How we define wealth and success makes all the difference

When I was younger I was after the American dream.  Nice job, lots of money, big house, fancy car and all kinds of toys.  Little did I know that the acquisition of all this 'stuff' did not bring me any more happiness or satisfaction in my life.  It was fun, but it was also empty.  As a result, I found myself upping the anti in order to keep the feelings going.  It was an addiction.

1990 Eagle Talon, my first 'new' car.  Also my last.  

In 2001 I went through an intensive recovery program and found a way to recognize what my addictions were doing and explore a way of life that is much more rewarding, enriching and healthy.  My definition of success changed significantly.

Now, rather than chasing after material wealth and consumerism, I choose relationships instead.  I find a greater sense of satisfaction, joy, peace, rewards and freedom from exploring my relationship with myself, Creator, Mother Earth and others than I ever had with the 'stuff'.  As a result of this shift, life started to flow much easier and I was rewarded as a result too.

One of our chicken coops.  Not pretty, but it works!

Despite the rewards, we still rejected the material acquisition of stuff and decided to sell the house, move out into the country and live off the land.  It is, in my view, the best decision we ever made in our lives.  We may not have much and our place looks like it is in a perpetual construction zone as we don't have any debt, mortgages, line of credit, credit cards, etc.  As a result, we build when we get the materials to build.  But the house, greenhouse, barns, gardens, shop, etc is all built with our own hands to serve a function.  That purpose is not to brag to the world, but rather to provide for our needs.  

Our house made of dirt.  It works and kids love playing on it!

Now that our domain is more mature, we can focus on form as the function is worked out.  Time to make it look pretty so that we can bring balance to the way we live.  The divine feminine wants to fix up the form now so that a beauty can shine!  

Earthship not finished, but the floor made a huge improvement.  I hope this year to finish the wall and ceiling.

But even as it sits now, when people visit us, they comment on the fact that we are very wealthy!  Not by the standards set by society or the state, but rather by spirit.  If you compare our life style to what the standards of society or the state, we would be living well below the poverty line.  We live on less than $9,000CDN a year.  

I fix things rather than buying new.  Bail twine works just fine for laces!

However, all our needs are met and we help a lot of people.  We have no debt and we are not dependent on others for our own survival.  If push came to shove, we would do just fine!  I even realized that even if we lost it all, we could do it all over again because we have knowledge, wisdom and experience on our side.  I know I can build a house because I've built many before!  Confidence is a treasure worth holding onto and sharing!  

I know in my heart that I am more wealthy than the vast majority of the planet.  I have so much free time, that I choose to write about our life style and beliefs so that I can share it with those who want to learn and experience what we have found in our life.  

Our greenhouse walls have been torn to shreds on occasion, but we just fix it up and grow lots of veggies!

Our level of wealth is something that we can take with us when our vessels pass away.  It is our memories, knowledge, experiences and wisdom that brings the greatest wealth as we can take it with us while all the other 'stuff' gets left behind.  We are wealthy because we chose to work on these instead of the acquisition of things.  

The great thing about it:  Sharing with others does not diminish our wealth but in fact increases it even more.  That is where prosperity, peace, freedom, joy and love come from.  Sharing wealth is hugely rewarding.  May we all find a new way of exploring our wealth with one another!  

I get great satisfaction out of life now.  More than I ever had before.  I am grateful!