It amazes me the things people get upset over. And when I say people, I’m including myself.
“work is hard”, “my boss is mean”, “sally doesn’t like me”, “my boyfriend/girlfriend is being dumb”.
Really? Really? Are we going to make a big deal about this?
Perspective is something that especially in the past year I’ve always tried to keep. Perspective keeps my very real problems from overwhelming me.
The truth is that I am incredibly rich. I sleep in a bed (albeit a $30 too small craigslist one). I have food. I have family and friends.
I am rich.
I may owe 300K, and I am getting sued, but I’m still rich.
When 3 Billion people on the planet live on less than $2 a day….Yes, I am very wealthy indeed.
So some girl I think I’m perfect for barely knows I exist. At least I have a place to sleep tonite, a computer to write on, family and friends to love, and food to eat. What else do I need? (besides an extra 300K of course : )
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Your post reminds me of a story about the mindset of wealth vs poverty:
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, ‘How was the trip?’
‘It was great, Dad.’
‘Did you see how poor people live?’ the father asked.
‘Oh yeah,’ said the son.
‘So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?’ asked the father.
The son answered:
‘I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.’
The boy’s father was speechless.
Then his son added, ‘Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.’
Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have.
Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!
“Life is too short and friends are too few”
well said…
ditto
Saying it like it is. You are comparing yourself to those who earn $2 p/month. I compare myself to those who $2M a month and wish I was there. Still, it is good to get perspective once in a while.
Good reminder.
Especially since I was feeling a bit money-strapped today. Thanks.
Just KNOWING you’re one of the lucky few makes you even richer. You can’t buy that kind of perspective.
There’s the attitude!