I got to meet a wonderful person the other day. I had stopped to buy a local newspaper from a machine when I saw a middle-aged lady already there. She had a handful of quarters and was slowly buying paper after paper gently closing the machine after each purchase. She smiled at me and explained that her daughter’s picture was in the paper. She was getting copies for all the members of her extended family.

When she turned to leave I noticed a hole in her shoe and realized that the rest of her clothes had also seen better days. She climbed into her rusty, 20 year old pick-up truck and after 30 seconds of trying finally got it started. She smiled at me again and waved as she drove off. It occurred to me as she disappeared in the distance that she had never once thought of taking the extra papers she needed while only paying for one. It was then that I realized I had just met one of the richest people in the world.

I only wish that everyone in this world had this lady’s wisdom and wealth. She was rich beyond measure in all the important things in life. She was rich in honesty, integrity, goodness, kindness, cheerfulness, joy, and love. She was rich in family and in friends. She was rich most of all in oneness with God. It didn’t matter if her truck was old, her clothes were worn, and her dollars were few. She was rich in her heart and soul, and she possessed within her the wealth of an entire Kingdom: the Kingdom of Heaven.

The next time you find yourself thinking and worrying about money then remember that the real riches in this world can’t be bought. They must be chosen in your heart, created in your soul, and shared in your life. They are the love of God and the joy of living. And the more you give them away the more you receive them back in this life and in the next.

Joseph J. Mazzella joecool@wirefire.com