feeling rich vs. feeling poor

poverty and wealth are manifested as feelings, even before they are states of being. the richest man in the world can feel poor — if he constantly compares himself to his neighbors. the poorest people in the world can feel rich — if they focus on the abundance of what they do have. like everything in life, poverty and wealth are subjective experiences.

when we talk about “wealth” — we are really talking about resources. the resources we need to live “well” in this world are so much more than material, even though the material is what our society focuses on. a person can be rich in relationships and poor on knowledge, or rich in feelings and poor in money, rich in money but poor on time.

but money is the ultimate abstraction. before we had money, we bartered and traded resources. so money is resources. enough resources to feel safe, enough, free — enough resources to feel possibility, movement, potential, expansion.

but, just because we have money, it doesn’t mean we will necessarily have any of the above feelings. we live in a world where there are so many people who have material wealth, and inner poverty.

in practice

so if wealth and poverty are subjective experiences, I think to myself — how can I create the feeling of wealth in my day to day? what makes me feel rich, and what makes me feel poor?

• social media makes me feel poor, because I find myself more easily in a state of distraction, comparison, judgement, and not-enough-ness. I feel a scarcity I didn’t even know I had

• coronavirus news makes me feel poor. anxiety (and fear) is inherently the feeling of poverty

• email usually makes me feel poor, unless it’s a personal email from someone I love, then I feel rich the entire day

• having a few, carefully curated possessions makes me feel rich, because I feel the quality, versatility and reliability of each thing I do own

• having many different side dishes in a meal makes me feel rich. this is why I like Asian style food.

• solitude makes me feel rich. loneliness makes me feel poor — the purest states of abundance of self / lacking in self

• a nomadic lifestyle makes me feel rich, being stuck in an expensive city I don’t like makes me feel poor (emotionally poor, materially poor, spiritually poor)

• certain relationships make me feel rich, and others make me feel poor. I haven’t figured this one out yet.

• reading a book leisurely while drinking tea makes me feel very rich

the feeling of richness, then, are —

• possibility

• expansiveness

• presence

• depth

• focus

• options (but not too many)

• connectedness

thus, the feeling of richness is always within us, like the experience of deep time — accessible at every moment, and can be embedded into our lives with the slightest bit of intention and thought.

sometimes I think — if I can just turn all my emotions into money, then I would be so rich. but then I stop myself and I realize. I already am so rich. rich in feeling. so thank you, universe.