Wealth is Where We Are

29 Sep Wealth is Where We Are

Wealth is where we are. When we think of where we are, we align mind and body. We are in heaven. The swan is an ancient symbol of heavenly peace. Image by Public Domain Pictures.

Wealth is Where We Are

Heaven is the place where you think of nowhere else.

–Pico Iyer, The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere

I love this quote for its sneakiness. It’s a pun. Yes, that place in the sky called Heaven is the one place you think of nowhere else. But also: anywhere you don’t think of somewhere else is Heaven.

Iyer’s whole small book is about the wisdom of doing nothing, going nowhere, and stillness. He doesn’t connect stillness to wealth, but I do: wealth is where you are when you are thinking of nowhere else.

Nowhere Else

Why do I say this? If you remember that “wealth” = wellbeing, and you have read (and agree with) some of my posts on wealth, you can understand why wealth is a place you simply don’t even want to think about anywhere else. And like the punning second definition of Heaven, anywhere you don’t think of somewhere else is Wealth.

Notice that when you aren’t thinking about being somewhere else: what are your thoughts? Where are your thoughts?

Notice what your thoughts of real wealth are. Ask yourself: what are they? Allow the images of bankrolls, expensive cars, furs and jewelry to just scroll by in your mind. Ask yourself: what’s my real wealth? Allow your mind to show you. This is important: pay attention.

Stillness and Wealth

This was going to be a book review urging you to read The Art of Stillness, but I’m not supposed to excerpt even quotations from the book without permission–and I refuse to secure permission.  Still  🙂 there were jewels in the book I want to share:

• The story of Gandhi meditating for two hours (which you can read here for free) when he had an especially busy day (and could not therefore meditate for only one)
• And Gandhi’s story reminded me of my favorite saying I’ve never told you: “There is so much to do. There is so little time. We must go slowly.”
• The notion of “time pressure.” Apparently, in the US we actually do have more time than we used to–but it feels like less. I won’t bore you with why this is; if you read this blog on a regular basis, you already know. (That’s a pun, too.) But you can read our posts on wealth and time for our take.
• Its beauty: see some of the amazing photos from it here.