Who Needs a Million Dollars?

When my eldest daughter was 3, she increasingly became more reciprocating and more responsive to everything around her - a natural progression from baby to little girl. I distinctly remember a moment while playing with her. I was having so much fun with our bonding when it just hit me: "Hey….something's happening here. If I can feel this complete, fulfilled and happy, then who needs a million dollars?". Coincidentally, Biography on Channel 34 featured Christina Onassis whose life was cursed by the immensity of her inherited wealth. She lived live with virtually no friends…just people who worked for the family-owned company…colleagues you might say but not friends.

If I were to choose which life I'd take, it wasn't even a contest. That moment gave me an opportunity to take stock of my blessings: my health, my kid's health, a job that puts food on the table, the meaningfulness of having to work for the things you get, the love I share with her and my Dad….hey, that's plenty to be thankful for. If wealth is measured along those terms, I'm fuckin' rich!

A million dollars? I won't say "no" to that but it's a whole new perspective now. It's nice to have but definitely not a deal breaker when it comes to things money can't buy. It sounds so cliché-ish, but everything really is just cliché until that moment happens and you see things in a different light.

Reader Comments:

The funny thing about cliches is that they represent things that are so central and fundamental to our experience that people largely take them for granted. It is a shame that most people shy away from the things represented by cliches or anything even cliche-like. The trouble is that in doing so they gloss over the very concepts and ideals that could add greater meaning to their lives. -- Faz

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