“Mom are we rich?” was a question my brother and I occasionally asked our mother when we were little.
She always offered the same answer, “We’re rich in LOVE!”
In our innocence we took those words to the bank, well one of the words anyway. Rich to us meant money. If mom said we were rich it must be true. What Brian and I missed was that she was talking about a completely different kind of currency. Our idea of piles of green and white cash was all wrong. With maturity we grew to understand the true meaning of her words. The wealth mom was referring to was emotional and far more precious. We grew up investing in each other’s hearts. Deposits were made through acts of kindness and respect, or words of affirmation and affection. Contrary to what any bank statement may have reported, our hearts always held a generous stash.
One of the most valuable childhood lessons we learned was understanding that “rich” has deeper meaning than the thickness of a wallet. The wealth of our childhood has carried into our adult lives. We were rich then and our prosperity has become generational. Should our children ever question our worth, they will hear the words of their grandmother. “We’re rich in LOVE!”
Ask yourself how rich you are. The answer might surprise you.
