a bag of gold around our necks

For a man to pride himself on this kind of wealth, as if it enriched him, is as ridiculous as if one struggling in the ocean with a bag of gold on his back should gasp out, “I am worth a hundred thousand dollars!” I see his ineffectual struggles just as plainly, and what it is that sinks him.

Isn't this just what's going on? It makes me think of petrodollars and the people who have them. Their very beachfront houses will be the first to sink beneath advancing waves. On a level closer to mine, I see people drowning in hurry. All the money they earn will never by back the time we squander. I'm trying to tie a lasso around time and slow it down to a pace that I can live with. It can't be that hard. It has to be easier that stressing out.