I was thinking about enrichment, as a day-to-day element of living. It’s an element of growth. But then it hit me: there’s no singular definition of what constitutes enrichment.
As I thought about what constitutes enrichment, my mind went to experience and knowledge. I thought that was the only real association one could have with the word. But then it occurred to me that someone could think of money when they think of enrichment. Reasonable enough that the measure of their day might be the incremental growth of their portfolio, or bank account, or coffee can savings.
A parent might feel it was a good day when she brought in enough to continue providing for her family's ongoing needs and security. Others for whom finances are an abstract series of figures, might just take pleasure in seeing the number grow.
But what if you take money out of the picture, or at least push it into the background? Like, what gives the nomadic shepherd a sense of fulfillment? Wandering into a highland pasture with a blanket of fresh bluegrass and clover? Or the sight of a new lamb dropping? Somehow that feels more essential.
I do think that anyone who can find some little token of enrichment each day is doing OK, living a pretty good life.
But what comes first to mind when you consider enrichment? I think answering that question is a bit like looking in the mirror. And what I’m realizing, as I sit here on the balcony, is that money is little more than a byproduct of my piling up experiences and knowledge and somehow sharing a reflection of them with the world.
It's the receiving and the giving—and dammit, I'm realizing it must have something to do with gratitude too, but I'm stopping there before I sound guru-preachy.
#enrichment #writerslife #values #dailylife
