Week 11

This week we read a document called Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness which I absolutely loved. It covered several topics including how to sort through short term happiness and long-term joy and satisfaction. I have thought several times throughout the week about how we express our gratitude. There was a study of students who thanked someone in front of one of their classes and how the happiness levels of both the thankful and the thanked were increased significantly for weeks after the class. It was just another example that we have control over our joy in life. We aren't dependent on other people, money or circumstances, we hold the keys for happiness right where we are.

For most of my adult life I looked at the amount of money that I/we made as a limitation of how we could live or what we could do. Several years ago when we decided to start our own business and say goodbye to regular paychecks I was shocked to experience freedom from money stress. I just decided that there was always going to be enough. We were frugal and mindful about our spending and stuck to a budget. There certainly wasn't more money at first, but I felt like a weight had been lifted. A person's view of money can make a much bigger difference than the amount of money you have. If you decide to be satisfied with your situation you can make the most of it and build from there. The article we read, Attitude on Money, contained great advice about seeing your money as a tool. We shouldn't hide from money or be scared of a budget. It's neither good nor evil. It's simply an asset we can use to work for us and do good things with. We all need money to survive and get through life just like the church needs funds to further the work.