If Money Wasn’t an Issue, How Would You Live?
What’s your dream?
Carole P. Roman invited a long list of people to write on this question after she was invited to do so. It’s one of those chain stories that make the rounds here. Very well . . .
I suppose most of us think, dream, or otherwise fantasize about fabulous wealth from time to time. Many of my colleagues have waxed rhapsodic about what they would do if they won the lottery or otherwise struck it rich. In the main, their fantasies center around acquiring dream possessions. And yes, being an amateur astronomer, I sometimes visualize a really nice telescope out in the middle of nowhere, far from light pollution.
But too much indulgence tends not to be good for a person. I’ve spent most of my adult life balanced on the knife’s edge between self-sufficiency and bankruptcy. I’ve done okay, overall, but I’ve seldom had money to burn. That tightrope walk taught me that life isn’t about what you can get for yourself. It’s about what you do with what you have.
I’ve also benefited from some good influences. One was my maternal grandfather who, whenever asked what he wanted for his birthday or Christmas, replied, “Oh, you don’t have to get me anything.” He and my grandmother lived in the same house from well before I was born until the time they passed away. Very little ever…
