Author: Greg Tharpe

Prosperity and abundance was the natural way of believing for the people in the town of Opulence. They were masters of manifesting wealth and prosperity. Everyone in the town had been schooled in the ancient secrets; therefore, there was more than enough prosperity for all.  

The people had all of the money that they could ever need but they eventually realized that they did not have any joy. In other words, they were wealthy in money but poor in joy. Therefore, since they had plenty of money and they could afford anything they wanted, they set out to buy joy.  

Several salesmen came to town to sell the people things that would bring them the joy that they were missing. So, they bought loads of what they thought would bring them their joy. They tried the products for weeks and months, but still no joy. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that money cannot buy you joy.  

Therefore, they sent for a wise man to help them find the joy they were missing. The wise man told them, “Wealth is not measured by the amount of money you have, but by the amount of joy you have and if you have wealth and no joy, you are poor.” He also told them that, ” Joy is within them and the only way to find it was to give up all of their wealth. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to have joy.” He then stated that, “the joy of living comes from the joy of giving and when you release the materialism; it unleashes your inner joy.” 

The wise man told them to find the poor and needy and give them all of their wealth and this would bring them the joy that they were missing. The people were dismayed and perturbed. They loved their wealth and the things it afforded them; therefore, they were reluctant about taking the advice of the wise man. However, after much debate they decided to do as the wise man told them and they gave their wealth to the poor.  

As they began to give away their wealth, lo and behold, they began to feel more joy. The more they gave away, the more joy they received. When all of their wealth was gone, they realized that they had received the joy they were missing. They also realized that joy is more valuable than money and things, so they manifested more wealth for the purpose of giving it away and changed the name of the town to Joy.