Are You Rich or Wealthy?
In the last few months, I have followed an Instagram account that provides discussion forums on economics, people & culture, and science & technology. On the Instagram account, many stories are shared anonymously about a topic, and the owner himself — who is also anonymous — also shares his point of view along with accurate data about things that have happened.
The Instagram account is an account for discussion, but on each topic from the results of the discussion, everyone who participates in the discussion will not get a conclusion from the account owner, but invites us all to think and find ideal conclusions according to each person who participates in the discussion. Interesting right?
One of the topics I studied was about the life of affluent society, where this group is a group of people who are quite rich and can give satisfaction to their lives, elegantly. On this topic, my perspective on wealth itself changed.
At first, I viewed wealth as when there is a lot of cash in the bank account, has a strategic residence, has several promising savings and investment instruments, has various types of insurance to ensure everything is safe, and all types of wealth for me are money. After joining a discussion forum about the lives of affluent societies, my view of wealth changed. Real wealth for me is a good life, a comfortable life, a useful life, and a life that can be a livelihood for others. I realized that the current life is a temporary life and all that is obtained in life is only a deposit from the real owner of life. The reality is the more things that are entrusted, the more responsibilities that must be completed during life. That’s the cycle I can understand right now.
I was born in a poor family, my father died when I was 6 years old. My mother is a home seamstress whose her financial life is still being helped by my aunt. At the age of 8, I faced sexual harassment. My mother couldn’t afford to pay for me when I was in junior high school and I failed my school at that time so I had to transfer to a cheaper and subsidized school. I had to postpone my schooling for 2 years from junior high school to senior high school because of financial constraints. I managed to finish senior high school but I failed to finish college because I had to work full time to provide my daily needs during college so my studies were not taken care of, plus I was diagnosed with depresive episode, PTSD, panic attacks, and anxiety made several things in my life have to be suspended, including my studies which I ended up getting dropped out. At first, I just wanted to have a lot of money and be rich so I could stop the constant suffering. The older I get, the more things I learn, and the wiser I am in dealing with problems. At the time of writing this, which is just an achievement of what will be done — as someone who starts life again from minus, not even from zero, but minus, so that the message of life and all the entrustments from Him — the Owner of life — can be conveyed and used properly. Starting from changing angles In my view of wealth, it is one way to rise again for a better life.
Actually, for me at this time, I am very grateful that I don’t have many things, more precisely, I don’t have many things related to wealth and money. I feel that life is more than just possessions and money, getting back up after falling into a deep abyss without a broken leg is wealth. Being able to enjoy simple food and feel full is wealth. Can breathe fresh air without pollution in the morning is a wealth. Being able to share homemade snacks with neighbors is a wealth. Being able to have a healthy and complete body is wealth. Being able to cook lunch for the children in an orphanage was a fortune and wealth. Being aware of failure is wealth. Being able to be mindfullness with every situation is a wealth. Being able to write this story is wealth. And many other riches cannot even be exchanged and calculated as equivalent to money. Everything that may seem small, is a great fortune, and I enjoy it.
Wealth is when I feel I have had enough of what I get and I am grateful for it, and I can trust that what is needed in life such as fortune (in any form) will never go wrong and always return to its owner who is in keeping working on it.
