Dr. Richard A. Gabriel

It has been said many times that “money doesn’t buy you happiness.” This is true but I’d like to add that neither does ANYTHING else unless you’re thankful for it.

As pop-singer Sheryl Crow says in her song “Soak Up the Sun”, “It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you‘ve got.” I’ve really noticed how true this sentiment is with my children and their toys.

When they receive a gift, whether it be Lego or Playmobil or Webkinz, they’re initially thrilled. It’s wonderful and new and it provides them with hours of joy. But after a while – usually after they take another look at the box that it came in – they realize that there are other Lego sets, or other Playmobils or other Webkinz that go-along with what they already have. Suddenly the gift that made them so happy before isn’t quite as good. And, if they actually receive that other addition to their toy, that first toy is often forgotten. In fact sometimes the act of playing with the toys becomes replaced by the act of trying to collect more and more of the toys – but without really playing with them.

This is one of the reasons that money doesn’t buy happiness. No matter how much money you might have, somehow it never seems enough.

The same could be said about power, fame, property and even family. The key is to be thankful for what you have. If you’re not thankful for it – whatever it is that you have – you’ll never be happy.

While doing research and interviews for a documentary called LAST DAYS: HYPE OR HOPE, I interviewed Dr. Richard A. Gabriel who is considered an expert on Political Science and the history of war. He was Professor of Politics and History and Director of Advanced Courses in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania before retiring to write full-time. He has written over 36 books and is a consultant for NBC and 60 minutes. This is a man who knows his stuff and when asked about the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall he said that he thought the main cause of the fall of Communism was… TV. Before TV people in depressed and repressed areas of the world were happy because they thought that everyone else lived as they did. But with TV they could see others who had so much more stuff and who lived such seemingly happier lives. Suddenly these formerly happy people were no longer so happy because they wanted what others had. Communism no longer looked so good.

This key idea of the secret to happiness is something essential to remember as political rhetoric is thrown back and forth over the recent Occupy movements and claims about the “haves” and “have nots”. Bill Whittle, a social commentator, cuts through a lot of the spin and comments on recent statistics that share the differences between the rich and poor… and notes just how thankful we should be.

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- Blog by André van Heerden, Writer, Director (2012: PROPHECY OR PANIC?, 12 BIGGEST LIES)