If any of you have ever traveled to developing countries, you will soon realize that most of the people in the U.S. are ‘rich’ to some degree.
When you get up close and personal with dire, horrible poverty, it hits you between the eyes. Or it should.
Seeing see sick people who cant afford simple medical procedures, or food to keep their families alive, made me realize that decisions like “BMW or Mercedes” or “Gucci vs. Chanel” are, in the grand scheme of things, ridiculous.
For example, in many parts of the world a simple cataract surgery would cost about $200 – but many people die everyday because they dont have access to this kind of treatment and cannot provide for their families.
In 50 years, will it matter if you lived in Derby Hill or RSF or La Jolla? Probably not. Will it matter if you restored eye sight or provided vaccinations to 50 people? Absolutely.
I dont mean to be on a soap box, but I think people are as rich as they want to be. I know many people who have millions of dollars and are not “rich” at all. They are actually miserable and unhappy people. I’ve met families in developing countries who have very little but are genuinely, insanely happy because they have loving families and food in their bellies.
So, now that I’ve spouted off my opinion(s), if I had to define “rich” I would say it would be having enough money to provide for my family AND have enough to make an impact on the world – to make a difference.
Then again, I’m a bleeding heart liberal (although my husband thinks I’m a socialist).