wealth without wanting


My friend Marty has been retired for forty-six years.

He lives simply.
A small home.
A ten-year-old car.
Four months of fly fishing every year.
He doesn’t chase more.
He doesn’t need to.
He’s content with mornings by the river.

Grateful for what he has.

When I joined him once, we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the water. It tasted better than any five-star meal I’ve ever had.

I also know people worth a hundred million dollars who still feel restless.

Most are anxious.
Always measuring life in “what’s next.”
The next dopamine hit.
The next gold medal.
The next thing to chase.
And once they get it, it loses its shine.
So the cycle begins again.

It made me realize something.

It seems like people who have everything but want more
are poorer than those who have little
and want nothing else.

There’s a Stoic idea that says
you can’t live a good or meaningful life
until you overcome your insatiability.

Marty figured that out long ago.

Happiness isn’t in the amount.
It’s in the absence of wanting.

Josh Braun

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