Happiness Requires Spiritual Fulfillment

Listening to the old men talk is one of my favorite things about coming to the coffee shop.  They’re great conversationalists, and I like to think that’s why they made it long enough to be old men.  One day I want to be an old man and talk in the coffee shop with my friends, just like them.  They’re my heroes, actually.  They know how to live.  I do, too, because I’m here with them.  I fit right in.  I am one of the boys.

Living a long life doesn’t mean living a happy one.  Happiness requires spiritual fulfillment, and spiritual fulfillment can’t be acquired with money.  When people chase money, they truly seek spiritual fulfillment, and they will never get it because they are pursuing the wrong thing.

Having money without meaningful work or relationships harms a person’s character.  A rich young person without meaningful work or relationships is a douchebag without any real friends.  A rich old person without spiritual fulfillment is a greedy, grumpy, lonely, old miser.

Meaningful Work and Meaningful Relationships

Spiritual fulfillment can only be had through meaningful work and meaningful relationships.  If you have meaningful work and meaningful relationships, you’ve already won at life regardless of whether you ever get rich.  You don’t need a lot of money to beat life.  You need meaningful work and meaningful relationships.  If you have those, you have everything that matters; and you won’t starve, which I was afraid of when I changed careers.  It didn’t happen.

The road to meaningful work and meaningful relationships is paved with truth and transparency.  Once you start being transparent with yourself and others about what you want to do and hold yourself accountable for taking the steps you need to do it, you are well on your way to having meaningful work, meaningful relationships, and a fulfilling life.  That’s been my experience.  I don’t want just to be an old man; I want to be happy too.