The Difference Between Rich and Poor People

Gratitude-Rich-PoorHere is a nice story about gratitude and being grateful for what you have. You may have read this before in an email a friend may have sent you. It is short and to the point. I invite you to read it again and really contemplate about how you think you should think.

Sometimes the more simple and basic philosophy makes the most sense. It is odd that we know what we need to do, we think we want to do it, yet we don’t make the transition to change. Habit gets in the way. Resistance takes over and we continue our old habits and do not change or grow.

Take action, make the change, and live the life that you really want. This is possible so that you can develop your life into one that is filled with Love, Joy, and Gratitude.

Enjoy!

 

The Difference between Rich and Poor People

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

”It was great, Dad.” “Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son. “So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others and they do it with gratitude.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.”

Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing?

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

Note: This post was originally published 5/2011 and has been updated.

3 Comments

  1. Don Fox on May 15, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Gratitude is an important part of love.

  2. doug koenig on April 26, 2018 at 8:50 am

    The followup question is, did the father learn anything from the son?

    • Paul on April 26, 2018 at 10:17 pm

      I hope so!

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