Between life and death, the meaning of wealth changes

​What if wealth was measured less by accumulation and more by the freedom to live with ease, clarity, and alignment?

​Everything would be completely different. We would all work and strive for what truly fulfills us in order to achieve wealth—and it would be a kind of wealth that truly fulfills us and brings us satisfaction. Beyond material possessions or brand-name items meant to keep up appearances, each of us would be working on ourselves to become better people, to find inner peace, and to simply enjoy those simple—but not basic—things that bring us peace.

I feel that one of the things that most influences people and this desire to have more and more material possessions is the fact that, in some way, we’ve been taught that the more you have financially, the better you are, the more respect you get, and you can even buy things you’re not supposed to buy. So the main goal that’s promoted is to make a lot of money to have the very latest and greatest and thus, in some way, achieve “peace of mind” through financial freedom.

​The crazy thing is that everyone comes to the same conclusion when they have a lot of money. Peace of mind is scarce when material possessions abound. In the end, without warning and in a matter of seconds, something can teach you that none of what you had was really important. I think many people have come to this same conclusion lately.

Personally, I was very surprised to hear these kinds of comments from people who used to have it all. After a major natural disaster—a double earthquake that struck here in my country just two months ago—many people’s way of thinking and seeing things changed. Even those of us who weren’t severely affected learned a lesson.

​In times of crisis, when everything goes wrong and your life is at risk, none of those material possessions can protect you. In fact, in life-or-death situations, you don’t even remember that you have them—you simply run for your life and take the people you love with you, even your pets. So, in the end, when it seems like everything could vanish and the lives of those you love are at risk, is having a lot of money worth anything?

We learned that it isn’t. We learned that, after all, what brings peace of mind is having your loved ones safe and sound, being able to give them a hug, and knowing you’ll see them again the next day. Because the truth is that, although suffering material losses is painful—especially when you live in a country where replacing them is quite difficult—it’s something you recover from after a while, but losing someone you love is something you never get back.

In the end, I feel that having this clarity is what, in a way, allows you to properly organize your priorities—to know what you’re willing to protect with your life and what you’re going to devote your time to. What’s the point of spending every second of your life chasing money if you’re losing or somehow damaging the relationships you have with others? So, if success were measured by the peace of mind and harmony with which you live, having an emergency bag in hand and your loved ones close by would be the greatest gift of all.