Wealth

Are you wealthy?

Ok, I’ll admit that is not a fair question. In order to answer the question, we first have to decide how we define wealth.  Most of us think of wealth as something that has to do with dollar signs and a number that is called our “net worth.” 
When we attempt to calculate our “net worth” we look at bank accounts, cars, houses, financial investments and so on.  Then we subtract our the money we owe other people.  What is left on the bottom line is typically how we determine our net worth.

Step back for a moment and look at the words here. We actually tell ourselves that we can define our “net worth“ by material things. Of all the potential words and ways to describe our worth we have allowed ourselves to believe that things matter.  Make no mistake the language we use to describe money and our relationship to money has a significant impact on our psyches.

It is an interesting thing to me that if we look up the definition of wealth on the internet all of the definitions refer to material things. The word wealth comes from the Old English word weal which means well-being and happiness. Do we really believe that material things have the capacity to create well-being in our lives? The world of things is constantly in flux.  To attempt to build our sense of well-being on something so unstable seems foolhardy.

I know many people with large bank accounts and net worths who live with a poverty consciousness.  They struggle with every dollar.  Worrying about their “stuff” saps all of their energy night and day. There is never enough money. Likewise I know people who have little in terms of tangible assets but live abundant lives, in which no need goes unmet.  These people never seem to worry about where their next meal is coming from or how they will make it through the day.  They just are.

From my perspective, the second is the truly wealthy person. A sense of well-being can only come from within. It emerges from an orientation to the world in which there is a understanding of a beneficent Presence and Power that is aware of and responsive to our needs.