Particularly around the holidays, I get tempted by cool things that I see.  Most often, it’s a gadget that one of my friends has that catches my attention.  Sometimes when I am looking for a gift for someone else, I spot something that I would like to have.  And, as much as I hate to admit it, I am affected by advertising, especially for bargains.  The nearly constant bombardment of commercial messages distracts our minds into thinking about things we want but don’t have.  That is a rec...

How much money do you need to be rich? One million dollars?  Three million dollars?  We tend to think about being rich as having a large amount of money.  This quote reminds me that I am rich if I have much more than I need.  So, the fewer things that I think of as necessities, the richer I become.

A necessity is something I think I can’t live without.  When I think something is a necessity, I don’t feel particularly happy about having it, but worry about losing it.  If I think of the ...