Perspective

I just finished watching The Pursuit of Happyness for the first time. It's been on my to-watch list for a long time and tonight was the night it finally happened. I've been meaning to watch it because I have heard from several people what a great story it is of never giving up and chasing your dream. Well it was all that. But that's not what hit me.

As I watched this movie, I was sitting in my nice house having something to eat and folding laundry. I put away 3 loads of clothes into closets that were by no means empty. I realized how much I take what I've been given for granted. So what if my walls aren't the colour I want them to be? Who cares that my car isn't shiny and new? Does it matter that there's a stain on the rug in the living room?

We have been given so much and tonight I realized how self-absorbed and selfish I can be. I have had the house to myself for over 24 hours now (the DH took Freckles and Frogurt on a road trip - they'll be back soon) and I spent all day today in my pyjamas. I got quite a bit accomplished but I had the luxury - yes, the luxury - of staying home and enjoying my house. As I walked through each of the bedrooms to put away the clothes, I was just taken back with what a huge responsibility we have been given as parents to empart to these small charges of ours some semblance of what it means to give selflessly and to be filled with gratitude. I was filled with a longing to just wrap my arms around my kids and try to get it through to them how rich we actually are.

Both of them have asked me that at different times - are we rich? And my answer is always the same. It doesn't have anything to do with what is in your bank account. Riches aren't measured in square feet or by what sits in your double garage. There are many people who seem to have it all but inside are crumbling. There are those who seemingly have nothing, like Chris Gardner, but who are rich beyond measure with love and devotion. It is measured by what you do with what you are given. It is measured by the fullness of your heart. And by those standards, yes, we are very rich.