What do you dream of?

A fool dreams of wealth, a wise man, of happiness. Kurdish proverb

There is a big difference between dreaming and wanting. A dream is something that seems inaccessible to us. We usually want things that are quite accessible to us or just slightly outside of our reach, but still within grasp.

 If we were to re-work this proverb it might say “A fool dreams of wealth, a wise man wants happiness.” Unfortunately many North Americans equate happiness with wealth even when they are clearly separate concepts. Like dreaming, wealth is something that is always just out of reach. Listen to someone who has money talk. It is often about acquiring more, diversifying portfolios, growing the business… These are all future things.

The person who focuses on happiness lives in the present. You don’t hear happy people saying tomorrow I am going to be even happier than I am today. They don’t try and hoard happiness in fact they are almost always giving it away. And yet these people experience the richness of life and a peaceful sleep that often alludes the wealthy.

That is not to say that you can’t have both, you can. But you should cultivate an awareness on what and where you are focused. Is it on future happiness through wealth or present happiness with wealth?

 

Sara Rylott

www.ready2fly.ca