What does rich living truly look like?

To certain people, when reading this title, they think it’s a silly question. Our capitalist society bred a whole ton of individuals who can only see the type of life that values money and material nonsense to purely show their status to others above all other values such as compassion, creativity, love etc. Even I, when younger was taught and assumed there is one option in life, find a job that has secure inflow of money, make the dollar amount the most important part of that decision, slave away at college regardless if that’s how you learn while throwing an insane amount of money out the window, work insane hours at a job that you didn’t realize doesn’t bring you happiness, get a really big house and nice car so people know you “worked hard,” have children because “that’s what people do” without considering what you actually have to offer to a child. But then what? If you have to work 60 hours a week to have anything and don’t have time to actually utilize those things, you wanted a boat life, yet you pull your boat out once a year because you’re too busy at work, you wanted a life of travel yet you travel for one week out of every year, you love to create things, yet you never get around to “your project” because you’re too busy at work and too burnt out to add that to your schedule, you wanted to be a parent, but let your children be raised by nannies, grandparents, whoever else so you can “provide” for them, when they just want you. There are endless possibilities, but these are examples I see all the time. I was even told once “I work so hard everyday at a job I don’t actually view as my passion because I want to get into heaven.” That was one of the saddest statements I’ve heard, there are all these influences like, school, our parents, religion, etc, that skew what we see as rich. Richness does not equal a dollar amount.

As humans, we are inputs and outputs, we take in what we see, feel, hear then output our reactions, but what if we reached inward for inputs, to find our actual meaning? No one but you gets to decide what you are but you. Learning who you are is a never ending journey, you change, evolve and are always growing, so how in the world could someone tell you who you are when you will be forever learning who you are? Doesn’t make sense does it? So what does rich living look like if it doesn’t just look like money? First you will need to understand what money is. Money is neccessary of course, unless your purpose is wondering into the forest and never coming back. But to the most, that’s a scary life, having to hunt and kill to eat, knowing what you can or cannot forage, building shelter from nothing but what you find in the forest, no human contact, having to fight giant animals that want you for their next meal. That life is not exactly what most humans want, we are intelligent beings that created society and want to thrive in it. We have an amazing system that allows us to live comfortably and allows us to search for peace. Money is a tool, you gave something of value and you get back money which in itself holds no value, but you can use it to create value, food, shelter, transportations, investment, entertainment, whatever brings you comfort and joy. The difficult part is knowing what brings YOU comfort and joy and not what people tell you what that is. Ask yourself why? to everything! Why do I want a big house? Why do I need the most expensive or multiple cars? Why do I want children? Why is this job right for me? Why do I need that vacation? Why do I need the most expensive wine? Why do I need multiple houses? Why do I need to go to college? Why do I need the most expensive computer? Why do I need brand name clothing? Why do I spend all my money on art supplies? Why do I play video games? Why do I buy paper books? I can go on and on with more questions, but you know what questions you need to ask yourself, you know you’re current values, go through everything in your life, the things you spend time and money on, the things you want and are working towards and just ask why, dig deep as scary as that can be. The only reason asking yourself these sort of questions is scary and a lot of people just don’t ask these questions because of fear, you are scared you’ll realize your values aren’t true to yourself then the unknown opens up wide and you just have to walk through it. If your answer as to why connects to fear, other peoples values, status, etc., then you need to reevaluate your path and find what values are important to your soul away from societal pressure.

Now I know this all seems easy, but it’s not, it takes going out into the world and experiencing as much as you can, being present in the now and allowing it to come to you. Try things you were scared to try, because sometimes our dreams are hiding right behind fear. For me as an example before we get too into it, I had a late start to the social aspect of life, I had strict parents and could only be around certain people, not allowed to go to social events that helps you learn about yourself around other people, I had a small view of the world because I had a very select group of people I could challenge ideas off of, I could only see a small portion of life that my parents allowed. Parents will do that out of protection and love, however they are choosing fear for you, it takes time and experience to walk away from that and to allow your mind to open wide. When I was 18, I didn’t have as controlled of a life and could do whatever I choose to do, and with that I went to Electric Forest and tried my hand at psychedelic substances, which was very scary, I had never allowed my mind to communicate to me like that, I had never been around that many people, and WOW it was then that my mind first opened up to all the possibilities. Seeing 60,000 people living for a week in unison, realizing the impact that artists can have, when I only knew what a “starving artist” was. I saw people happier than I ever thought was possible (and we are literally living in tents) but we’re are a community that shared values, everyone outwardly spreading love and respect and genuinely a huge group of people that all wants the best for everyone, knowing that it is love that carries us into our best selves. Not to mention seeing art that changed my life forever. Huge installations, dancing lights, music radiating through the whole forest, people taking in everything around them and summoning a painting from there inputs. It was also traveling out of the country for me. Seeing people living in small shacks with no A/C, no supermarket to get everything you possibly need and just be the happiest people, much happier than I see from a lot of people who have big houses and whatnot in America a “rich” country. I immediately had the will to want to move there and experience different values, kind of like Buddha or Socrates, but also realized it’s not about giving up everything, it’s being truly at peace with what I have. This is just an example of my influences that helped me become more aligned with what rich means to me, this might look different for you. So what does it look like for you?

A rich life is living aligned to your values, finding what truly brings you peace, and living out your true dreams and realizing you deserve to be happy in every moment, and giving yourself that, you deserve it. If you’re biggest dream is traveling and to see the world, then you won’t have that life by working miserably all year to have one week out of the 52 where you go on vacation. To achieve that life you need to monetize your travels, which can look like many different things. You can take on an online job where you can bring your work anywhere with you, you can also pick up all sorts of different jobs along your travels, etc., and lots of people do this. You want to just to create art and inspire people? There are so many ways to monetize art that it is silly not to, you can teach art, you can sell your art (prints, merch, collaborations), you can utilize resources like YouTube or podcasting, you can travel around with festivals, work with sponsors, its endless, you will find what aligns with you. No one can answer these sort of questions for you but you. A rich life is creating a life you don’t need a “vacation” from. We spend so much time just securing money for a later reward, but what if money comes from your “reward?” What if just by doing what you love can make you money so you can continue, each day doing something you love and encourages you to spread love? You can! One of the truest statements I’ve ever heard was yo can do anything you set your mind to, don’t let a single other soul tell you not to.

So moral of this messages is no, I can’t tell you exactly what rich living is, I can say what’s not and give examples of rich living, but it’s up to you and only you to decide what it looks like for you. All I can advise is continue to do what brings joy and peace to your soul and always be in search of that, always, seek peace, not status. Your desires, dreams, wishes are important, and I would love to see the collective treat them that way. Imagine how much better the world would be if we all lived in accordance with our values instead of working tiressly againt them.