HOW RICH ARE YOU?

Hello travellers and welcome back to the blog,

I recently came across the most wonderful idea and it really caused me to stop and think.

The statement that I read was simply this:

You are as rich as what you can do without.

At first I really had to think about this, as it is a bit of a brain-teaser in a way. A backward, roundabout way of looking at the issue of what is truly important in your life.

So today, I invite you to take an inventory of what you could do without in your life.

It is funny, because there are so many things that we think we need to live and be happy. But when you take a close look at your life, you will most likely discover that in fact you could do without most of these “I must have” things.

Things that you may be constantly striving for.

Things that you may be constantly working to afford to buy.

Things that you are constantly being told by outside forces [ media, advertising and society ], that you need to be happy and full-filled.

But are these things, really the things that ” you must have” in your life?

How does your “must have list” stack up if you really take and good hard look at it? Because the answer to this question will tell you a lot about just how rich your life is – and how rich it can truly be.

So – if you really had to get rid of things in your life – what could you do without?

What is really not that important at all?

What could you do without?

Allow yourself to sit with this question for a good 20 minutes or so. Grab and pen and paper and write your list. And keep in mind the premise for this question of self discovery:

You are as rich as what you can do without.

Then when you are done – write another list.

This time – write a list of what you could simply not do without. The things that you consider a real MUST in your life.

The things that keep you going. That really matter. That really make a difference in your life.

So now – take 20 minutes or so to write that list!

What I discovered when doing this exercise myself, was that most of the things on the ” what I could do without list” were things that required money to buy. [ fancy holidays, new shoes, new clothes etc etc  ]

And what I found on my ” I really need this in my life list” were things that were free or more of a choice of what I did with my time. Things like:

1. I need quiet time for myself every day and regular meditation
2. I need sunlight
3. I need time in nature
4. I need shared times with friends
5. I need support and encouragement from my family
6. I need to feel useful and purposeful in my days
7. I need to feel connected to life and people and the planet
8. I need to believe in the goodness and possibility of the world
9. I need interesting conversations, about interesting things, with interesting and questioning people.
10. I need a sense of community where I live

So now, I invite you to compare your two lists and see what it says to you.

What does it tell you about you?

What surprised you about your lists?

What changes would you like to make in your own life, based on those lists?

And the biggest question of all – just how rich are you?

Because like the quote said at the beginning of this blog:

You are as rich as what you can do without.

And perhaps, this is why some of the poorest people in the world appear to also be the happiest?

Food for thought, as we run like little mice on a wheel of plenty, that seems to never be enough.

#DiscoverYou, #LoveYou, #BeYou

Christine