The Eighth Tuesday We Talk About Money

By: moOo on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:55 AM

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"We've got a form of brainwashing going on in our country," Morrie sighed. "Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over. And that's what we do in this country. Owning things is good. More money is good. More property is good. More commercialism is good. More is good. More is good. We repeat it - and have it repeated to us - over and over until nobody bothers to even think otherwise. The average person is so fogged up by all this, he has no perspective on what's really important anymore."

"Wherever I went in my life, I met people wanting to gobble up something new. Gobble up a new car. Gobble a new piece of property. Gobble up the latest toy. And then they wanted to tell you about it. 'Guess what I got? Guess what I got?' You know how I always interpreted that? These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back. But it never works. You can't substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship."

"There's a big confusion in this country over what we want versus what we need," Morrie said. "You need food, you want a choclate sundae. You have to be honest with yourself. You don't need the latest sports car, you don't need the biggest house."

"The truth is, you don't get satisfaction from those things. You know what really gives you satisfaction? Offering others what you have to give."

"I don't mean money, Mitch. I mean your time. Your concern. Your storytelling. It's not so hard. Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to you community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

"Mitch, if you're trying to show off for people at the top. forget it. They will look down at you anyhow. And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone."

"Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be longing for somebody else's things. On the contrary, you'll be overwhelmed with what comes back.