That feeling of discontent and the desire to always have more has been the cause of so much suffering in the world. It is like a virus that has taken hold of many people and they do not even realize that they have become ill. They believe that acquiring more things, more wealth, a bigger house, a newer car, will make them happy. But, it rarely does for long.
The man who owns the motel where I am working owns five motels. Every evening he calls, wanting to know why business is slow. If we get busy, which has happened on a few occasions, the glee in his voice can be heard over the phone line. When we get busy, he raises the prices even higher, knowing that those people who are desperate for a bed for the night, will gladly pay. This kind of avarice is growing and spreading among those who are already wealthy. They are not content that they have a nice home, a fine automobile, plenty of food, and financial security. When I rented the house that I am living in, the landlord whined to me because he had not made any money on the house that he had only partially renovated. A few weeks ago he raised the rent by $200 on another house that he owns, forcing the renter to move. I have heard similar stories where an owner suddenly decides to sell and the renter is given only 30 days notice to move. These people who are taking over the real estate market do not care about the people who live in the houses they own. They care only about their profit and often refuse to invest in the upkeep of them. I visualize the owner of the motel and those like him, sitting in their rooms at night counting their gold like King Midas.
This is the real pandemic. It is a sickness that has run amok and the only thing that can stop its spread is a change in consciousness. The divide between the rich and the poor grows wider every day. The number of homeless people and children with no food to eat is getting bigger. The starving and the angry are driven to crime in order to feed their families, while the wealthy store up their gold for a future that has not arrived.
This pandemic, this growing greed that separates and divides people, is an infection of the worst kind. It produces a lingering congestion in the heart of hatred for our fellow man. It is highly contagious and the death rate is incalculable. The only cure is kindness.
