Robert Warne Wilson was born on November 3, 1926, in a lower-middle income family in Detroit. He started with humble beginnings and worked his way up to amass wealth amounting to over $800 million. Then came the other side of the picture. Late in his life, Mr. Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke, which led to health problems. According to his friends, he always said he didn’t want to suffer, and when the time came, he would be ready! He perhaps meant he would be ready to take his life, so he could spare himself the suffering. No doubt it was this ‘ostrich’ like thinking, which made him give out his money to different NGOs and charities. At the age of 87, he took his life by throwing himself from his 16th floor apartment in New York on December 23, 2013.

There are many cases of this kind of suicide. Why do these people choose suicide when they have all kind of worldly things in their possession? The reason is that when a person begins his life, he believes that if he is able to earn money, he will also achieve happiness. According to him happiness is a purchasable item. But after he amasses wealth, he discovers that money has failed to give him a happy life. Then there are other problems, such as old age, accident, and disease. This experience leads to what may be called “money-stress”. That is, money becomes a liability rather than an asset. This is the case of everyone who makes earning money as their goal in life.

This reminds us of a very relevant Quranic verse: “Surely in the remembrance of God hearts can find comfort” (THE QURAN 13:28). To remember God is not to recite the word 'God'. It is to make God one’s sole concern. It is to discover the Creation Plan of God. It is to mould one’s life according to divine culture. It is to embrace Paradise as one’s goal. In a single word, it is to adopt God-oriented life. Finding God means to find one’s real purpose in life. When a person discovers his real purpose in life, he develops his personality into one that has been called in the Quran as a “soul at peace ”. (THE QURAN 89:27)

If you want to live with a peaceful mind, you must elevate yourself from worldly goals, and make God your sole concern. This is the only way to develop a peaceful mind in this world.