Today I am shining some "lyte" on prosperity. In case you didn't notice, the Dow Jones Industrial Index hit 10,000 yesterday. There was dancing in the stock exchange, hats, and banner headlines throughout the internet. Yawn.
I mean, so what? Stockbrokers are back to making money again? Yippee! The rich are now getting richer? Sorry if I don't celebrate your good fortune. 514,000 people lost their jobs last week. That's reality. What is happening on Wall Street has little or no effect on Main Street.
I am happy for people who are retired, now they might start getting some of their lost savings back. But that's about it. And all this talk about the Dow started me thinking about true wealth.
I was hoping that this economic meltdown would cause people to readjust their perception of prosperity. To focus less on the quantity of their lives and more on the quality. It is hard to feel wealthy when you are homeless, hungry, and frightened. But if you are breathing, and are healthy, you have an opportunity to do something.
Do you have a loving family? A circle of friends? You're wealthy. Do you have clean water to drink and clean air to breathe? You're wealthy. Food on the table? Ditto.
A job? You are incredibly fortunate. A car? You're wealthy. A roof over your head? You're wealthy. Can you think, plan, and decide? You're powerful. Can you execute your plans? You're incredibly powerful.
Everyday, ordinary people do heroic acts of enormous courage. That's worth celebrating. The Dow? As my teenagers are fond of saying, "whatever".
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