I have been poor enough to need to borrow money for food. I have been well off enough to have many years salary in the bank. Happiness is almost 100% independen

I have been poor enough to need to borrow money for food. I have been well off enough to have many years salary in the bank. Happiness is almost 100% independent of money. It's an almost Buddhist concept, but you cannot be happy comparing yourself to others. You must find what makes you happy and then not worry about the rest. How cool it is that you can chill at some friends pool (for free!). Pools are expensive - Live cheap instead! > I'm at the bottom with nothing: Anything worth having, like "good people, great friends", is ... FREE! And you seem to have it. So that is definitely not "Nothing". > Rich people aren’t aware that their tales of success make people like me feel bad. Annoyed at bragging maybe, but bad? No. That's your fault. How does someone else's success (or riches) make your plight worse? It doesn't. And being rich doesn't make their life better either. If you say "now that sounds like bragging", you can embarrass them. Is that what you want? But you probably don't. Tales are tales. Tell a tale of being cheap and poor. It'll be as fun as rich and daring. Telling either or both tales is just idle entertainment, neither are that serious.