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Posted on 9:56 AM, under

it's hard to imagine the way our life would have been if we weren't rich. What if oil hadn't been discovered, would we be happy ?
i'm sure we wouldn't have the beautiful sky scrapers nor the fancy cars.
It's hard to imagine this.

But what if everything was as it is right now except that the wealth was shared between the people. What if no one OWNED the country. what if everyone had to work harder to get their share of this great wealth that many people don't appreciate.

Would our simple-minded people pursue better education to get their share of the wealth ?

would this pursuit of knowledge be a catalyst for the architectural and intellectual growth ? or would the money be the reason to the moral, intellectual, civilian retardation ?

I guess we all agree that a nation can advance if the had both wealth and knowledge. What what can make us happy ?

Does knowledge make us happy ? We see happy illiterate people everywhere.
Does money make us happy ? But many poor people are happy.

Is it what we do with the money that makes the difference ? or is it how we got the money ?

What is happiness anyways ? Is having an enormous amount of money happiness ? Is spending all your money happiness on stuff you want happiness ?

What makes us pathetic rich people ? maybe it's trying to live up to the "rich people standards".

what makes us pathetic poor people ? i'm sure it's trying to keep up with the rich people's standards.


Are you happy ? are you happy because ur rich ? are you smart ? are you smart because you're rich ?

It's sad that our IQs isn't measured by the amount of money in our bank accounts ? imagine how the world would be with many smart rich people ?


now let's move to another scene. Imagine a poor person that you've seen somewhere. What made you think that this person is poor ? Was it his cheap car ? or was it his non-super-sized house ? Did you take a look at his bank account ?

Maybe this person was actually richer than you thought. It's just that he was happy with what he had. His car did its job, his house was enough for him and his family. Maybe his money got him everything he wanted, it's just wasn't everything other people wanted. Maybe he didn't want to live up to anyone's standards.

Now imagine a dumb rich man. This is not a hard thing to imagine since there are plenty of those around here. What if this man was very rich and had everything he thought he wanted ? An expensive car, a huge house, yacht, jet plane and maybe another house in another country too. What if this person didn't know how to say "thank you" when people do him a service ? would you say that this is a happy person ? What if this person had the most expensive phone invented, but he didn't know how to put his favorite song as a ringtone, would you say he's happy ?

so it's not being at rich people's life standards that defines a person's happiness.

most people say it's how satisfied a person is that makes him a happy person. But I don't think being satisfied with what you have that matters, it's actually appreciating the value of everything in your life. It's appreciating the people, the things and the knowledge.

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5 Reply to "??"

  • Just Me on February 3, 2009 at 12:30 AM

    Great insight. I think you understand life.

     

    Bravecat on February 3, 2009 at 2:49 AM

    Awesome post.

    Actually, it would be quite interesting to see Qatar and Qataris minus oil&gas wealth. What do you think your life would be like? A volatile region such as Middle East, would your time be shared between warfare and farming, or would you go the Dubai way and borrow and spend money that isn't yours? Or if not, then what would it be like? Interesting, very interesting.

    Qatar rocks. On so many levels. But I wish there were more people in Qatar who thought the way you think. Or simply thought.

     

    I care on February 3, 2009 at 12:39 PM

    :)

    that's what i'm trying to understand !


    old people tell us stories about how they were happy back in the day and everyone know everyone. when i hear this i wish we never had this sour money !

    i don't hate money, i just hate how people are changing because of it.

    the country is trying to educate people, hoping that education will open their minds a little. I hope i can live long enough to see this happening.
    :)

     

    Bravecat on February 3, 2009 at 8:38 PM

    Your country is on the right track. I've lived all over the GCC long enough to be able to compare, and hey, Qatar is miles ahead than most other oil reach nations, in most aspects. And there are so many great people in Qatar. Of course you have your share of rich jerks (what country doesn't?), but they are NOT the majority.

    Unfortunately, the young generation is far too pampered and spoilt, and I just hope that the government does something about it. Also, there is a lack of things to do for local youngsters in Qatar, that is except internet, driving SUVs at break neck speed and chasing after the opposite sex!

    Still, I am so looking forward to moving back to Doha soon! I love it.

     

    Anonymous on August 12, 2009 at 1:19 AM

    ok, many issues raised here

    I think that without oil, we would still be diving for pearls and living in mud houses! we just got lucky. But i dont think we appreciate this wealth, we have learnt to take things for granted and ask for more.
    I actually had a similar discussion with my dad after a trip to Bahrain. People were very different there. They were so happy and modest and very very kind and pure. My dad told me that Qatar used to be like that but "elfloos et'3ayer elnfoos". This is so true.
    Some poeple could be rich and educated but they are "mob shayfeen 5air".
    If you go to europe, you will see millionairs driving small Pigiot cars and wearing jeans and t-shirts and standing in queues. As a matter of fact, they dont like to show that they are rich because they want to blend in. But i guess here, we like ass kissing! if you know what i mean.

    Qatar Cat, how come you want the government to do something about spoilt people while its the one that spoilt the people! do you think anyone care!

    And i think there is diffirence between getting education, and going to the best schools and between being actually educated! some people have PHD's but they know nothing and couldnt care less about anyone but themselves and how much more money they could get!

     
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