What It Means To Be Poor?

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of

showing his son how poor people can be. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would

be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the

trip?” “It was great, Dad.” “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh Yeah” said the

son. “So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered, “I saw that we have one

dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that

has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to

the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields

that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they

grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.” With this

the boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are.” Too

many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don’t have. What is one person’s

worthless object is another’s prize possession. It is all based on one’s perspective. Makes you wonder what

would happen if we all gave thanks for all the bounty we have, instead of worrying about wanting more.