It occurred to me the other day that almost our entire existence here on earth, and particularly in the United States, can be summed up in four simple categories:
The Haves
The Have A Lots
The Have Somes
The Have Nots
I used to be a Have Nots. Yes, we all have to start someplace. In my case, we were originally the Have Somes. My father had his own business and it did well for a time. Well, until he started drinking too much and fell ill and died. Somewhere along the way, we became the Have Nots, struggling to make ends meet on welfare and food stamps.
If you wonder why I am such a big supporter of these programs, I guess it’s because of my Have Not years. I have been there. Our family fell through the cracks of the economy, and we would have been screwed without the safety net that our society affords those of us who are among the Have Nots.
After graduation from college, I remained a Have Not for a time. Being young, having a baby and working a minimum wage job will do that to you. You learn to love rice and mushroom soup for dinner and strange cuts of meat that no one else would think of eating. You learn to love home cooking because that’s your only choice. And you live in a run down apartment because that’s all you can afford.
Funny though, even though I was a Have Not back then in terms of money in my pocket, I was a Have A Lot in terms of being happy. I learned back then that money can never buy happiness and some of the most miserable people in our world count themselves among the Haves.
Me? I never really wanted to be a Have. What’s there really to do once you are one? Play some golf, eat out at expensive restaurants you know are ripping off, always wonder if someone is your friend because they like you or because you have a ton of money. You’ve reached the top of your potential… now what?
I instead prefer to be a Have Some, bordering on Have A Lot. I’m not there, of course. I think it’s pretty safe to say that I am comfortably in the Have Some range, but not to the Have A Lot stage. Again, we’re talking about money here, if that’s the gauge you want to use.
If I’m talking about all the other aspects of my life, then I have to say I am definitely Have A Lot. I have a good life, a nice roof over my head, a job I love, people who love me and I manage to still exceed the speed limit when it comes to living life large and with lots of gusto.
Again, I’ve known a lot of very wealthy people who could make, albeit falsely, that same claim. Oh, they think they are a Have because they can buy stuff that they think will make them happy. But when you look into their eyes, you know that something, and often a lot of somethings, are missing from their lives.
I have had to work harder at being a Have A Lot in my personal life than I’ve ever had to work in my professional life to Have Some. Reaching the Have A Lot level takes a lot of hard work. I was a Have Not at one time. I didn’t even like myself. If you think pulling yourself out of the Have Not economically is tough, try getting out of the pit of despair that exists when you don’t care about yourself even. That is one lonely journey, let me tell you.
Thankfully, I think I’m past that. One can never really be sure, I guess. After all, it’s fairly easy to go from being a Have to a Have Not. I know this because an acquaintance of mine in Texas had this happen to him. A millionaire at one time, he made some bad investments, lost it all, and ended up homeless. He may still be at this writing. It’s hard to get a hold of someone who lost it all, including an address and a phone.
That is the real danger of being a Have. You have a long ways to fall. I don’t really have to worry about that, of course. When you’re a Have Some, you don’t have far to fall and you’ve already been there a time or two. While it’s nice to Have Some, you know that you can still handle Have Not.
What’s funny is that the Haves usually don’t want the Have Nots or even the Have Somes to join them. They like to keep us in our place. They like to prey on us, getting some twisted joy out of our lack of the basics of life – happiness, joy, love, peace, harmony, satisfaction, security.
It’s because they aren’t truly the Haves. Oh sure, they may have money, power, prestige or position. But when it comes to the really important things – the basics of life – they are piss poor. That’s why they don’t want us to become a Have or even a Have Some. If we had money as well as happiness, joy, love, peace, harmony, satisfaction and security, they would be reduced to a Have A Lot or perhaps, a Have Some.
As I said, I’m content being a Have A Lot in my personal life. Sure, my paycheck says Have Some, but the part that is really important, how I view myself and my world, is definitely a Have A Lot. And no Have can ever take that away from me.
In the Emerald City, having a great time with my all my better Haves, of any degree,
– Robb