Why is nobody ever content?

Everybody I know is miserable. Why? We all have nice homes, nice things, live in the wealthiest country in the world.... but yet we are miserable.

I have some theories on this. People fall into different classes.

The greedy. These are the people who will never be happy no matter what they have. Things are never good enough, and they must get more. This person is typically a manager or executive in a company. They are hell bent on higher profits, owning a nicer house, expensive cars, etc. They are consumed with more, no matter what it is, they want more... and while they may seem happy, I cannot believe they truly are. I cannot relate to this group of people at all.

The downtrodden. These are the individuals that are tyrannized by the greedy. If the greedy didn't demand more and more from these people, they might have a chance to be happy. But the greedy will not allow it, as they must get more for less from the downtrodden. My latest example of this is all the free forced overtime I am working. Part of me falls into this category.

The apathetic. Nothing in life matters all that much. These people are not necessarily miserable, but are rarely happy, because not much matters to them. These people are almost the polar opposite of the greedy. I find myself increasingly feeling this way.

The chronically miserable. No matter what happens, there is no happiness here. It is almost like these folks look for things to be unhappy about. The most insignificant thing can put them in a spiral of misery where nothing can make them happy. This group scares me.

I know people in all these groups. I fall into a few of them myself. The question is why, and how do we get out of our ruts? These are really, unfortunately, personality traits more than anything else. Do people really have the ability to change? I don't know. I guess if I have to be in any of these groups, apathy is the way to go... You get too upset being downtrodden, so apathy is a good alternative, the least of all evils. So that is where I am and will stay, unless someone can show me the way to happiness....

But I just don't trust anybody to do it. Least of all myself.