Thought for the Day

Wednesday 25 February

Got no checkbooks, got no banks,
Still I'd like to express my thanks;
I've got the sun in the morning and the moon at night.

— Irving Berlin

Eknath Easwaran's Commentary

Even people with money, power, prestige, and everything they have been seeking in their careers can have emotional problems. No amount of money and prestige can prevent profound dissatisfaction and boredom, as well as psychosomatic disorders and drug addiction for millions of people. To me, this is proof that money and power are not our need, that the human being cannot be satisfied by them.

It is natural to feel that a little status or recognition would not be unwelcome in addition to earning a good livelihood, yet all the world’s great religions teach us that getting something out of life, whether it is money or recognition or power or prestige, is not our real need. Giving to life is our real need.

The Thought for the Day is today's entry from Eknath Easwaran's Words to Live By.