“You aren’t wealthy
until you have something
money can’t buy.”
~ Garth Brooks

I don’t recall when or where I learned this, but the quote “You can’t take it with you” is spot-on. No matter how much material wealth we accumulate in our lifetime, when our life comes to an end, all those possessions stay here. A humbling thought, for sure. 

I believe that there is a Heaven. I believe that life continues, in some other form, after we die. While I have no idea what the afterlife experience will offer, I’m convinced that it will make no difference whatsoever that I have a Master’s degree. No one is going to care that I’ve written a few books. Neither my credit score nor my net worth will be of interest to anyone. That’s just how it is.

With that in mind, what’s really important in life? If the accumulation of wealth and possessions is not the purpose of life, what is?

Perhaps true wealth has more to do with our relationships, and with how we treat our fellow human beings. For years, I focused on the value of gratitude. I blogged about it, I wrote a book about it, and I gave several presentations on the importance of being grateful for both the people in our lives and the experiences which have enriched our lives. I still make an effort to focus on gratitude, but there is another life skill which is equally important: Being kind.

The older I get, the more I realize the power of genuine kindness. In my past, I had countless experiences which led to frustration, even anger. Only in retrospect was I able to recognize that these emotions did not help the situations. There were times when I felt the need to prove that I was right — and to prove the other was wrong. Such efforts are most always counter-productive. Kindness, on the other hand, allows for more peaceful resolutions to tense situations. 

The often-quoted words, which have been attributed to a variety of sources, remind us that “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” Truth!

Some might mistake kindness for weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Kindness requires courage. It requires that we respect others, and ourselves. It requires that we become vulnerable, recognizing that some few will rebuff our kindness. 

Much can be said about the practice of kindness. The quote I like best is this: “Kindness is not what you do, but who you are.”

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