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| Photo by Kal Visuals on Unsplash |
In the 6th century BC lived Croesus, king of Lydia, the richest man in the world. He ruled with wisdom and arrogance.
In the splendor of his glory, he once hosted Solon, one of the seven sages of Greece in his palace and in order to honor the sage and demonstrate all his power and wealth, the king had a splendid feast prepared. He then invited Solon to visit his treasures: pearls, emeralds, diamonds of all carats, rubies and all sorts of golden statues.
Strangely, Croesus observed that his guest was walking through that immense wealth, with total indifference. And, in the face of the statement which he claimed to be the happiest man in the world for being the richest, the wise sentenced:
My king, no one can ever be considered happy before passing the test of time.
Time is the only component we need to determine if we are happy or not. After all, it always surprises us with the unexpected.Life is a succession of events, which completely change our destinies.
Do not forget that happiness is above all that you have.
Croesus did not give any importance to the advice kept increasing his wealth and power.
After some time, however, Cyrus, king of the Persians, marched with his army against Lydia and the king watched, appalled, as the enemy troops entered the palace, killing his best soldiers.
Trapped with his family, he was driven to irons in the capital, now in rubble. Humiliated, he was taken to the central square, tied to a post, on pieces of wood.
When he was about to be burned alive, he recalled as in a flash, the sentence of Solon: No one in the world is happy unless they pass the test of time.
Yes, time had brought him much sadness. His first son - and heir to his throne - had died in a hunting accident, at eighteen. Time had also brought the younger son's deafness and muteness. And now, there he was defeated and humiliated with his wife, his son and the whole court.
What was left of his wealth, which had been savagely plundered by the conquerors? What had been done of his palace, burned by the destroying fate of the winners?
At that moment, he understood that happiness is not having. Happiness is something else.
Happiness is not having
The things of the world are ephemeral.
Assets, from one moment to the next, can be taken away by robbers or carried away by the fury of nature.
If we are now smiling, soon we can be immersed in the sea of tears because an accident robbed us a loved one. Or because Nature rebelled and destroyed our heritage. Or because a terrible disease embraced us and robbed us of the energies of youth, the smile of joy.
Final Thoughts
Happy is not who has it. Happy is the one who loves because love sings a spring inside the heart.
Naturally, we need money and assets because without a little of everything, we become unbalanced. However, it takes the wisdom to be able to differentiate when you possess thing from whey you are possessed by them. We own money, never the money should own us.
This is a wise posture that gives us tranquility, harmony in living, over time.
Let us think about it and invest in achieving peace and being happy.
