Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl01303)

Dear Doss,

You sound like you've never lacked material comforts. Since I dealt with
poor people for 23 years of my life, I'd like to say that I think having
money beats living in the streets. Even if your life as a well- to -do
person is psychologically  miserable, you still have the money to have fine
furniture & a comfortable bed to sleep in in your house, & beautiful
pictures on your wall, all of which I find uplifting. I love beautiful
things. If you have the money, you can live in a space that's all yours ...
no need to share a small space with a number of other people, where you
don't even have the luxury of privacy in the bath room. You can also see to
it that your teeth don't fall out too soon, because you can pay a dentist &
a periodontist. If needed you can replace them so they look real & pretty,
instead of loose & fake. If your child's teeth are crooked, you can make it
look prettier & chew its food more finely by giving it braces. If you have a
little girl whose pretty face is marred by a very long nose, you can have
her nose bobbed. If you feel blue, you can afford to go to a movie, or a
shopping mall. When you're cold, you can turn up your heat and voila. All
these things are hard to come by, if you're poor. I think you're right that
money isn't everything, but it sure helps. If you're well to do enough you
can even donate money to Wheaton's elevator fund, & enable handicapped
people to bless you, because they can then reach the auditorium & listen to
all those fine talks.

Re bweing descendant from kings, for myself, I think I've outgrown the wish
to be related to kings, even though, if I wanted to I could claim a very
distant ancestor named Queen Esther. Part of me is materialist, & so I
wouldn't mind commanding the wealth of a Queen of England. I'd love to have
enough money to buy lots of designer clothes. I think castles would be too
big for my taste. I'd be content with a couple of 3 bed room houses in
places I'd enjoy being, like Syracuse, Kauai, & Knoxville. I'd dislike going
to all these affairs of state. I don't like large formal parties, but would
rather spend an intimate evening with a few good friends. I get bored stiff
talking about the weather, & I utterly dislike talking about Fergie's
impending divorce. All in all, I think I'd rather be a descendant of Plato,
Pythagoras, Isis, CW Leadbeater & Annie Besant. A King? Well, Martin Luther
King would be ok.

Liesel
Member TI