5 ms·

The highest form of wealth is health. Working eyes, working ears, working arms, legs that move when you want them and where you want them. An uninterrupted ni

The highest form of wealth is health. Working eyes, working ears, working arms, legs that move when you want them and where you want them. An uninterrupted night of sleep because you aren't in pain. Count your blessings every morning.

TylerLives 5y ago
I'm young so I'm still fairly healthy but I do have some minor issues(that aren't solvable in an easy way) and the thought of my health continuing to decline over time terrifies me. To make matters worse, nobody around me seems to care. All those issues are solvable, if we had more knowledge and better tools. I'm not sure how I can contribute, but I am sure that this is the most important problem that affects everyone and something I want to dedicate my life to.
Godel_unicode 5y ago
This is much too narrow, it's just a special case of the articles point; that the highest form of wealth is autonomy. From TFA: 'the ability to wake up and say, “I can do whatever I want today.”' Hard to wake up and do whatever you want if you're paralyzed/in a coma/cripplingly depressed.
- briefcomment 5y ago
  Good point. The word "wealth" does not need to be wed to the concept of money, and "opportunity" is a suitable synonym.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- bin_bash 5y ago
  As someone with kids I don't feel this fits at all. I feel much wealthier having kids now but I have nowhere near the autonomy I did before kids (I was single until my mid-30s). I don't feel I have much choice at all on what to do on a given day—or any single day of the year for that matter.
  - Godel_unicode 5y ago
    I don't see why you would find this confusing, do you think you are at the height of wealth? If you could just not on any given day, would you not feel wealthier?
    - bin_bash 5y ago
      I never said I was confused, or that I was at the height of wealth. I said I went from having near unlimited agency (working remote for a high paying job that didn't take up much of my time and nothing at all to take care of at home) to having almost none and I feel far wealthier. I am sure any of my friends and family would say that I'm wealthier now with a family as well.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - nerdponx 5y ago
        The question is not about kids vs time/money. If you could keep the kids and everything you had, but also have even more freedom to do whatever you want (for yourself or your family - more vacations and play time, more opportunities for education and life experiences) wouldn't you feel even wealthier? If you had less freedom (stuck working long hours, can't choose a family doctor you trust, etc), wouldn't you feel less wealthy? Importantly, you don't have to act on the freedom to know that you have it.
- femto 5y ago
  I'd propose that joy can trump health and autonomy. Some people have neither health or full autonomy, but they find joy in whatever situation they are in. As such, joy can also be resilient.
- PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
  The problem with the formulation "I can do whatever I want today." is that it specifies a timeframe that isn't always the right one. Sometimes, people want to (or need to) make choices about what they want to do for the next 10 years. Having children is a choice like that (except that it's for even longer). Making such a choice undeniably restricts your ability to revise your choices on a daily basis, but can also represent movement towards a longer term goal that might (or might not) ultimately bring even more happiness.
nine_k 5y ago
Mental health on top of it, too.
fritzo 5y ago
Nina Simone had the highest form > I got my hair on my head > I got my brains, I got my ears > I got my eyes, I got my nose > I dot my mouth, I got my smile
habitue 5y ago
This isn't the highest form of wealth, since health + $1B is clearly more wealthy than just a garden variety healthy person. (I take your point about not taking good health for granted)
- ad404b8a372f2b9 5y ago
  And yet (bad health + $1000B) < (health + 0$) ...
  - strikelaserclaw 5y ago
    this is true, if u told bill gates he can go back to being 20 but would have to give up all his wealth, he would probably take the deal. Nothing beats having your youth and health.

TylerLives 5y ago

I'm young so I'm still fairly healthy but I do have some minor issues(that aren't solvable in an easy way) and the thought of my health continuing to decline over time terrifies me. To make matters worse, nobody around me seems to care. All those issues are solvable, if we had more knowledge and better tools. I'm not sure how I can contribute, but I am sure that this is the most important problem that affects everyone and something I want to dedicate my life to.

Godel_unicode 5y ago

This is much too narrow, it's just a special case of the articles point; that the highest form of wealth is autonomy. From TFA: 'the ability to wake up and say, “I can do whatever I want today.”' Hard to wake up and do whatever you want if you're paralyzed/in a coma/cripplingly depressed.

briefcomment 5y ago
Good point. The word "wealth" does not need to be wed to the concept of money, and "opportunity" is a suitable synonym.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
bin_bash 5y ago
As someone with kids I don't feel this fits at all. I feel much wealthier having kids now but I have nowhere near the autonomy I did before kids (I was single until my mid-30s). I don't feel I have much choice at all on what to do on a given day—or any single day of the year for that matter.
- Godel_unicode 5y ago
  I don't see why you would find this confusing, do you think you are at the height of wealth? If you could just not on any given day, would you not feel wealthier?
  - bin_bash 5y ago
    I never said I was confused, or that I was at the height of wealth. I said I went from having near unlimited agency (working remote for a high paying job that didn't take up much of my time and nothing at all to take care of at home) to having almost none and I feel far wealthier. I am sure any of my friends and family would say that I'm wealthier now with a family as well.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - nerdponx 5y ago
      The question is not about kids vs time/money. If you could keep the kids and everything you had, but also have even more freedom to do whatever you want (for yourself or your family - more vacations and play time, more opportunities for education and life experiences) wouldn't you feel even wealthier? If you had less freedom (stuck working long hours, can't choose a family doctor you trust, etc), wouldn't you feel less wealthy? Importantly, you don't have to act on the freedom to know that you have it.
femto 5y ago
I'd propose that joy can trump health and autonomy. Some people have neither health or full autonomy, but they find joy in whatever situation they are in. As such, joy can also be resilient.
PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
The problem with the formulation "I can do whatever I want today." is that it specifies a timeframe that isn't always the right one. Sometimes, people want to (or need to) make choices about what they want to do for the next 10 years. Having children is a choice like that (except that it's for even longer). Making such a choice undeniably restricts your ability to revise your choices on a daily basis, but can also represent movement towards a longer term goal that might (or might not) ultimately bring even more happiness.

nine_k 5y ago

Mental health on top of it, too.

fritzo 5y ago

Nina Simone had the highest form > I got my hair on my head > I got my brains, I got my ears > I got my eyes, I got my nose > I dot my mouth, I got my smile

habitue 5y ago

This isn't the highest form of wealth, since health + $1B is clearly more wealthy than just a garden variety healthy person. (I take your point about not taking good health for granted)

ad404b8a372f2b9 5y ago
And yet (bad health + $1000B) < (health + 0$) ...
- strikelaserclaw 5y ago
  this is true, if u told bill gates he can go back to being 20 but would have to give up all his wealth, he would probably take the deal. Nothing beats having your youth and health.