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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