Probably most of us tie the notion of greed to material possessions: to hoarding and grasping. Perhaps we imagine an old man clasping his gold coins to his chest as futilely as the Western dragon guards his chest of gold. This is at least part of greed. But I wonder if the totality of greed doesn't extend to power and its arrogance.
By slaying our dragon, Joseph Campbell says, we free ourselves from our egos and possessiveness. This erases anxieties and social pressures and desires to become what we are not.
Then there is that thought, here slightly abridged, in Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy:
"It is a true saying that the greedy want ever more, while they want little who measure their abundance by nature's requirements... ."
Is there a connection between greediness and being a bully? Are people afflicted by greed due to fear of the future? of death and being forgotten? Or is greed as simple and complex as stupidity, fear and insecurities? In any event, greed, along with its brother evils of hate and delusion can readily make for a living Hell.
The excesses of greed, like hatred,
are roots of malevolence born of insecurities;
driven by our lowest impulse.
Unchecked, these toxins annihilate,
vanquish all goodness and integrity.
Acknowledgment is the first step toward its demise.
By lessening the arrogance of egocentrism,
calming spurious self-doubts,
we sever our attachment to greed's corrosion.
Is greed naught but the shadows of death's terror?
Understanding the sheer transiency of this journey,
striding toward disengagement,
we follow a wiser path.
Detaching, we step outside the greed's deadly shadows:
we temper vengeance and recriminations,
weaknesses that yield the taste of emptiness.
The human spirit reaches its zenith when it surrenders
the roots of malevolence. Sunset comes too quickly.
