it's all about the money

the tune that pops up in my head now is Donald Trump's theme song on his reality program *money money money money...... MONEY*

thats how the world is now isnt it?
it's ALL about the MONEY.
vitamin M some call it... haha

we all know we need money for basic necessities, to fulfill our physiological needs.
but due to increasing influence from the west, education, internet, media etc, everyone is becoming more affluent. and thus willing to spend.
we all know about the power of influence and pursuation.
how far does this go and what can we do to curb such disbenefits?

disbenefits because they do slightly more harm than good.
spending money on things we technically don't need.
they are mostly wants.
go on, admit it. you know you don't need your branded wallets, bags, shoes, clothes etc...

we all fall prey to worldly desires that most of the time, we loose focus on the more important things...
what could possibly be more important than self-happiness and fulfillment?
many things...
- doing works of charity, outreach to those who are needy. you and i, blogging on this sphere, definately NOT needy.
- spending time with family members at home, instead of going window shopping and spending over $6 for a cuppa at Starbucks/Coffeebean.
- buying less clothes because the cupbaord at home is bursting, while kids overseas wear your hand-me-downs, or worst, they wear things that perhaps some of us wore once and decided never to wear again

back in school, we all had this tendency to compare ourselves against people who did better than us, scored higher marks than us, who were in better class etc etc...
but when it comes to such social issues, we would compare ourselves to those who are "worst off" - those who spend even more money than us, or those who shop as if their bank accounts have an endless supply.
isn't that such a contradiction???
YES. definately.
in this case, shouldn't we snap back to reality to realise that we are indeed that bad as well?
i don't see most of us comparing ourselves to those who are poorer, who can't afford luxurious/branded items, right?
this calls for some self-reflection!
or are we just to self-righteous to do so?

money makes a couple fall out.
money makes a family fall out.
money makes siblings bitter.
money makes people unhappy.
money makes people desperate.
money breaks friendships.

that's the harsh reality isn't it?
everyone is just getting increasingly practical and too realistic for their own good these days.
just look around you... who doesn't carry the latest model of handphone, who doesn't own an I-Pod or Mac Book, or even just a simple laptop, who doesn't wear any brands, who doesn't own any brands, who can't afford the cafe scene, who can't afford tertiary education, who can't afford eating in at least a food court everyday, who doesn't aspire to own their own credit cards, house, car or collection of something.
we're so hard to please aren't we?

what is the meaning of contentment then?