“Don’t measure your wealth by how many things you have. Measure your wealth by how many things you have that you wouldn’t take money for.” Myrlie Evers

 By Dawn Onley

How wealthy are you?

I’m not talking about how much money you make or the value of your stock portfolio or the stuff that you own or any other measure of material wealth. I’m referring to true wealth – the type that doesn’t come with a price tag. I’m talking about the wealth that we often take for granted, in pursuit of material gain, but later learn is the only wealth that matters.

For you can live in a mansion, drive a Porsche and vacation in Bali, but if you are not wealthy in spirit, you probably won’t appreciate it. Sure, it’ll afford you modern conveniences, some people’s respect, better healthcare, and tons of options, but what good is all of that if you haven’t found the true source of joy? If you’re wealthy but unhappy?

Today, I’m grateful and so blessed for all of the things that money can’t buy. I’m grateful for a close-knit family, the loyalty of friends, and a peace that surpasses all understanding. I’m blessed to have attained a modicum of knowledge and wisdom and a hunger for more. I’m thankful for an agile mind and a strong work ethic. I’m thankful for compassion and truth. I’m grateful for love. I’m thankful for the serenity of the ocean and a good night’s sleep. I’m thankful for the changing leaves this time of year. I’m thankful for my optimism, for faith and hope. I’m blessed to be alive.

Money is great and it makes aspects of life easier. I’m not one of those people who is against material wealth. However, you can be bank rich and spirit poor. You can also be poor by bank standards and abundantly wealthy – in talent, in joy, in generosity of heart. That’s what I’m most thankful for – my priceless blessings.

If you have people who love you and whom you love, you are outrageously rich. If you have been blessed with sight, sound, mobility, a roof over your head, clothes to wear and food to eat, you are wealthier than you realize. In fact, there are people all over the world who would give anything to have your blessings.

When we truly realize this, there is no room to take anything for granted. There is only room to be eternally grateful.

Many of us spend precious time lamenting what we don’t have and what we haven’t accomplished, always comparing ourselves to others. We brood on our financial difficulties or focus on what we lack. We fail to appreciate the blessings that are smack dead in front of us. Sadly, sometimes it takes us losing our blessings for us to finally start appreciating what we had.

When we embrace a spirit of poverty – and we embrace this spirit by perpetuating scarcity and lack in our talk and actions – we are not much different than the wealthy person who may embrace a spirit of greed. Both spirits damage who we are and who we were born to be and leave us in a place of ungratefulness.

When we give thanks for our blessings, our eyes become opened and we start to see that we are overflowing with wealth that no amount of money can buy.