I think there is a big difference between being rich and being wealthy. Given the choice I would opt for wealthy. For one I think obtain wealth is easier than becoming rich. It might be fun to have both richness and wealth but how often do we really get everything we desire right? I say more often than we think when we are living naturally right to our dreams to come true.
For me determining richness is a number you arrive at by adding up all your assets and subtracting your liabilities. It is basic financial accounting we all do in the checks and balances of our budget each month. For most of us we wouldn’t describe our result as rich. Yet being rich is sought after and even desired because we think life will be easier if we have more money. The truth is even more lottery winners will admit the reason they lost all their money is because the problems didn’t go away in their lives just because their bank accounts were flush.
Wealth on the other hand is entirely reachable. In fact, I would say most of us have some wealth but because may not be directly seen in dollars we think we lack it. The truth is natural wealth is the accumulation of things in our life, including money but more importantly the things that give our life meaning. This type of wealth is the love we feel in our life, the connection with others, the memories, adventures, and good stuff that create the wealth of a life well lived. That also includes the accumulation of money and things we gain along the way. It is a total of what we are worth and that makes our life good.
The difference is that not many of us believe we deserve or can even achieve either. We spend so much of our life searching for the things that give our life meaning and often overlook what is right in front of us. We undervalue what we have thinking it not important or valuable enough when in truth it is the very wealth we say we are looking for. To have wealth is to also find richness that extends beyond the green dollars that we can say is in our accounts. To have only one is to limit what the true meaning our life can be.
When we only pursue riches we can lose sight of building wealth. Money pursuits take over our focus even when we don’t intend them to because life necessitates money play a key role in how we live. It is what supports bills being paid and food put on a table. Yet it is only one part of a larger book about our life’s value. It is however where many of us stop looking beyond and only see the monetary worth which often isn’t much at all or not as much as we would like. We compare someone else’s monetary perception of reality to our own and think we are doing better or worse too. This only adds to the pursue of money more and takes us further away from wealth.
When you come from not much in life it is hard to realize that money is not the path to wealth. You can take care of your physical needs for sure with money and that is a comfort when you’ve lacked that but long term it’s not what any of us is really craving in life. What is most sought after is the value, worth and wealth of belonging, being connected and included. It is the wealth of sharing what we have and knowing there is enough. Natural wealth feels incredible on its own but when paired with riches it is expansive to the next level of true joy and paying it forward.
There is a scarcity mindset we associate with wealth and riches. We think we must horde and collect as much of it as we can so that we don’t lose out. Yet when we let it flow freely and grow wildly both come to us a lot easier and last a lifetime even though it may not feel like that is possible. This happens when we are true to ourselves and living our natural best life feeling good about what we are doing and where we are going. It is when we are less driven by the money and more about the purpose. This is why most of us start our own business because we realize jobs just give us money but they don’t build wealth that builds the life we really want to have in our dreams.
I think it is legit to have to both riches and wealth. To me it means a person has worked incredibly hard at building the life they want and this is their reward. We can look on and compare or we can use it as motivation to help excel our own dreams forward with fresh determination. It is when we look on and see the negative in our life because we don’t have what this other person has that we also lose sight of the wealth we already have. Comparing ourselves to others comes easily to us but it is not natural and we have to remember it is only a condition of living in the world with its non stop marketing and advertising that causes it. Stepping away from that we can truly be happy for someone else and see their success as a happy non-competitive celebration.
To live naturally means to refocus our sight on what riches and wealth really represent. It is our own happiness, purpose, expansion of love and good things in our life and the world that are possible when we are aligned with our purpose. Good expands into more good and investments in good reap better rewards. Invest in yourself, the true self that has a dream for a happier life and all the things that represents. Get past the accumulation of big houses and fancy cars and handbags to what that really looks like and you too will realize the difference between riches and wealth.
When you’re ready to start your natural living journey to wealth visit my website at dragonspitapothecary.com