Wealth

Some time ago I wrote an article on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs where my greater point- in the abstract, was we'd have everything we need in this life simply by working our way up the pyramid. We wouldn't have much need for an abundance of possessions or resources when we have a reliable safety net, for instance. Enter into the picture Wealth, and the many concepts and connotations that come with it. We even have Generational Wealth, a Wealth tax, Wealth Management, the Wealth gap - all of these things that literally, cognitively exclude us from processing any further. You can have "wealth" in a lot of things beyond an afluent person's worldview. The purpose of this article is to persuade you to not be so hung up on wealth when you hear the term, but first let's define it.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 'Wealth' is defined as an "abundance of valuable material possessions or resources," with 'abundance' meaning plenty or more than enough. The argument behind this writing focuses very much on the word "resources." You see, resources come in all forms - people are resources, money of course is a resource, this article is a resource, food is a resource, the device you're reading this from is a resource; you get the point. If it's true that wealth can make you happy and free, why can't possessing an abundance of books, or an abundance of friends and a rather large reliable safety net make you happy and free? A person can have an abundance of job opportunities that give them more than enough leverage to provide for themselves and family; in the age of social media we have a wealth of platforms to share our lives with the world - Twitter, Instagram, Google Hangouts; we all have plenty in some form or another, and that alone gives us a wealth of something, and to an extent makes us feel happy and free. As you can see, wealth does not always have to be limited to money and raw material possessions.

By the way if you do happen to be wealthy in the traditional sense, i'm very happy for you. You're in a unique position most people only wish they were in where they can enjoy an affluent lifestyle, away from the many economic struggles we face today. Then again as a baseline, refer to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Instead of pursuing wealth in its general sense, we should pursue adequate food, water, shelter, relationships, a supportive community, a higher sense of self and most notably, self-acceptance and awareness. I am positive acquiring these things versus the path to riches will feel much better as you grow. An abundance of self-realization in life will bring greater returns than any physical resource can offer - thats an example of real Wealth!

Written and Edited by Cedric Denson as a product of CollegeWorld, LLC