Those that dwell on things that are impermanent and treat them as if they are permanent, such as physical beauty, money, their status, and so forth, will never find true peace or equanimity of mind in this world, for if your treasure is on or within the temporal, than your treasures is subject to its inevitable rust and decay or outright thievery. On the other hand, those that recognize that their greatest efforts should be in accordance with that which is permanent, and of these, they are invariably of the spiritual nature, such as the fruits of the spirit, which are: "….love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance… ". (Galatians 5:22-23).
The things of this world have their place but are superseded in preeminence by the advice, the wisdom, the peace, and the understanding, that you pass on one to another from one person to another in your day-to-day activities. Those that, instead, dwell on creating their own kingly domains, have their gratification in having done so, but as much as they might try, they cannot hold onto such kingdoms, because they cannot control the material world, and lacking such control, all sorts of sins, disappointments, and wrongs create themselves.
We suffer, so often, not because we lack, though we might lack, but because we spend inordinate amounts of time, going after things that inherently will not bring us true happiness or even satisfaction, although they very well may satiate ourselves for a time. For instance, there are those that want to look a certain way but cannot try as they might, forever turn back the ravages of time, because the physical body eventually reaches its point of no return. So too, no matter how great the edifices that you create or have helped to create, they cannot without the vision as well as the workers present, continue to be developed and maintained far into the future, so too these great edifices will eventually decay back into dust.
However, for those that spend their greater effort making this world, making their family, engaging with their friends, in a positive manner, this demonstrates in thought and in action that they care, by devoting their energies in a manner that places service to others at a higher level, than demanding or expecting self-service for themselves. The things that you do, the things that you say, the things that you influence, and the effort that you put into everything, will, whether desired or not, influence the actions of others impacted by what you have done. These are indeed the things that are permanent, because they carry forth from generation to generation, for better or for worse.
This world suffers through manmade disasters, which can change things in a blink of an eye, as well as natural disasters which can tear down things that have been created over generations, and even have stood their ground for millenniums; these can all disappear from the powerful fury of wind, water, and fire. This world tricks so many because they see the things that are tangible and believe that these things are permanent, but material things, all have a cycle that cannot be changed no matter their form, because nothing of a material nature is eternal. The art is in knowing, that the material is needed in order to live life on earth, so as to play our roles on this plane, while those that see the bigger picture, that we are spirit, will intuitively recognize that we are all one, therefore when we aid one another, we aid all