Riches

Every week I play the lotto in hopes of winning millions and changing my life. If I had a million dollars in the bank, life would be different. I would no longer have to work at a dead-end, unfulfilling job just to pay the rent and buy the groceries. If money were no object, I would spend my days doing what I love to do and I would encourage and support all the people in my life who feel their calling, but have no way financially to make it happen. I’ve dreamed about what I would do if I ever picked the right six numbers. I know where I would live, I know where I would travel. I’ve even made lists in my head of all the people I would help if I were to ever become a millionaire. I don’t care about fancy cars and designer dresses, but there’s a freedom that would come with being able to do exactly what you want, when you want. 

My current bank account is pretty empty. I don’t own a home and I don’t even have a retirement account. A lot of people could look at my life and call it a failure. I never graduated from a college or a university, I’ve never been to super fancy restaurants or stayed at five star hotels. I don’t have any treasures or antiques and my home is furnished with thrift store art. I don’t even own a dining room table, much less fine china and silver to lay upon it. I don’t hob-knob with the movers and shakers and I’ve never been invited to a formal dinner party. I don’t drink martinis and I’ve never once ridden in a limousine. My jewelry isn’t fancy and my closet isn’t full of Gucci bags and shoes. I work a regular job for hourly pay and I work six days a week without sick leave or personal days. I have six holidays off a year and I’ve gotten one raise in two years. Most people would look at my life and not envy me much.

 

I’m not successful in a career or business sense. I’m not famous or obnoxiously rich. I don’t drive a luxury car or own a fur coat. My family is a mess on the best of days. My marriage, while lengthy has been less than perfect and I struggle to make the people in my life happy. I don’t have the answers to all the questions, I sometimes lose my patience and every other hour will find me crying about one thing or the other. Happy tears, sad tears, tears of life. I’m an emotional creature and so I value the emotional things in life, rather than the material things that are used to measure success. 

What I’ve come to realize is that I am indeed a very rich person. I’ve been blessed with something so much more important than money or fame. I’ve been given the keys to the kingdom, only it’s not a kingdom filled with gold bullion, but one filled with the only thing that truly matters on our earthly journey, love. My life is full beyond measure with the tangible feeling that I get from all of you. I’ve been touched by your hearts and your souls and I feel you every single second. These connections that I share are like open conduits where the love flows back and forth. It takes a willingness to open up yourself to others, sometimes even strangers, and it takes an attitude of gratitude. If I were to count each time my heart has been touched and if I were to put a money value on each time, I would be a billionaire a few times over. 

I had an unhappy and abusive childhood and maybe that’s one thing that makes me appreciate the happiness in life. And, I can think of nothing that makes me happier than when I am connecting with a fellow human being and there’s this feeling of rightness, of just knowing, of just being the exact fit. It’s a bit like working a giant jigsaw puzzle and you pick up one piece and then another. You know pretty much right away whether that piece will fit, and when you do find the corner piece and you snap it into place, you feel the rightness, you feel that sense of completion and you go on to hunt for the next piece. In my life, I’ve had so many pieces that were perfect and that I knew right away that there was a connection. There was a bond. 

I’ve read that these connections are really part of your “soul family” and I believe that explanation without hesitation. How can they not be? When you have that connection, when you feel that circuit complete, you’ve just been rewarded with one of the most rare treasures on earth. More precious than gold or silver. More rare than diamonds and emeralds. There is no greater prize or reward than to love and be loved. I feel this now more than ever. From the time I was little, I’ve had special people in my life that I connected with and that I knew would be with me forever. And, they have been. A former teacher turned friend. A friendship formed in junior high that has lasted forty years. A sister that I never had that still watches over me. A wonderful man that makes me laugh and simply just makes my soul smile. A friend that I’ve never met, but that is still connected to me with an invisible thread that runs from Memphis to Pembroke Pines and that shows me all the sunshine life can hold. A couple of writer friends and I connect in a secret handshake kind of way and we understand each other and we know about the voices in our heads. There’s times I swear that those writing voices can be heard simultaneously in Utah, and two locations in Tennessee. I don’t know if the two ladies in question realize how often we’re not just on the same page, we’re on the same sentence! 

So, I have all these connections, all these pieces of my heart. With social media, I’ve been able to connect on a soul to soul level with so many more of you and when I think about each and everyone of you that’s reading this right now, my heart is full. I’m one of the richest people on the planet and I’m so filled with love and admiration and appreciation for all threads that connect us one to the other. Be blessed and keep sharing the love. That’s the only currency we really need.