Over the next several Wednesdays you'll be reading a new voice on my blog. May I present to you: Cannwin. And truly, she does deserve a round of applause. I would go so far as to call her my bloggy mentor. She gave me lots of tips and hints and words of encouragement as I entered the bloggy world. Funny thing: I've actually known Cannwin since high school, although I was completely clueless about her voracious appetite for the written word. Read more of her insight at The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin. Oh, and find me guest-blogging for her over there too. Enjoy!
I have a secret. It's not a very big one, but it's a secret none-the-less.
Do you want to know what it is?
Come closer and I'll whisper it to you....
I have no desire to be rich.
Are you surprised? Because I've known people who were.
In fact my dad doesn't believe me. He says that everyone wants to be rich, everyone wants more than what they have. Therefore since I'm human I must want more and since I want more, I must long to be wealthy.
Well, I don't want more. I really don't.
Okay... okay, that's not entirely true. I do want more free time, more family time, and more time to sleep in on Saturday mornings. I even want more fabric and more mod-podge! I'm not saying that I don't want things that require money. I'm just not someone who wants more. I actually want less.
I want less junk. I want less house. I want less floor space and less 'decorative items.' I want less collections and less light bulb guzzlers. I want less windows so I can have less window cleaner.
I just want simplicity.
To appease my father, however I have decided to make a list.
Here's what I want:
- Financial stability.
- Clothes on my back.
- A cozy little house with mature tree's in the back yard.
- No debt.
- Food for my family.
- Gas for my car.
- A husband who comes home at night.
- A bicycle that I look cute on.
- A library nearby.
- A family that doesn't yell at each other.
- A long life with a quick and painless end.
In my opinion my list does not require wealth. It requires work, but not wealth.
Is it possible that my father, and perhaps society in general, has confused wealth with work?
I think that life is malleable and capable of being molded into what we would make of it. I think that wealth or poverty can be a state of mind and not a state of finance.
And I know I don't care about being rich. I just care about being happy.
Hmm, maybe it's my dad who cares about being rich. ;)
10 comments:
I don't really wanna be RICH either! I just wanna be financially stable enough to afford the needs and wants of my kids.
an iphone 4 me...lol.
ya know?
This is GREAT post!
I really enjoyed your writing Cannwin!!
AMEN!!!! I agree 100%!
Great post!!! LOVED the comment you made about... perhaps society in general, has confused wealth with work? SO TRUE!
I remember the question being asked in relief society one day, "What is provident living?" My thoughts went immediately to being laid off and knowing that we would be okay for a long time. We had some food storage. We had a woodstove and a woodpile outside. Our cars were paid for... in fact we had no debt except for the house. We had money in the bank and a small business on the side.
I won't say that there was no stress or knots in my stomach. (Actually those didn't start happening till about the 3rd or 4the month though.)
Nothing takes the place of knowing that you can feed and clothe your family.
Favorite line Cannwin: In my opinion my list does not require wealth. It requires work, but not wealth.
Great humble thoughts! Where did I go wrong?? ;)
Oh, I agree to a point with Dad - I think it is human nature to want "more", but that doesn't always translate into more money. We want more happiness, which translates into wanting more of whatever we think will give us that happiness. More love, more time, more space, more possessions...
If we don't understand what's going on, we never do achieve that desired state of happiness. We spend all our time chasing after our secondary goals, wondering why we're so miserable still.
To misquote you, happiness is "a state of mind and not a state of finance."
Evelyn... I think it's funny how differently we interpreted the same 'theme.'
I was excited to see how that went. :)
I agree with you about the food. I would LOVE to be able to buy and eat all the food I want, but I would tag that into 'If I were a skinny woman' ;)
"A bicycle I look cute on." LOL! I love that!!
I don't want to be super rich, just a little rich. :D
Oh, and Cannwin is great! How fun!
I love how different your posts were from each other! I agree with you, both, if that's possible. I think that once our debt is paid off, the amount my husband makes will be more than enough to sustain us, and I have no desire to have an obscene amount of money. You always find obscure relatives when you have a lot of money, and it's not always a good thing...
I absolutely agree! That is what I want too. Well put!
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