I recently came across a documentary called I Am by Tom Shadyac, whom you may recognize as the director of Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, and Patch Adams.
Shadyac experienced a bad bike accident a few years ago. From this, he developed post concussion syndrome, which causes mood swings and depression for a longer period of time than normal concussions. Some people live with post concussion syndrome for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, Shadyac is no longer concussed. During his depression, Shadyac frequently contemplated the meaning of life and his purpose in the world. At one point, as he stood alone in his new Beverly Hills mansion, he realized that it did not make him any happier than he was before.
And so this documentary was born. Shadyac asked people the following questions: What is wrong with the world, and what can we do about it? There were many thoughts as to what causes the world to be as it is, and, oddly enough, most of those interviewed agreed with one another.  I won't give too much away (because y'all need to watch it for yourselves), but in the end it was decided that there are a lot of things wrong with the world; and most of all, we are.
The documentary challenges us to look at ourselves and the lives we live. What are we working towards in life? Does achieving the "American dream" really make us happy? What really matters, in the grand scheme of things? Money plays a role, obviously, in our happiness (am I correct in assuming we all like to eat and have a roof over our heads?). But there are many times when we choose the extravagant when something simpler would have sufficed.