Appreciating What We Have

“Most people in the West tend to rate their wellbeing not on an absolute scale, but relative to others. Given the choice between earning $50,000 a year in a society where the average wage is $30,000, or earning $100,000 a year in a society in which the average wage is $200,000, most prefer the former. This is symptomatic of the force driving consumerism, namely envy, whose strange logic consists of letting someone else’s happiness spoil mine. Envy is the art of counting other people’s blessings. The fastest route to happiness is precisely the opposite: not thinking of what others have and we do not, but instead thanking God for what we do have, and sharing some of that with others.”

The Great Partnership, pp. 201-202