Saturday, March 14, 2009

If I Were A Rich Girl


Today I am shedding a little "lyte" on wealth.  I do not come from money.  I do not have a lot of money.  But I am incredibly wealthy.

I am not talking about myself in comparison to others.  Though by virtue of owning my own home and having two cars in my driveway, I am wealthier than most.  By having access to enough food and clean water, I am wealthier than many.  By having my health, I am wealthier than some.

No, I am truly rich in the stuff you cannot buy.  I will be celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary this summer.  I love my husband more today than I did yesterday.  He is my hero.  We are true soul mates and not a day goes by that I do not thank the universe for his presence in my life.

I have awesome kids.  Now everyone thinks their kids are great, but so what.  I know my kids are great.  They work hard in school.  They help out at home.  They are both involved in volunteering and are polite to strangers and gentle with little kids.  They are smart, funny, and growing into being interesting, engaged, contributing citizens of the world.

My sister is a constant source of support and love.  We may be separated geographically, but we are so connected emotionally.  She and her kids are all the extended family I have on my side, but they are all I need.

My father-in-law is another source of love and support.  He wraps his love in a lot of acerbic wit, but when the chips are down, his love is there.  Remember, love is not an emotion, it is a verb, and my father-in-law lives that truth everyday.

I have two incredible best friends.  One here in town, the other in another state.  Between the two of them, I am nestled like the creamy center of an Oreo cookie.  They laugh with me, cry with me, and fight for me.  

I even have great pets.  I am a cat person, but my dog loves me anyway.  My cats love me, but you know cats, they don't like to show it.  My pets are constantly showering me with the kind of unconditional love that makes me want to put them all in sweaters and carry them with me everywhere.  But I won't because my dog weighs about 70 pounds, and have you ever tried dressing a cat?

So, there you have it.  I know I have left some folks out of this blog:  my co-workers, some very loyal friends, and my brother who I am just starting to reconcile with after a long estrangement.  But my point is this, wealth is a state of mind.  Right now, a lot of attention is being paid to the monetary aspects of wealth, but it is the intangibles that are your true measure of what it is to be wealthy.  The rest is just stuff.  So go out there and practice a little wealth creation.  Call your mother, hug your child, take your dog for a walk.  That's a stimulus package that will pay off immediately.

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