My mother asked me “Are you rich?” I laughed with surprise at the question. “But of course,” I said, ” I am so rich in my heart, in my affection, in my love and in my life that no amount of money could match my wealth.” She asked again, “But are you rich?” and I replied again – “Yes, for what I earn from the universe, from the hard toil of each day, from the long, laborious hours of work and for what I spend, share and give to others, I am rich.” For her, that meant power and satisfaction for having helped create a being like me, for having given the world a being to share.
Affluence does not lie in the coffers at a bank or ornaments of gold and precious stones in a safe or even brick and stone laid in extravagance. It lies in the heart, set amidst compassion, love, generosity and kindness to humanity.