Wealth in Smallness.

Sitting across from William yesterday at dinner time was an incredible chance to hear from a seasoned Irish man who has read a lot, thought a lot, and had more wisdom than I could ever hope to attain. Yet, I passed him for the first 4 weeks with mere “hellos” and “how are yas?” One of my students reminded me of the cool and crazy reality that every single person we pass in a given day has an incredibly detailed story – perhaps just waiting to be told. I got to hear a few more pieces of William’s story and I, once again, realized my enjoyment of hearing stories.

William shared a quote he had heard recently that struck me and I wrote it down. We were talking about wealth and the way people in Ireland and the US approach money and prestige. The Frenchman Francoise de La Rochefoucauld said:

“Wealth can be measured by the greatness of what we have or the smallness of what we want.”

William is obviously further down this road of wanting less and I yearn to get to a place where I am truly wealthy because I desire very little that this world has to offer.

As I begin my second month in Ireland, my desire is to be marked by a consistent contentment and satisfaction in the here and now because I know the source of my hope and joy.