Redefining the Meaning of Wealth

Beach in Costa Rica

“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
- Henry David Thoreau

The last couple of weeks have been super busy for me. Stray Cat Alliance, the cat advocacy organization I work for, had its annual Stray Cat Club fundraiser this past Saturday night. I and many others put in countless hours and worked our butts off but our labor paid off. The event was a huge success and I’m so happy for the cats!

Needless to say I have not had much free time to do anything that has not been “cat” related in the last month. I did however manage to fit in a night with my husband and another couple we are friends with when we attended the world premier of Water is Rising at UCLA Royce Hall. Although very moving the content of this beautiful song and dance production did more than just entertain. It put a human face on the damage the more developed countries of the world are doing to our more vulnerable brothers and sisters. And it’s not pretty.

Water is Rising is performed by 36 artists from the tiny Pacific islands of Kiribati, Tokelau and Tuvalu. These islands are located where the equator meets the date line and they are remote, isolated and vulnerable to changes in the environment. These islands are elevated only 2-3 meters above sea level and climate change is wreaking havoc on them and there is the potential that the entire population may one day have to be relocated. Imagine having to leave your home where your ancestry goes back thousands of years because the rest of the world can’t get its act together and are consuming non-stop without any regard for anything except immediate gratification.

Water is Rising is an impassioned pleas for global awareness and social change. Despite all they are up against, the people of these nations deliver their message in a positive light and still manage to have a hopeful outlook on life. Thank God they are taking the high road and are delivering a plea for awareness instead of venting their anger (which I think would be wholeheartedly justified) at those countries who have disproportionately contributed the most to destroying our environment.

We all know excessive consumerism is taking its toll and that we can’t continue to live the way we are living without some serious consequences. Check out the website about this amazing project that is spreading awareness and asking us to all re-think and change our ways before it’s too late. We are all in this together and the earth belongs to us all. Mother Earth will survive and replenish herself eventually but we are a different story. The time has come to start showing her a little respect because we need her more than she needs us.

(If you’d like to read more about living simply and changing the way you think about wealth please consider reading my book which is available in paperback or Kindle: REDEFINING THE MEANING OF WEALTH: DISCOVERING PROSPERITY AND FORTUNE IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE.