The definition of true wealth!

How do you define true wealth? Is it measured by the number of 0's in your bank account? Have you ever thought about wealth in other areas of your life? Well I have some thoughts on this topic and want to share some insight that may help you define wealth in a whole new way.

As I was growing up I thought wealth was measured solely on how much money you had. My father always told me that you are much more than just the material things you own. He always used to say that wealth is in your heart, your health, your relationships, and the way you view the world. Of course at the time I thought he was crazy. I used to say dad we can barely rub two nickels together but yet you are telling me that wealth exists in so many ways other than financial gain.

Now that I have been around long enough I completely understand what my father was talking about. Our experience in this world is not based on the material pleasures alone. I believe it is based on our ability to balance our physical, mental, and spiritual experiences so that we find the wealth in all areas of our life which include financial gain.

To be blunt I believe we achieve true wealth when we are able to find happiness in having great relationship with others, ourselves, and the contentment with the climb to success. If we are able to define great wealth by including our health and stable relationships then I believe we are going to achieve a fundamental difference in the way we define this experience overall. At the same time our interpretation of this experience also has some foundation in the money we accumulate over time. I am not implying that we neglect financial wealth at all. I am merely stating a need to include our physical, mental, and spiritual experience in the definition of true wealth.

If we take the time to focus on the other areas of wealth then we will be able to achieve a balance in our experience. Think about a pendulum when you stack too many marbles on one side it leans too far to the left or right. Well the definition of true wealth works the same way. If we focus too much on financial gain then other areas of our wealth quotient suffer. With that being said there are easy ways to ensure that we are focused on all areas of our life. The easy ones are our physical health and mental state of mind. The more difficult area is our spirituality.

I believe the definition of spirituality is a challenge in the 21st century due to many reasons. The main one being confusion over the conflicting messages we have received over the years. Depending on your upbringing many of us have had a definition that has been pushed on us. At the end of the day our spirituality is defined by the individual. Our spiritual wealth is dependant on our ability to transcend the mundane messages we have endured to find a deeper meaning into something that remains mysterious to us all. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are in tune with our spiritual side without compromising our experience in other areas of our life. This process is very personal and requires deep thought away from the everyday challenges of life. The point is as we get older certain realities will become clear. With that in mind I hope we allow our experience to include the many facets that define true wealth. The focus my friend is about our ability to balance our physical, mental, and spiritual experience.

Many blessings,

Michael Joseph