Deciding to covet kindness instead of cars

I work for a large non-profit, and as part of my job, I come in contact with some very wealthy individuals.

And sometimes, I try comparing our lives.

Which is silly, of course, because our lives are so different. My house is not as large as theirs. My car is not as expensive. My diamonds are not as (sometimes) obnoxiously large. I do not take classes at the local community college to fill my days. I do not have "my driver" take me 3 Philadelphia city blocks. I do not winter in the south or the west. My picture does not appear on the social scene page of the news paper.

It is tempting to conclude that my life is not as "good" or "successful" or "easy" as theirs because of all they have that I do not.

But I've realized that there are some superbly wealthy people who are unhappy and stressed out and miserable, just as there are some miserable "poor" people. But there are also kind, generous, compassionate
people in both the "rich" and the "poor" category as well.

I'm much more impressed by a person who possesses kindness, and genuine character, than a person who possesses diamonds and cars and houses.

So instead of counting cars and diamonds and homes, I'm going to admire people with character traits I'd like to emulate.