What if...

     First, please excuse my absence from the blog over the last several weeks. My goal for the year was to have a new blog up at least once a week. I made it to February before I lost that one, so I did better on it than my pledge to be less sarcastic this year. That one didn't survive the first day, as my bride will confirm.
     Today I want to ponder a "what if" question. The seed for asking "what if" questions was planted in my brain the way many ideas originally were... by Marvel Comics. (You already knew I was a nerd, right?) The truth is, in my fifth decade of life, I don't read comic books any more, and I haven't for many years. Still, there are many sections of territory in my brain that carry the influence of all the comics I ingested many years ago. One of those influences was a series of Marvel Comics called What If... This title asked a series of interesting questions within the Marvel Universe, like "What if The Hulk still had Bruce Banner's Brain" or "What if Conan the Barbarian walked the Earth today?" I spend a lot less time pondering the fates of the superheroes of the Marvel Universe than I used to, but I still ask myself a lot of"What if..." questions.
    Right now,  I am wondering "What if... money wasn't a factor in your life." By that, I mean how would your life be different if you were rich enough that you never had to worry about money again.
     In the interest of full disclosure, I want to reveal I am not quite that rich myself. In fact, if every penny I have suddenly turned into a ten dollar bill, I still wouldn't be close to being that rich. It's fun to think about though, isn't it? I think this is what many people are thinking about when the Powerball lottery gets up over 300 million dollars.
     I think most people's first response to the question is "I'd quit my job, buy a new house, a new car, travel a lot..." and that's fine. I'm thinking about what life would be like after you did those things. After you have the new Maserati or Bentley sitting in the circular drive of your mansion, waiting for you to return from your around the world cruise, then what? 
     I had a friend once, who worked for one of the largest corporations in the world. It was the 90's, and he had gotten in pretty early with this company, so he was able to take early retirement and be very comfortable. For the eighteen months or so leading up to his retirement, he was constantly stressed out, looking forward to the day he could walk out of his office for the final time. The job he had once enjoyed became a burden, and all he could think about was the day he retired. Of course, the day eventually came and went, and he was free. I was showing a house in his neighborhood a few days later and saw him walking aimlessly along the sidewalk. When I pulled over and talked to him, I got the distinct impression he was emotionally lost, not sure where to turn next.
     In many ways, he was living the American Dream. He was still young, had enough money in the bank to not worry about anything, he had his health, and... he didn't seem very happy. That was when I made the mental note that taking an irritant away (a job, money worries, etc.) isn't enough to bring happiness. If you're not already happy, you probably won't be then, either.
     Personally, I wouldn't object to being wealthy. I would enjoy having a few "things," but the reality is, aside from the size of my house, the newness of my car and the distance of my vacations, not many things would change in my life. I'm already happy. Content. Not really in need of anything.
     So, for me, the answer to the question would be... not much would change. And, thinking about that, honestly makes me even happier.
     What do you think? How would your life be different?