A really rich Chinese man sent his son to the rural area and wanted him to experience poverty. His son lived with a family in the rural area for three days, and when he returned home, he had the following conversation with his father.
The father asked, “so how was it?”
The son said “I think it’s alright.”
“What’s the difference between our home and their home?” the father asked.
“Wow! There are a lot of differences!” with excitement, the son continued,
“We have a dog at home, but they have four.
We have purified water in our swimming pool but they have a really big pond with fresh and clear water, there’s even fish in there!
There’re light bulbs in our garden while the moon and the stars shine brightly on their fields at night.
Our garden is limited by the walls, but theirs is limitless. Their garden is like extending to the edge of the sky.We listen to the CDs back home, yet they listen to the tweets of birds and other natural sounds.
Our house is surrounded by walls, but they always welcome friends so their door is always opened.
In the city, cell phones and computers connect us; there, people are connected closely with the nature and their families.”
The father was very surprised by what the son said. “Dad, thank you for letting me know how poor we actually are.” The son said.
“Many people are so poor that the only thing they have is money.” – Rodolfo Costa
Our lives, our happiness and the nature around us are things that money can’t buy. Why things that can be bought with money are more valuable than things that even money can’t buy?
When you start to appreciate the people around you and the things you have, you will stop chasing after the “rich lives” because you know you have everything you need.
If you are a rich person, ask yourself these questions, “am I becoming more and more disconnected with my friends and family, and with this world? Am I still wanting more for the sake of having more?”
The story is written by an unknown author. The Chinese version of it has been widely shared on the internet, and so I decided to translate it into English and let more readers know about this story.
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