Rosy Glow – Wealth

 

 

 

By

Bob LaTorre

 

Here is another column written by Cousin Bob over 25 years ago. With Easter being a time of renewal it might be a good time to take inventory.

 

The question “What is Wealth?” has been debated for thousands of years. Most people still tend to think that wealth has something to do with money. Consider the problem of one Donald Trump. Starting with a few million dollars of inheritance, in just a few years he amassed a fortune estimated to be in the neighborhood of a billion dollars. Now that sounds like real wealth to me….or is it?

Even more recently, it appears that Mr. Trump may be in the process of losing it all. If indeed there is such a wealth, how is it possible to lose it so easily? One would think that if wealth is defined in monetary terms, it could not disappear once acquired.

Perhaps then, wealth is not money at all. Maybe it is something else. I have very little money and few possessions, but I have always considered myself a wealthy man. In fact, most of the few valuables we once owned were stolen a few years ago and, while it upset me a great deal, I never considered myself less wealthy after the robbery. No, my wealth could not be stolen.

If not money and expensive things, what then, is wealth? Let me list for you a few of my more valuable possessions. Good health. While money may help pay for medical care, not having the need for such care is even more valuable. Ask any sick man with a lot of money what he would give to have good health; the usual answer is, “any amount of money.” That lesson was taught to me years ago by a man with more money than anyone I known before or since.

The next item on my balance sheet would be the love and affection of my wife. No amount of money could ever buy that. I need no better example to prove that than Mr. Trump himself. It seems that with all his money he could not buy the love or loyalty of either of the two women in his life. Those are items that are precious beyond all the gold in the world and history has demonstrated that lesson more than any other.

Next item: the love of my children. To some extent I had to work hard to win that love. It was my behavior that enabled them to love me and on the other hand it is something which they give to me of their own free will. In their minds, I may not always be right but, I am always “Dad.”

Among the other items in my safe deposit box would be the few talents given to me at birth. The ability to communicate with some degree of clarity, in both the written and spoken word. That includes my ability to teach, which I do well and enjoy doing.

The friends and acquaintances I have made in my life, rank high in value to me. It is through them that I gained so much knowledge about the world. I guess I would have to include some of the people I have disliked. Though few in number, the people I disliked taught me a great deal on how not to behave.

The list of my valuable possessions goes on and on. The thing that is most important about this list is that none of them can ever be stolen, repossessed, or foreclosed upon. They are all mine, and in truth no one can take them. That is why they are so valuable.

Oh! There is one other thing that should not be left off this list. I don’t know what to call it but it is something deep within me that gives me the ability to greet each day with a special feeling which I have come to call …… a Rosy Glow.