ask a mother who lost their child if she can go buy some happiness.

that's the whole point, yes you can buy some security and freedom but you can't buy happiness directly like how you could buy water or food.

if you're hungry you can buy the solution to that directly

if you're sad you can't

OP is a well known and respected OG poster, whom I've actually asked for advice from in the distant past many years ago.

But that original post reeks of a drunk post of someone dealing with some real personal sh!t.
I hope I'm wrong, but Don - this isn't indicative of the super quality posting you've done before. I hope everything is OK with your personal life and it's understandably OK to do a reassessment of your life decisions... hell, it's called a midlife crisis for a reason and you've clearly done well.

Money doesn't equal happiness. But basic financial stability (security) where you have enough in the bank to not stress about bills and never need to check your checking your account or worry about paying the cash-back credit card when buying things buys a ton of peace of mind! Everything above that is just possession of material things and trying to impress people.
I'm a car guy, but if you have to work an extra 15 hours a week (or 780 hours a year) to buy a Lambo or 911 vs working the less to drive a M car or even a Toyota, then things are out of place.

I'm a corp exec and do decent, but honestly, some of the happiest people I know make less than $100k but acquired a house for cheap and work 8 hours a day and have a family they're there for constantly.
I also know a lot of people that make 6 figs a quarter and are stressed out of their mind and lost in life.
There's not easy answer, but one thing is for certain.... the line between making an honest living and being around for your family vs making 5-10x that and being slave to money or ambition is way thinner than most think.

Thanks for the words and also for looking out. Was not coming from drunk (it was 830 amnor despair....it was actually the contrary. Just came home from a hard sparring session in BJJ.
Im an old dude that is trying to support my kids reach their goals of becoming Pan AM champs this year. Their grind in BJJ inspires me and I take to the mats to do it with them, to try to understand what they are feeling, and to maybe even give them some pointers.

That morning...I came to the realization that on that mat nothing else matters other than your capability. There were CEOs, plumbers, kids in college and guys that work at Burger King all going through the same grind. I got my arse kicked on some rounds. I did good on others. And when I got home and assessed my "why"......I just felt like communicating the feelings and experiences I had at that point.

No amount of money can be put forth to guarantee my kids will be Pan Am champs this year. We are just putting forth the effort and what we think it takes. 3 hours a day......6 days a week is what they want to do to try to win it. My goal of becoming a black belt one day could not be accelerated with money.

Just hard work and consistency. Thats where I was coming from.