Mervin, when I wrote the post you referred to, I wondered how many folks would take it as Al making a case for “material blessings = true happiness”. I’m not surprised that you picked up on that and warned against it. I have lived long enough to see quite a few instances of the reverse: the acquisition of material 'playthings’ diverted their possessors from leading a happy, purposeful life. On one of the many lengthy trips our family took through Mexico, we were able to bring this lesson home to our three kids. This was over 50 yrs. ago, and even tho we were riding in a brand new Cadillac, there was no such thing as a TV set in the back seat to keep the kids amused. So we supplied them with some toys to occupy the time they were not sightseeing. They were good kids, but still there was some squabbling over whose turn it was to play with the most wanted item. Then we pulled into a station to fill up with gas–and were surrounded by four kids (about the same ages as ours) who with broad smiles were busy washing all our windows. They knew as little English as our kids knew Spanish, but they were very quickly communicating at a surprisingly effective level, and when we had filled up with gas and about to leave, I think all seven kids were sorry to see us go. Later, at El Salto falls (way off the beaten path) after the kids finished swimming, two local girls about the same age as our two, came out offering us a plate of home made cookies. This was out of simple hospitality, since tourists rarely ever visited this remote spot. But our kids and the two locals were soon swapping information surprisingly effectively.
Later we asked our kids what they had gotten from these ‘conversations’. All three of our kids were rather surprised that the local kids, who lacked the ‘essentials’ of American early teen life, such as bicycles, skateboards,etc., yet seemed genuinely happy. And, perhaps more surprising, they did not seem at all jealous of our kids who obviously had more possessions. It was a lesson both my wife and I were so glad we stumbled into–a lesson that stuck with our kids for life.
Al Leo