24 APRIL 2023 A WEALTHY STATE OF MIND

I have reached a point in my life where I no longer put up with self-serving individuals. No one need be subordinate to another. I do not deserve less respect because you are in a “higher” position or because you live in a bigger house, or because you have more wealth than I have. Respect should be a circular movement – not a straight line moving in only one direction. Those who refuse to meet others on a mutual level live under the illusion that they are “better” than those that they perceive to be “beneath” them. You may be familiar with the empty thank you that is mumbled by an “authority” figure with his or her back turned, while he walks away from you. It is neither sincere or heart-felt. By the same token, a worker may begrudge his employer for the simple reason that he is the boss.

These scenarios play out in many ways. It can be between a landlord and a tenant or even between a husband and a wife. Some people believe that their time is more valuable than my time or that their job is more important than my job. We each have unique gifts that we bring into the world. If we are doing something that we enjoy or do not mind doing, and if it is something we are good at, then it has value. In our economic based society; however, that which we do may not be given the monetary value that is congruent with the effort and talent it requires. In other words, a lot of people do not receive a living wage in spite of their hard and dedicated work. Sometimes, even when we do our job well, appreciation is withheld. The manager or the boss instead looks for something that is wrong or not good enough, rather than acknowledging that their success depends upon the work that we do. If their “authority” is threatened they may even react with rage.

There will always be those who have much and those who believe that they do not have enough. The poor resent the rich and the rich believe that their wealth gives them the right to judge and treat the poor with contempt. Kindness and compassion are reserved for those they feel “deserve” it. Sometimes, those who grow up in poverty manage to beat the odds and “work their way up” where they too, become hardened to the less successful. You may be considered an authority in a certain field because you have acquired knowledge, you have the credentials, or you have the experience. This does not necessarily make you a better human being. Eventually, the wealthy come to realize that their “privileged status” cannot buy them happiness.

The fortunate ones are those who find contentment within whatever circumstances they wind up in. They know intuitively that they always have enough. They do not desire more wealth because the price that they would have to pay is too high. It would disturb their inner peace. Their calm demeanor is too dear to them. They are grateful every moment for what they have, regardless how little. They are grateful for their health, for their families and for their own skills, which allow them to give something of value to the world. They go about their work remembering to smile and to be kind, in spite of the “poor” complainers and in spite of the “wealthy” who wield their authority like a whip. These are the lucky ones. They sit outside the circles of the “haves” and the “have-nots.” They have found balance in a world that teeters precariously between love and fear. From their center, all are seen as one.

Once we draw our last breath, any authority we thought we had will cease. If we suffered from a sense of poverty, whether real or imagined, our suffering will end along with our life. In either case, we may have failed to appreciate the good we had. In the end, we come to understand that true wealth is a state of mind.