“A bird can roost but on one branch. A mouse can drink no more than its fill from a river.”
–Chinese Proverb
Most of us seem to always want more than we truly need. We want a larger house, a more expensive car, and always more money than we need. Perhaps we think we will be happier and feel more secure if we have a surplus of everything. But our struggles to get more than we need often bring us unhappiness and sometimes send us to an early grave.
A story is told of a man who was offered as much land as he could walk around on a single day while placing markers along the way. But the man must return to the starting point before sunset or he would receive no land at all. The greedy man rushed from the starting point at sunrise, determined to walk around the largest parcel of land possible. As the hours passed, the man walked farther and farther from the starting point in his effort to acquire as much land as possible. The man’s greed got the better of him, and he walked so far that he was unable to make it back to the starting point before sunset, thus receiving no land at all. How much land did this man truly need? Why was he willing to risk everything just to acquire a little more?
Many of us are like this land-hungry man. We spend our entire lives struggling to accumulate as many worldly possessions as possible. We neglect our health, our family and friends, and our duty to help others just so we can accumulate as big a hoard as possible during our lifetimes. Then we die and are unable to take any of it with us. Why do we behave this way? Why can’t we be satisfied with fewer material possessions and spend more time enjoying life and helping others? Why do we always want more than we need?
There are no simple and clear cut answers to those questions. Different people have different motivations for behaving in a way that seems irrational to some of us. Perhaps some failed to receive the love and approval in childhood we all need, and are still trying to receive that approval and respect by achieving as much as possible during their lifetimes. Some may be born with such a strong competitive drive that they must spend their lives trying to accomplish more than their contemporaries. Still others may just get so caught up in their work when they are young and struggling to make ends meet that they are unable to change once they become more successful.
Whatever the motivation, people have the right to strive for as much as possible. But are they paying too high a price in terms of neglected health, family and friends in their quest for more than they need?
Think about it.
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Copyright 2025
Allen W. Smith
