choose the other options open to them.
Now i suspect an answer that many of the women in the east don't have the option to choose, that may have been true 5-10 years back but any women with internet access (the type of women you will find on lets say fiance.com) has many options open to her.