Between What is Rich and What is Poor

Two businessmen met in the street.  One looked so sad and almost on the verge of tears.  The other man said, “Hey, how come you look like the whole world caved in?”

The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you.  Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me two hundred thousand pesos.”

“That’s not bad.” Said his businessman friend trying to console him.

“Hold on, I’m just getting started.  Two weeks ago, a cousin I never knew had an accident, died and he left me five hundred pesos tax free.”

“I’d like that. But I can’t understand why you’re not happy”

And the sad fellow said, “Last week my grandfather passed away.  I inherited almost two million pesos.”

“The how come you look so glum?”

And with sadness the businessman said, “Of course I’m sad. Look. This week – nothing. Nobody died!”

Some people will never be happy because all they ever wanted is more.

This is an old story but worth its weight in gold to serve as a reminder for life lessons learning.

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One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son.

“So, tell me, what you learned from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered:

“I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

“Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

“We have servants, who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs.  We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.”

A Chinese proverb says: “He who is content can never be ruined.”

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Some people complain all the time.

• “They’re not paying me enough…”
• “The benefits here are lousy…”
• “I never liked my job…”

But wait till a chilling message begins to creep through the corporate grapevine.

• “There’s news that the company has been brought by another and there will be a massive layoff.”
• “Many jobs will be cut and many positions will be declared redundant…”

Suddenly, the tune of the music changes drastically.

Discontent turns into fear.

Grumbling turns into prayers.

And why do we have to allow things like these to happen?

We never appreciate the value of something until that thing is taken away from us.

And why is this so? Because it is so hard for us to learn and understand contentment.

Without contentment, there will always be contention.

Here is the key. Shoot for the best. Excel in whatever field you are in. Dream big dreams but learn to enjoy life’s small pleasures along the way. And when we are faithful in what we do, skilled in the doing and excellent in the things done, the small pleasures turn into opportunities for bigger ones. Enjoy them all.

Paul in the New Testament says: “I have learned to be content in whatever condition I am in.” Somebody says: “To live content with small means, to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to the stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasion, hurry never; in a word, to let spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is my symphony .

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Author Unknown

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