Wealth

DUKE: " If thou art rich, thou'rt poor; For, like an ass whose back with ingots bows, Thou bear'st thy heavy riches but a journey, and death unloads thee". Also, ".. and when thou art old and rich, thou hast neither heat, affection, limb, nor beauty, to make thy riches pleasant". ( Measure for Measure).

Why is it we all learn everything the hard way? "To soon old, too late smart". We all have something of Gordon Gekko in us, I think, or I hope, because I have. He is aptly named ,almost spelt right and appropriately geographically located ( on the Wall). I'm not self-righteous,I've been a lizard too! I've looked in the mirror and it's not all good. Mea Culpa! Wealth has taken a beating these days and maybe it's a good thing. Maybe we should adopt the Year of Release every 7 years when all debts are forgiven and we start again. Fat chance! I really don't believe that anyway! It might have worked in the tight colony of the ancient Hebrews! Maybe we should have a Year of Jubilee every 50 years when land is returned to the dispossessed. The Dukes of Sutherland would thereby have left a more noble legacy, but then a lot of us, on the other hand, wouldn't be here! If you really believe Shakespeare had it right, all this would still be hard to embrace. Lip service is easy. They can't be talking about me because enough is never quite enough. Some still cling to what they have 'til the agonal state arrives. I belatedly realized my real wealth is around the dinner table at Christmas time or the summer holiday! Why don't I continue to remind myself of that every day? Human Nature!