Visioning Gratitude

Not too long ago I made this vision board, a vision ‘desk’ as it were. It is a very personal vision board with the six most important parts of my life: family, prosperity, travel, spirituality, service, and love. Each of these has contributed so greatly to my joy in life and for each I am immensely grateful.

I grow more grateful for my family every day. I wouldn’t say my parents were/are perfect- both have been through a lot (Vietnam for my dad, a rough childhood for my mom), but both have worked hard to overcome their own life’s troubles to raise my brother – adopted from Vietnam -, sister, and I in a healthful, loving home. They didn’t always have much and in fact at times were quite poor. But for kids, I don’t think that matters much. As one of my favorite musicians, Greg Brown said:

Dad and me would stop by the store when the day was done
Standin at the counter he said “I forgot to get the peaches, son.”
“What kind should I get?” I said to him there where he stood in line
And he answered just like I knew he would “Go and get the cheapest kind”

[chorus:] But the love, the love, the love
It was not the cheapest kind
It was rich as, rich as, rich as ,rich as, rich as
Any you could ever find

So I’m grateful to you, mom and dad, for giving me rich love and teaching me to pursue my dreams.

Prosperity is, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder (as John McCain made clear not long ago). One of my father’s teachings on money came from his accountant friend:

A favorite client went into the accountant’s office. The accountant asked how the client was doing. The client responded, “not so great, I only made $60k this year… If only I made ten thousand more, everything would be perfect.” The next year the same client goes into the office, receives the same question, and answers, “not so great, I only made $70k this year, if only I made ten thousand more, everything would be perfect.” A year later the client returns, getting the same greeting, and answers again, “not so great, I only made $80k this year, if only I made ten thousand more, everything would be perfect.”

The moral? In general our desires and spending will follow our earnings. This has been widely tested in the US and it is eerily true once you get over about $22k for a single person, basically enough on average to have a decent, safe place to live and some cheap hobbies. Basing our happiness on these external things will always lead to ‘not so great’ years. Find inner contentment, and so long as you have food, shelter and friends, life will be great.

Beyond dad’s wisdom, here are a couple other little snippits:

[B]eing a millionaire isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A recent survey by the Australian Institute found that only 5 per cent of our millionaires regard themselves as prosperous, and more than half say their situation is only “reasonably comfortable”. Author of Affluenza, Clive Hamilton says: “Far from the belief that higher incomes and more assets will create prosperity, it seems the relentless emphasis on higher incomes will in fact generate more dissatisfaction.” (from here)

But that doesn’t mean that I am going to avoid wealth as it comes to me. Quite the opposite in fact – I’m happy to vision and bring wealth my way. But, I am not about to get fussy over just how or when the dollars or pounds or euros roll in. So long as I’m above my ‘comfort line’ (which is quite low) I’m happy to live – and happy too to give (small donations to worthy causes, just a few dollars a day, greatly boosts one’s happiness).

“You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” ~ Winston Churchill

More on the other aspects another time. Life is a beautiful and often strange thing. Take advantage of not one day or one kindred spirit. All is a blessing if we allow it.