Happiness is much more strongly linked to culture than to money. Anyone in any culture who has trouble with the necessities of life, food, shelter, and clothing, is not likely to be happy. In general, wealthy people tend to be less stressed than those with less money because they don’t worry about the necessities.
Nevertheless, money brings its own stressors.
Today, a number of psychiatrists specialize in helping people who have suddenly come into money. It could be winning the lottery, receiving an inheritance, or suddenly becoming a successful music or movie star or professional athlete. Coming into a lot of money can be very stressful and dislocating, which is why you find so many young wealthy stars having problems with alcohol, drugs, and just coping.
What’s interesting about the people who tend to be happy is that they are the ones who have a culture of familial and group support. We might look at some of these people and think of them as poor. But if they have the necessities of life, even if they have to work hard for them, they may be quite happy.
In some South American countries, children are constantly being held for the first year of their life. They are surrounded by family and friends, and experience being loved from birth onward. They grow up feeling secure and safe. As long as there is food to eat, shelter, and clothing, they don’t really know that they’re poor and don’t experience any negativity because of that.
Some of the wealthy people in the world are under a great deal of stress because they worry about losing what they have or not being able to get more. I remember when Kenneth Lay was first accused of wrongdoing in the Enron debacle. His wife went on television, teary-eyed, and said that they might lose their house. One could almost feel sorry for the poor woman if you didn’t know that they had three houses. What’s scary about that is that she might have been sincerely distressed.
It is said that some of the people who jumped out of the window after the market crash of the great depression were still many times wealthier than the average American. They just couldn’t imagine living below their current economic level.
Happiness is never going to be determined by money, although money can help to keep us from the stress of not having the necessities of life. If we have the necessities of life, then happiness will be found in the love and support of those around us, our immediate family and our community. In these kinds of cultures and communities, no one will ever go without if they become sick or can’t work. Everyone’s needs will be seen too.
In that kind of setting, you don’t even know that money and material possessions are supposed to make you happy. And those who have money and material possessions but do not have a loving and supportive family, friends, and community, will never find happiness in their money and possessions.
So the bedrock of happiness is the loving support of family, friends, and community. Money and material possessions are fine if you have that support but will never replace it.