It's Only Money

I grew up in the poor part of every town I ever lived in. In most of these places those places today would be called "the projects". Nothing but poor people there, striving to make ends meet with whatever resources they could find, be it welfare checks or a low paying job. Not the most pleasant of life's pictures for most folks. But, most folks would be wrong.
The majority of these people were happy. Sure, they don't have enough money, or food at times, but what they do have is heart and soul. They have their family and they are happy. Yes, they dream of having lots of money and living in a big fancy house. Yes they sometimes dream of having servants that will do all their housework. But, deep down inside, they know this is all a dream. But, everyone needs a dream to help them get through the tough times.
As a poor kid I sometimes had the opportunity to play with rich kids, many of them spoiled beyond belief. After a visit with one of these kids I would be amazed at all the goodies they had to play with but I also felt great sorrow for these kids. Sorrow because they had every little thing that they wanted yet were not happy with any of them.
These visits to the "other side of the tracks" taught me one of the most valuable lessons I would ever learn in life. It is only money. Money cannot buy you happiness no matter how hard you try. It can buy you material things that will, temporarily, make you feel happy but that happy feeling is short lived.
I have lived almost 60 years on this earth and, even though I worked at a good job with good pay, I have always been poor. I'm retired now and I am most definitely poor, money-wise. But I really do not care as I still know that "it's only money" is as true now as it was when I was a kid.
I have my family, five grown stepchildren who love me. I have two spouses who care about my health and well being. I have a few friends that care about me too. I have great faith to get me through even the darkest of times. As you can see, I have it all!
And, in my next personal post I will explain how this "it's only money" philosophy led me down the path of becoming a hippie in the 1960's. I'm almost 60 and it is now 2010 and, guess what? I am still a hippie!