Quote from Ricter:
Happiness and sadness arise mutually. Nothing can change this primordial fact of human nature, though YOU, by a deep and complete realization of this, can achieve a detachment.
It was stated earlier that the acquisition of money removes some problems and adds others, which is another way of stating the basic duality. I know, you're thinking "I'd rather have these problems than those problems," but keep in mind that problems are problems.
An example from my own life... I have a friend who has been rich his entire life, he's nearly 70 now. His day can literally be spoiled, I've seen it happen, by the improper presentation of a bottle of wine by his waitstaff. And I don't just mean he's pissed off right now and in 10 minutes we're happily chatting again. I mean that that was the day's downer for him.
And another example. Early this year I began making enough money online that I no longer "had to work for a living", though to be honest I did have to log in for about 10 minutes a day. But that's not working. Anyway, seems great, eh? I was ecstatic. All spring I took trips, or went on long hikes (which I always said I wanted to do if I ever "won the lottery").
Around the third month of this, I was already becoming aware of a huge kind of dissatisfaction creeping stealthily up on me. Couldn't put my finger on it. One day on the trail, it became a bit clearer. Like my rich friend, I had eliminated too much of the "suck factor" (a term I made up for myself) from my life. It occured to me that the old duality was not gone, not one bit, and that new problems were arising. After filling myself up on entertainment and travel, I was wondering "now what?" I needed suck factor.
I've been newly considering the problem since, and at this point in the year's fascinating devolpments, I've provisionally come to the conclusion that one thing I DO want is to not have to work an 8 hour day (I'm getting too old for it), and that I DO have to have some work every day that I do NOT want to perform, but must. If I choose the involuntary suck factor, I can can limit the swings of the duality to tolerable levels.
Henry Thoreau was getting at much the same when he advocated the elimination of excess luxury from one's life. It's so true.
