Big money, big houses, big cars leads to much bigger problems

When it comes to being rich, many of us pray for that more than anything else because we have been made to believe that being rich is truly where it’s at.  We think that if we are rich, we can buy anything and everything our little hearts desires and that will erase all of our pain, suffering and bad memories from existence forever.  We believe that being rich will make others like us more and accept us better.  We believe that everyone would be our friend and no one would want to be our enemy because with money, you are elevated high above all others and the sun shine upon you brightly each and every day.  No clouds will ever appear in your world if you are rich and no more rainy days for you and those who now are willing to subject themselves to your every whim.  This may sound good on paper and even look good in a movie but be aware people, this is nowhere near the truth and if you really did wish to educate yourself, you would find that being rich is like all other things, simply a frame of mind.

A frame of mind because I do not have none of those things going for me but I couldn’t be richer because I have much more than any of those things going for me.  I have a family, who loves me unconditionally, children who look to me for guidance and an example of how they should act, a God that see the real me and a peace like none other in the world.  I have all this and money is not the reason why.  I have all this because I have learned that money is only a necessary evil but an evil that I can control without allowing it to control me and if I can come to realize this then so can you because there is nothing that I have done that you cannot.  This is my truth and it can be your’s as well because nothing, not money, not clothing, not automobiles, not houses make the person.  It’s the person that makes all those things.  If you wish not to take inspiration from me take it from this article titled “McClendon driving at 88 mph ahead of fatal crash-police” written for Reuters. 

The article reports that “Aubrey McClendon, the former chief executive of Chesapeake Energy Corp, was driving well above the speed limit at roughly 88 miles (142 km) per hour before he slammed into a bridge abutment earlier this month and died, Oklahoma City police said on Monday.  The death of the energy entrepreneur on March 2 shocked the oil and gas industry less than a day after he was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on allegations of violating antitrust rules by rigging bids for land. He denied the charges.  Just after the indictment, McClendon's largest investor, the private equity fund Energy & Minerals Group of Houston, halted all new business with him, depriving him of a key source of funding.  McClendon was traveling above the 50 mph speed limit before he collided with the bridge, causing his vehicle to rotate seven feet (two meters) counter-clockwise, Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty said at a press conference to release findings from the accident investigation.  The fatal accident has raised questions about whether the executive took his own life.  McClendon, who was driving his natural gas-powered Chevy Tahoe, was not being pursued and was not chasing anyone, Citty said.  McClendon suffered multiple blunt force traumas to his head and torso and likely was dead before a fire engulfed his vehicle and charred his body, Citty said.  The former Chesapeake co-founder did tap his brakes twice after he drove 189 feet left of the center lane, but the actions did not slow his vehicle down. McClendon did not touch the brakes at all in the 31 feet before hitting the bridge, Citty said, citing data retrieved from the Tahoe's black box data recorder.

So now the question becomes, why would someone who seemed to have everything to live for take his/her own life or not maintain a much better source of security than what happened here and the answer to me is simply, McClendon, like many others whom we consider rich by monetary standards had bigger problems than money could solve.  He had to choose between doing what was right and doing what was wrong and when he made the decision to get involved in a possible violation of antitrust rules, the demons within him got very busy and began their take-over of his soul.  He fought back as the information about hitting the brakes as he drove left of the center line but his demons were too strong and had been allowed too much power over him so they won out.  It is well-known that once you become the king or queen of the mountain, the toughest job you’ll ever have to do is stay there.  Image having all you could ever want in life but never feeling completely satisfied so you obtain more and more.  Each coming with a price that you may choose to ignore but when it comes due and payable, you will quickly began to regret making. While the issues of those whose richness is little may be eased by money, the issues of those whose richness is a lot cannot because it is the reason those issues exist.