True Wealth or Hard Cash?

I have been thinking a lot about money lately. The usual: where did it go?, is there enough, how can I get more, etc. You know the drill. As I have grappled with these questions and a few more, my line of thought changed, or maybe it just drifted. I don't know. I kind of think somebody was talking to me and I was in a place to listen.

The concept of money and wealth are truly different. Money has an outer frame of reference that is determined by others perception of you. It is a societal mechanism that determines a persons success in the immediate and is used as a predictor for future value. Very similar to examinations one takes prior to enrollment in Graduate School. Not especially valid, but used as a tool nonetheless.

To me, wealth can be, and maybe should be, an internal barometer that gauges our sense of accomplishment and content with our overall lot in life. I though this was kind of an interesting reflection I had so read on if you like. If not look at the picture farther on down, its way pretty:).

You will most likely not hear my name in the same context as Bill Gates or the Oracle dude. But in a lot of ways I think I can hang with them in terms of wealth.

I blogged earlier about the "attitude of gratitude" and this could be a true indicator of personal wealth. If I look on my life from childhood on I have literally had a horseshoe in both hands! My parents weren't and still aren't perfect. My Dad grew up in a horribly abusive household with a alcoholic step-father who lived to torment him in many ways. My Dad's coping mechanism was to join the Marine Corps at age 17 to get away.

My Dad could have been a time bomb waiting to go off on me as I grew up. The amount of times my dad struck, spanked or hit me was/is zero. He broke a cycle that had been going on for generations most likely. My Dad, career Marine Corps officer was/is the most gentle man I have met.

I grew up in an incredibly beautiful place along the California coast. It was idyllic in a lot of ways. It was peaceful and as a kid my life was in tune with the tides and swell conditions. As a young child my Mom would drop my sister and I off at the beach during the summer at 9:00 am and pick up at 4:00 ish when she got off work. She gave us lunch money and we were good to go! The beach was our daycare. Other moms from the neighborhood would be there on a daily basis and it was expected that we would be around them and would listen to them. Our street/neighborhood was a community in every sense of the word. People looked out for each other.

I got an athletic scholarship playing a sport that I loved. Growing up, my dad was never too tired or distant not to play catch with me and some friends. He gave me a love and respect for a game that continues to this day. He did not live through me, he enjoyed me.

The school I went to was a hotbed of political activism earlier in its history. It's a campus tradition. Still is. I would be in a Poli Sci seminar and a fellow student would ask me what issue was forefront in my mind and I would reply,"If I don't keep the 1 and 2 hitters for SC off the bases I am going to be in deep shit... They would look at me like some sort of mutant, but hey, I had my priorities:).

I ran a successful business after graduation that afforded me a chance to travel and see sights that will never leave me. The sunrise over the break at Nias when not a breath of wind disturbed the oceans surface. The smiling faces of kids who wanted to carry your surfboard down the cliffside for free so that you could teach them English. The loud and friendly affirmation from a WWII veteran in a pub in New Zealand. He bellows, “So we have a Yank in here and it is cause for a celebration, not a condemnation.”

I became a teacher and this became a gateway to the ultimate form of wealth that has been bestowed upon me. I met the person who has made me a better person than I ever thought possible. She showed me what was possible, supported me and helped me to its realization. She sacrificed her body and sanity, LOL, to make me the proud father of four of the most wonderful kids I can imagine. I see so much of her love in them on a daily basis it’s like somebody perpetually whispering in my ear, “you lucky bastard.” To say that I found my soulmate would be a gross understatement.

In retrospect, its not what you have that can be taken away that determines our wealth. It’s what we have that no institution, entity, credit rating, mortgage lender can touch. It’s the things in life that we nurture, honor, cherish and sometimes take for granted. This is the human condition in its fullest. If this blog has given you reason to ponder, ask yourself” How wealthy am I”? I think I can see the smile on your face already…..