Forget Happiness...I Want to be Rich! Part 2

So, you still want to blindly pursue riches rather than trying to be happy? Are you REALLY sure? In these tough economic times, it might seem like the right path to take. Can you really be happy if you can't pay your bills, wear decent clothes, and have enough food to eat? Well....yes, you can. Still, no one doubts the good sense of trying to have enough money or even more than enough so that you can live a life filled with grandiose experiences. But to pursue that above and beyond happiness? Well, if you are bound and determined to really be rich first and then happy later (if that's even possible), then this next story, from Italy, is worth reading.

There was once a great king. He ruled justly and wisely and was loved by his people. He had made pacts with the other kings around him and so his lands were at peace and the people were able to pursue their desires and prosper. All was well. But one morning the king woke up feeling ill. Doctors were called to attend him, but none could determine what it was that ailed him. Day after day he grew weaker and weaker. The wise men were called and looked at the king. All were also unable to find a cure until the oldest and wisest came forward. He declared that what the king needed was to wear the shirt of a happy man. So the king called his advisors and nobles, believing that surely in such times of peace and prosperity one of them would be happy. But such was not the case. This one was bothered by a longstanding family fued. That one was troubled with taking care of an increasingly feeble parent. One by one they all admitted to the king that they were not happy.

The king then sent messengers out into the kingdom. As he grew weaker with each passing day, they all returned unable to find a happy man. And then the last messenger came riding into the palace. He had found a happy man! The king was helped from his bed, dressed, and with his retainers followed the messenger. They rode to the edge of the kingdom to a small, humble shack that was very little more than boards nailed together. The land around was small but well taken care of. One of the king's men went to the door and knocked. A woman came to the door. When told that the king wanted to see her husband, she said that he had worked all day and had just now laid down but that she would fetch him. A few moments later the man came to the door wrapped in a tattered and patched comforter. Though he was obviously tired, there was a twinkle in his eye and all who saw him knew that here at last was a truly happy man. But when the man was told that the king needed to put on his shirt, he began to laugh. When asked why he was laughing, the man let the comforter fall from his shoulders. He stood wearing only his pants. He was so poor that he had no shirt.

The moral and meaning of this tale is fairly obvious. But it is certainly not, "Don't pursue money." The story actually makes a point in the beginning of recognizing that wealth and power, when used properly, create a great benefit for everybody. But there is an implication in the story (and there are versions of the story where the king is said to be afflicted with "melancholia") that the king had lived for the excitement of being king (pursuing his riches) and not for just enjoying life. He made everyone happy but himself. And if you pursue just riches, if your aim is only to be rich or famous or have this or that, that is how you will end up, unhappy to death. Go ahead and pursue those things, but don't forget to keep happiness as your traveling companion along the way.

Have a question, problem, conundrum, or just a nagging issue? Want to know what fairy tales say about some other topic? Send it to me and I'll post it here!

Or, you can check out my book The Wisdom of Folktales Lessons on How to Live Happily Ever After available here, at BarnesandNoble.com, at Amazon.com, and at Smashwords.com! It's stories from around the world with real world applications to help you live that happy life!