Money and happiness: Separate or hand in hand?

The need to create an International Day of Happiness says a lot about the desire of human beings to reach this state of absolute contentment. Let us leave aside, however, the more complex philosophies and concepts inherent to the theme, to focus on our popular sayings. After all, in this domain we already have many sentences to evaluate, starting right away with the maxim that “Money does not bring happiness”. It will be?

Between having and not having…

When you hear the cliché that disassociates money from the feeling of well-being, don’t you sometimes feel like saying that it’s better to try it first to find out, firsthand, if what’s said is true? Rest assured, the people have already taken care of it; in our dictionaries we found a reformulation of what was said, through a small but important addition: “Money doesn’t bring happiness, but it helps.”The most correct formula of the proverb is, according to several dictionaries, “money does not buy happiness”, which, sounding the same, perhaps imposes a certain nuance to the question. “Happiness can’t be bought”, tells us another version, which seems to focus even more on the fleeting aspect of happiness than on the power (or lack thereof) associated with money. And, if we leaf through the Practical Dictionary of Portuguese Proverbs, we find a version that gives greater importance to the notes in our wallet: “Money is not the basis of happiness”. It is not the basis, it is said; but, it turns out, it can help.Read more: Financial Proverbs: What Popular Sayings Say About Money

See the glass half full or half empty?

Let us accept, even in this text, the premise that happiness and money do not necessarily go hand in hand. So where can we find it, according to popular wisdom? “Happiness is where we put it, but we never put it where we are”, is one of the proposals that forces us to look at the way we see the world and our lives. Here is another version of a similar idea: “Looking for great happiness, how many little ones do we miss…” Basically, the concept in question may depend a lot on the personality of each individual, since “each one forges his own happiness” or, even more simpler, “Each one builds their own happiness”.“Happy is who considers himself happy”, summarizes a saying, but it is important not to forget the great importance of luck. Here are three fine examples taken from the Dictionary of Maxims, Adages and Proverbs:“Happiness is like the big luck: it only comes to others”.“The misfortune of some makes the happiness of others”. “Happiness only comes from one side; misfortune comes from everyone”. Moral Sentences and Idiotisms of Lingoa Portugueza defines as someone who had greater fortune than what he expected. But the award for the funniest saying goes to another one, which we leave you here in a double version: “He who is unhappy falls backwards and breaks his nose” and the even more twisted and fatalistic “Whoever is born unhappy, even if they fall backwards, breaks their nose”. consider a harbinger of the theme of fugacity: “Our happiness is but a flash of lightning. It does not seem to shine, except to herald the storm.” From the same Collection of Thoughts and Maxims, from 1847, we also extract that “Happiness needs to be interrupted to be felt” and the rather disillusioned “Happiness is everybody’s fable, and it’s nobody’s story”. still: Dating, weddings and a patron saint full of legends

Bits of moralism to divert attention

It is worth letting ourselves be in this collection compiled by José Joaquim Rodrigues de Bastos, which includes examples of a certain moralistic idealism, both in the form of a sentence – “Be better, and you will be happier” –, and as a kind of alert: “The happiest in appearance are often the unhappiest in reality.” There is also a comparison that we could well continue to apply to the themes of fame and renown: “Happiness is like a reputation: very costly to acquire, and very easy to lose.”We started with money and that’s how we’ll end. A maxim argues that it will all be a matter of perspective: “To be happy, it is necessary to look at the lower rungs of the ladder; for superiors, never”. In another example of an appeal to rectitude, it is warned that “Money, seeming to give everything, cannot give happiness; it is necessary to ask for it from work and virtue”. The 1847 book is, moreover, full of this type of maxim. Here’s another one: “The happiness of the rich is not in the goods they own, but in the goods they can make, and even more so in those they make”. And he even agrees to place wealth at the top of the scale, even above love feelings: “Love does a lot, money everything”. After all, dictations can also include a refined dose of pragmatism. It’s just that sometimes it’s not worth inventing too much, is it? “Whoever has money, will do what they want”.Read more: New year, new life? Neither 8 nor 80… Paulo M. Morais grew up playing street football and listening to proverbs told by his grandmothers. He graduated in Social Communication and specialized in the areas of cinema, videogames and gastronomy. He is the author of novels and non-fiction books. He collects board games and continues to watch many movies. He likes to cook, look at the sea, read. The information contained in the article is not binding and does not invalidate the full reading of documents that support the matter in question.