How Rich are You?

"No matter what you have done to this moment, you
get 24 brand new hours to spend every single day." - Brian Tracy

How many times do you wake up in the morning and think to yourself

'I really wish I didn't have to go to work today'

or maybe something along the lines of

'Hell, if only I hadn't drunk quite so much last night'.

Maybe you awaken some mornings with a heavy heart, with regrets for things you have done or a longing to do something you have never done before. Do you ever sit at the dinner table and discuss what you would do if you won on the lottery? How you would spend your millions. How you would make all your wildest dreams come true if you were rich? Which car would you buy? What would your holiday of a lifetime be? Would you buy a new house far from where you live now?

All those dreams, all those desires, all those plans. They are just that - dreams. We all need dreams don't we. We need to believe there is something in this life that's better than what we have already. Everyone aspires to better themselves. My question is this - how do you quantify what makes you 'better'. What makes one of us better than another? Is it being rich and being able to buy all those material things you dreamed of buying when you won the jackpot on the lottery? I don't believe it is.

I believe that we are all equal. For sure, some people are lucky enough to have more opportunities than others to pursue the career of their choice. Some people may be more intellectual than others and some will be more practical. Where would the sense be in having an architect draw up plans for a beautiful building if there are no men with the skills to build it? Some will be followers and some will be leaders. Whatever your strength is, recognise it. Use it. Allow it to benefit someone else but always remember that no-one is better than you and you are no better than anyone else. We are all human, we all need to feel useful. Each and everyone of us needs to feel wanted, loved even. We all dream of being rich.

I am rich already of course

And so are you, if only you knew it.

I have a wonderful husband of 20 years whom I am still very much in love with and 3 wonderful, well adjusted children who are now all independant (just about). I grew up with parents who always loved me unconditionally and a sister with whom I am very close. I have neices and nephews who smile and get excited to see me and I have a handful of close friends who will always spare me time to talk no matter how busy they are. So, you see, I am richer already than I could ever dream of being.

On a completely different note to end, a friend referred me to this fun little web site http://www.oceangram.com/ which is basically an online "Message in a Bottle" service. Pick an empty bottle, write something meaningful, something you want to get off your chest, a little joke or some amusing anecdote, the possibilities are endless. When you have written your message, place it in the bottle and toss it out to sea. Where it will end up nobody knows. You can leave the window minimised whilst busy with other things, but check back once in a while and you may find that a bottle has washed up on your little piece of the shore. Open it up. What will it say? How will you reply? Add your own message to the previous one and toss it back again. You could travel all over the world without even moving from your computer! Go on... give it a go.