Last night, while doing my daily chores, a thought struck my mind … is money everything? Is it important to have material comforts to lead a good life? Can money buy anything?

I thought, yes, most of the times you can buy anything you want, beautiful clothes, shoes and accessories which, when you wear them, makes everybody praise you. So you feel elated, happy and content. But after thinking deeply, I came to a conclusion that money can buy everything — but everything material!

It doesn’t buy happiness. It does not have the power to buy you a loving family or true friends. Benjamin Franklin said and I quote “Money has never made man happy, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has, the more one wants.”

I can buy worldly comforts with money but I cannot develop love in a friend’s heart with money, I cannot make my mum happy with money, I cannot make my father satisfied with money.

Of course, one can make an angry friend happy with chocolates and flowers, but it will be temporary since relationships are made through sincerity and love, which are developed through understanding and companionship, not with money!

Thus, it is obvious that materialistic comforts cannot buy you happiness. Remember friends, money can buy you a house but not a home, a clock but not time, a bed but not sleep, a book but not knowledge, a doctor but not health, a position but not respect, blood but not life. Similarly, money has the power to buy you a computer but not brains, finery but not beauty, luxuries but not culture, amusements but not happiness, acquaintance but not friends, obedience but not faithfulness.

According to Garth Brooks, “You are not wealthy until you have something money cannot buy!”

Everyone is born with a unique talent. For some it is very obvious, as in a music prodigy who picks up a violin at age three and begins to play. For others it may take more time to uncover. Regardless of whether it is immediately obvious or not, we all have that one thing that we are very good at. Discovering your natural talent is a gift which no amount of money can buy.

Even success doesn’t come only with the power of money, it comes with hard work, determination and worship. You need to devote yourself to your passion, fight for it all the time and believe in yourself, then only you can manage to be a real achiever.

It is good to have money and the things that money can buy, but make sure you don’t lose the valuable things money cannot buy, that is loving relationships.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 14th, 2017