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You are already rich and don't know it

by Scott Ames
7 replies
I read somewhere that we are already rich and really don't appreciate it. The reasoning is that our society these days has so many benefits over just a few hundred years ago that even the poor live better than the upper class then.

In the 10th or 12th century Kings living in castles had no running water, stinky yucky bathrooms without toilet paper, and their transportation was slow, bumpy and uncomfortable.

The average person now has so many advantages over a King then its amazing. We can travel from one end of the globe to the other overnight. We can heat a dinner in seconds with a microwave. We have entertainment on tv piped right into our homes and we can communicate worldwide instantly. Those are only a few things as there are many many more.

If we ignore the past and only look at the present, we are still rich. We can use all of the multi-billion dollar facilities and infrastructure society has built without owning them. Libraries, parks, highways, airports, shopping malls, resorts, beaches, restaurants, recreation, etc. etc.

If we ignore that, we have the greatest opportunity ever right now to earn a living on a computer without leaving home. When I graduated from high school this opportunity did not exist. All we have to do to take advantage of it is learn and grow and work hard.

No matter how bad things seem to be sometimes, life right now is really good.
#rich
  • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
    Nice post, Scott.

    If you really look at it, "poor" people are actually richer than "rich" people.

    Monetarily speaking, rich people in the U.S. actually owe much more than they are worth, actually putting them in some unbelievable debt.

    They may not live as well...but "poor" people actually have more money! (or don't have as little???)

    Unless, of course, you are a successful IMer...then it's all paid off! LOL

    AL
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    Every day I check the obituaries. If I don't see my name there, then I know it's going to be a good day!
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Scott, you are so right. I would never have wanted to live back then, no
      matter how rich I was. What would I really have had.

      I honestly don't know how people survived back in the old days. No modern
      medicine, no nothing. No wonder most folks didn't live past 50.

      We are very, very, very lucky.

      And I for one will NEVER forget that.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ricter
        Wise words indeed, thank you for sharing them.

        The bad news is that the psychological force called relative deprivation is constantly at work to erode that insight. The good news is that this force creates want above the absolute necessities, which is what most salesmen live on.
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      • Profile picture of the author giveusallfreedom
        My addition to that thought would be that being poor is really more about wanting more than you can afford. When you control your wants, you realize just how much you really have. I'm not saying don't set goals and work for something better, but many of the most valuable things in life don't cost money. Friendships and family are free. The joy of a goal acchieved. Sunrises. Walks in the park. Etc.

        If you let your happiness revolve around getting things that you don't have, you'll never be happy.
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