I am rich in experiences that have taught me
how to be a better person,
rich in talents and skills,
rich in contact with what is truly important in Life . . .
I have no immediate family left,
(parents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles)
but while they lived
they gave me both positive and negative lessons . . .
learning to combat hate and bigotry,
learning that what they believed
was not always right for me
and the courage to move away from those mis-truths
without bitterness or guilt.
They taught me
how to carve my own way . . .
not deliberately,
but by the way they tried to negate what I saw as Truth.
So I am rich in the power of my own softening,
my own opening heart,
my own acceptance
that the world is far broader than I used to think.
I can love the world in my own way now,
enjoy Nature
with a freedom I never experienced before,
and to love whomever I choose to love
without shame
or the need to explain myself.
There is no one left to judge me,
and most of the people I know now
have no idea of my past,
but that’s all right . . .
I had to go through
what I had to go through
to get to where I am today,
and there will be more I have to go through
to get to where I need to be,
until I am perfectly baked,
which will happen after I am gone.
Great question. I am rich with compassion for my fellow human beings, rich with family and friends, rich with joy of many of my hobbies and travel to places I only dreamed of. Rich in working for a company that treats their employees well “Best places to work” for several years and with great benefits. Rich with a son that includes me in his aspirations in life. Rich in this wonderful community!
Yummmmm, what a delicious question. Just saying the words gives me a feeling of richness. I am rich with curiosity to express myself with words and art and dance. I am rich with opportunities to do so. I am rich with the pleasure my senses supply me in every moment of the day. I feel rich with the beauty of this planet. A’ho….. Ameen……. Amin…… Aum….. Hallelujah….. L’chaim…… Svaha….. Thathaastu…..
This is the perfect question to follow today’s Word for the Day.
Word for the Day:
“Service doesn’t start when we have something to give
-it blossoms naturally when we have nothing left to take.”
Nipun Mehta
My first thought is that this is so gorgeous!!
And yes, of course I would be would be the most giving
if I was not thinking about what I want to take.
But for me, this doesn’t feel achievable.
Perhaps for me this can be an awareness to have,
a direction toward which I would like to move.
so that I am more conscious of the part of me
that always wants more.
Because I do like my stuff.
And I still would like to have more stuff. Hmm
But I believe that the point is to remember
that I am already rich.
I am rich in the simple things that are most important.
such as clean water, fresh food, an abundance of nature,
I am rich in my ability to breathe
and perceive the world through my five senses.
I am rich in the love I feel for others,
I am rich in friendship
I am rich in beautiful family members.
I am rich because I belong to this beautiful grateful community.
I love this question! Such a great reminder.
I never thought I would have the life and things that I have. I never thought I would have all the experiences or travel to the places that I’ve had.
I never thought I would experienced the love that I’ve had or the people I have met and had relationships with. I was born into a pretty simple situation and didn’t have any expectations and being mildly depressed didn’t help.
But, my life has been full. Very full indeed.
I have seen and done and experienced so much.
A truly rich life.
What a great question! In so many ways I’m rich beyond what I could have imagined at various stages in my life.
In material terms I have a nice home in a friendly neighborhood near a park. We were able to remodel it because I’m able to qualify for a home equity loan. I can go out to dinner for a date with my sweetheart, as we did last night. All of this is because I have a good job that pays well. I have good benefits, which is especially important any time we have a health emergency like my husband’s kidney stone attack mid-November. The bill was thousands of dollars but we didn’t have to pay most of it.
This contrasts with when I was newly divorced living with a baby and a toddler in a small apartment. When they weren’t with me I turned the heat way down and wore sweaters and coats. I ate a lot of ramen. If I wanted a latte I put $2 in a jar (a 16-oz. with flavor cost $1.85 at the time). This was my savings for either getting that latte later or saving up enough to go to a restaurant–I couldn’t do both. Going out to dinner in a restaurant was a rare and special treat when I was a kid, which is probably why that’s one of my markers for success.
In non-material terms I have so much more. I have beautiful skies and tall trees, a loving husband and loving children all of whom make me laugh out loud on a regular basis, best friends I can be honest with, my health and a good education I’ve made use of and added to over the years with experience and with some unlearning of things I was taught that aren’t complete or accurate. I have the flexibility of mind to learn and unlearn and I’m kind and open. I have skills I enjoy using that add to my life: cooking, knitting, sewing, writing, gardening. I have good memories I appreciate and the not-good memories have faded with time. My parents taught me values that have held up over the years.
Though it doesn’t always feel that way, I am richer in time than I was when working full-time outside the home. I am rich in health, rich in access to spiritual books and practices. I have the richness of my primary relationship with my husband and I am growing my richness in other relationships and friendships. I have the richness of a loving family of origin. I am rich with access to clean water to drink, healthy food to eat, and (most of the time) clean air to breathe. I am rich in having a home to live in: a safe, nourishing place to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
I am rich in deep conversations and connection with close friends. My ability to take in the life around me, from this puppy chasing his own tail to the crack of leaves on the pavement to driving through the city, makes me rich. My dreams are rich with puzzles and suggestions. Lately, I am rich in variants of useful shoes and delicious coffee. I am welcoming grief, loss, and sorrow also. Because I have the capacity to feel these difficult emotions, and work with them, this makes me rich in the human experience.
Oh my! I am as rich as a millionaire…I have a loving husband, wonderful animals, a warm, beautiful and safe home. I have more than enough food and I have first and foremost my faith and love for God. Who could ask for anything more? And I have all of you and this wonderful place to come and think, learn and be thankful.
I am so very blessed. My “riches” are too too many to list. Having an attitude of gratitude reminds me to count my blessings everyday & to give thanks for all.🙏🏻
I am very rich in curiosity & for this I am extremely thankful. ❤️
Reading everyone’s reflections first, I can say that I am rich in an abundance of so much already mentioned…and then will add the gift it is for me to be a part of this amazing Gratefulness community. Namaste, all.
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I am rich in experiences that have taught me
how to be a better person,
rich in talents and skills,
rich in contact with what is truly important in Life . . .
I have no immediate family left,
(parents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles)
but while they lived
they gave me both positive and negative lessons . . .
learning to combat hate and bigotry,
learning that what they believed
was not always right for me
and the courage to move away from those mis-truths
without bitterness or guilt.
They taught me
how to carve my own way . . .
not deliberately,
but by the way they tried to negate what I saw as Truth.
So I am rich in the power of my own softening,
my own opening heart,
my own acceptance
that the world is far broader than I used to think.
I can love the world in my own way now,
enjoy Nature
with a freedom I never experienced before,
and to love whomever I choose to love
without shame
or the need to explain myself.
There is no one left to judge me,
and most of the people I know now
have no idea of my past,
but that’s all right . . .
I had to go through
what I had to go through
to get to where I am today,
and there will be more I have to go through
to get to where I need to be,
until I am perfectly baked,
which will happen after I am gone.
This is beautiful, Sparrow.
Thank you so much for sharing, Sparrow! I am inspired by your journey to true wisdom and freedom. ❤️
Great question. I am rich with compassion for my fellow human beings, rich with family and friends, rich with joy of many of my hobbies and travel to places I only dreamed of. Rich in working for a company that treats their employees well “Best places to work” for several years and with great benefits. Rich with a son that includes me in his aspirations in life. Rich in this wonderful community!
Yummmmm, what a delicious question. Just saying the words gives me a feeling of richness. I am rich with curiosity to express myself with words and art and dance. I am rich with opportunities to do so. I am rich with the pleasure my senses supply me in every moment of the day. I feel rich with the beauty of this planet. A’ho….. Ameen……. Amin…… Aum….. Hallelujah….. L’chaim…… Svaha….. Thathaastu…..
Reading your reply gives me a feeling of pleasure, richness, and happiness, Denise! Thank you for sharing.
Your icon is so true Denise, “Life doesn’t need to be perfect to be wonderful.” Thank you.
This is the perfect question to follow today’s Word for the Day.
Word for the Day:
“Service doesn’t start when we have something to give
-it blossoms naturally when we have nothing left to take.”
Nipun Mehta
My first thought is that this is so gorgeous!!
And yes, of course I would be would be the most giving
if I was not thinking about what I want to take.
But for me, this doesn’t feel achievable.
Perhaps for me this can be an awareness to have,
a direction toward which I would like to move.
so that I am more conscious of the part of me
that always wants more.
Because I do like my stuff.
And I still would like to have more stuff. Hmm
But I believe that the point is to remember
that I am already rich.
I am rich in the simple things that are most important.
such as clean water, fresh food, an abundance of nature,
I am rich in my ability to breathe
and perceive the world through my five senses.
I am rich in the love I feel for others,
I am rich in friendship
I am rich in beautiful family members.
I am rich because I belong to this beautiful grateful community.
May all be blessed on this lovely Saturday.
I love this question! Such a great reminder.
I never thought I would have the life and things that I have. I never thought I would have all the experiences or travel to the places that I’ve had.
I never thought I would experienced the love that I’ve had or the people I have met and had relationships with. I was born into a pretty simple situation and didn’t have any expectations and being mildly depressed didn’t help.
But, my life has been full. Very full indeed.
I have seen and done and experienced so much.
A truly rich life.
What a great question! In so many ways I’m rich beyond what I could have imagined at various stages in my life.
In material terms I have a nice home in a friendly neighborhood near a park. We were able to remodel it because I’m able to qualify for a home equity loan. I can go out to dinner for a date with my sweetheart, as we did last night. All of this is because I have a good job that pays well. I have good benefits, which is especially important any time we have a health emergency like my husband’s kidney stone attack mid-November. The bill was thousands of dollars but we didn’t have to pay most of it.
This contrasts with when I was newly divorced living with a baby and a toddler in a small apartment. When they weren’t with me I turned the heat way down and wore sweaters and coats. I ate a lot of ramen. If I wanted a latte I put $2 in a jar (a 16-oz. with flavor cost $1.85 at the time). This was my savings for either getting that latte later or saving up enough to go to a restaurant–I couldn’t do both. Going out to dinner in a restaurant was a rare and special treat when I was a kid, which is probably why that’s one of my markers for success.
In non-material terms I have so much more. I have beautiful skies and tall trees, a loving husband and loving children all of whom make me laugh out loud on a regular basis, best friends I can be honest with, my health and a good education I’ve made use of and added to over the years with experience and with some unlearning of things I was taught that aren’t complete or accurate. I have the flexibility of mind to learn and unlearn and I’m kind and open. I have skills I enjoy using that add to my life: cooking, knitting, sewing, writing, gardening. I have good memories I appreciate and the not-good memories have faded with time. My parents taught me values that have held up over the years.
Rich indeed!
Though it doesn’t always feel that way, I am richer in time than I was when working full-time outside the home. I am rich in health, rich in access to spiritual books and practices. I have the richness of my primary relationship with my husband and I am growing my richness in other relationships and friendships. I have the richness of a loving family of origin. I am rich with access to clean water to drink, healthy food to eat, and (most of the time) clean air to breathe. I am rich in having a home to live in: a safe, nourishing place to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
I’m here NOW. Today is the day. May I have eyes to see and ears to here all the richness it offers.
You are so completely on target Carol.
Such a good answer!!!
I feel rich when I run out of an item and I thought far enough to have one on hand.
To be serious, my list of being rich reflects many of the comments here. I feel abundance in love.
I am rich in deep conversations and connection with close friends. My ability to take in the life around me, from this puppy chasing his own tail to the crack of leaves on the pavement to driving through the city, makes me rich. My dreams are rich with puzzles and suggestions. Lately, I am rich in variants of useful shoes and delicious coffee. I am welcoming grief, loss, and sorrow also. Because I have the capacity to feel these difficult emotions, and work with them, this makes me rich in the human experience.
Love this answer. Thanks for the laugh I got from “useful shoes and delicious coffee.” Both so important!
Barb, yes, shoes and coffee are up there in terms of importance! I’ll be truly enlightened when I don’t find them important, ha.
Drea, so beautifully expressed I can feel your richness!
Thank you Carol!
Oh my! I am as rich as a millionaire…I have a loving husband, wonderful animals, a warm, beautiful and safe home. I have more than enough food and I have first and foremost my faith and love for God. Who could ask for anything more? And I have all of you and this wonderful place to come and think, learn and be thankful.
Beautiful, and filled with love, as usual, Nannette♥️
I’m rich in love. I have the most loving and supportive family and I’m grateful to be living this life with them by my side.
Wow 🤩 I’m so fortunate because I have found the method to go to Truth and do it now- while alive ! This is rich beyond belief!
I am so very blessed. My “riches” are too too many to list. Having an attitude of gratitude reminds me to count my blessings everyday & to give thanks for all.🙏🏻
I am very rich in curiosity & for this I am extremely thankful. ❤️
I am rich in curiosity too, PKR.
I love to learn about all kind of things!
It’s fun and so interesting!
I relate to being rich in curiosity! Thanks for mentioning that, curiosity as wealth is a wonderful thing.
Yes, and I was just thinking of creativity.
I love to be creative too!
I think it goes hand and had with curiosity!
Reading everyone’s reflections first, I can say that I am rich in an abundance of so much already mentioned…and then will add the gift it is for me to be a part of this amazing Gratefulness community. Namaste, all.
And Namaste to you Josie too!