Greed is a vile feeling. In some people, it is a pathology. Some people can present it and they do not realize the harm they are doing to themselves. Do you remember the character in the story of the man who gave nothing to his family, had no friends, and did not pay his employees a fair wage? Yes, I am talking about the famous Ebenezer Scrooge.

I also know that there have been many variants of the movie that try to highlight the great flaw of these people, such as the ghost of Christmas past. That it was a spirit that appears to this long-suffering gentleman to make him see what he was doing so far with the 70 years of age that he already had and was not going to leave a good thought on earth at the time of death.

I also heard the other story of a real-life lady who lived many years ago. I don't remember her name but I do remember her story. She was as stingy a lady as Ebenezer. She did not dress well, nor did she eat hearty or tasty, nor did she drink any liquids other than water, nor did she do anything good even for herself so that she would not have to waste her money.

She had only one dress so as not to spend on them, she washed the dress only in the part that dragged so as not to have to waste soap.  She ate only what was necessary and they were soups where not many vegetables or meats were used so as not to spend too much on food and she drank little water. No juices or treats because she was so conservative.

Everything she earned at her job, which I don't remember hearing about, she invested to keep earning. She didn't have employees in her house, she didn't buy furniture and she didn't dirty so she didn't have to spend on cleaning.

What impressed me most about her story is that she had a son who at one point in his life fell to the ground and broke his leg. She took him to a hospital far away from where she lived so as not to be recognized. She took him to a charity hospital. There the doctor recognized her and asked her to give some money for the child's care. The lady, who had just come to that place so as not to spend money on her son, refused and took her son back home.

She took care of him herself. Of course, the child's leg suffered from gangrene, and sometime later the leg had to be amputated.

It is the height of greed when you don't have anything to share with yourself or your loved ones. She thought that saving all she could during her life was the best way to live. I don't know how she died but I imagine alone, without a friend or family to remember her.

Greed is encouraged. From a young age, we get the idea that we have to suffer many needs to achieve our goals, and after achieving the first goals, the second and third ones come out, and so during our whole life, we will open new ways of not spending on anything to save.

Do you think this is the best way to live? Or can we make some changes so that this sin does not take root in our lives?

I once felt the need to save to get what I wanted and I did it with such determination that after a year I got what I wanted and then I went on to the next one. And I ended up with the third time. Then I realized that years went by and I had not enjoyed my vacations because all my vacations I worked to save.

Thank God I realized that and started to live a little more. With everything I got, I realized that with discipline and effort you get what you want. I got it and now I have another goal in my life but I am not so demanding. I live my day by day and I am sharing. In the end, I think that when my time comes I will have a friend and a family member who will remember me fondly and say a prayer for me.

How is your life? Are you greedy?

The image is from unsplash.

I am @gertu13 from Venezuela to the world.