Where we got it wrong....

Someone read one of those questions from a magazine that's supposed to get people talking. You know, an ice breaker. I wasn't actually in the conversation but I overheard the question and it's been on my mind all day.

"What popular notion do you think the world has gotten wrong?"

See? Interesting question! As I was thinking of this and how I would answer it, I started to realize that I've changed over the past few years. In a good way but a change none the less. You see, my answer to this question would be best explained like this:

When I was a kid, we didn't have a lot of money. Both my parents worked. My Dad had a bar and restaurant that he worked at 7 days a week. My Mom taught school and on the weekends was the head chef in the restaurant. She was also the book keeper. She worked all week at school, prepped the food on Thursday nights, cooked Friday and Saturday and then did her lesson plans on Sunday. They only served food on Fridays and Saturdays. They worked hard and raised 6 kids and, like I said, we never had a lot of money. But, the thing is, we didn't realize it at the time. We had everything we needed and then some because my Mom taught us how to "make do" with what we had.

Make do means use what you have and be grateful for what you get. It's like wanting to play baseball but only having a ball and a strong stick. We'd go out and play with that and never think twice that we didn't have a real bat or real bases. We made do.

The notion I think the world has gotten wrong is the idea that money is the answer to everything. The truth is, money is rarely the answer to anything! Money causes envy, jealousy, paranoia, false pride (in those who have it) and feelings of inadequacy in those who don't. In this last election, the line between the haves and the have nots was never more pronounced. People who have money wanted to keep it. People who didn't, wanted to get it. The often ridiculous discourse between the two became vomitus and hurtful at times.

I firmly believe that money has very little to do as the answer to everything. Nope, PEOPLE are the answer. Your family, your friends, your neighbors, strangers on the street, in your town, state, country, continent, world. People are what matters. Every one should have the same opportunity, no matter where they live, to live their best life free from the stress of poverty, lack of education, lack of food or clean water, or genocide or war. Until we find a way to see each other as valued, mutually regarded human beings, with hearts and souls and minds, we can never really have the answer to everything.

So that's it. That's where I think most of the world gets it wrong. And I hope that someday we can start getting it right.