Think of wealthy society as the owner of a grand casino. They promise you a certain kind of freedom—one you can attain if you win enough. But the moment you start accumulating wealth, they do everything they can to make you spend it. They dress it up as success, wrapping it in luxury, status, and the illusion of power.
The more you identify yourself with material possessions, the more you depend on them. The more you depend on them, the more you need money. And in the process, you forget the very reason you were seeking wealth in the first place—freedom.
The system manipulates you into believing that without expensive symbols of success, you are foolish, ignorant, or unworthy. They keep you chasing status, ensuring that your “winnings” never truly liberate you but instead bind you further to the game. After all, if you won and walked away, free to live on your own terms, the system wouldn’t benefit. That’s why the casino gifts you the suits, the champagne, the luxury cars—so your happiness and self-worth are tied to the very things that keep you losing, while the house always wins.
And the most ironic part? The game doesn’t end, even after you die.
The other day, I had a funny yet eye-opening experience in our family cemetery. My mum and I were discussing a simple renovation of our family gravestone when the marble maker suggested we upgrade the entire grave to something grander. We declined, explaining that our family values modesty and has no interest in flashy displays. He looked at us, almost puzzled, and said, “But some visitors will know this is your family’s grave and might judge it as too plain—‘Is this really the grave of a family as big as the Polats?’”
We laughed and told him we truly didn’t care. In fact, we’d rather those types of people didn’t visit our graves at all. But it struck me—how deeply ingrained this system is. Even in death, society still tries to measure your worth in grandeur, to keep you competing, to make you feel like you always need more.
That’s the game. There is always something bigger, better, more powerful. And as long as you’re playing, you’ll never have the time to pause, appreciate what you have, and ask yourself: Is this even what I want?
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