Tuesday, June 27, 2006

A Pearl of Wisdom

I recently talked to a man who had a business trip to mainland China. He was in the rural area and had an opportunity to talk to some farmers. One famer that he spoke with was discussing the improvements made to the village. Noticing how rudimentry everything was, the guy asked the farmer, "So, what's considered rich around here?"

The farmer's reply was "Enough is rich".

11 comments:

Nessa said...

Wouldn't it be wonderful to feel that way.

Mayden' s Voyage said...

Wow...
I've been to China- It changes you.
I think I need to go back.

"Enough is rich"

Consider me convicted today...shall I say "thank you" ?
Yes- thank you :)

Anonymous said...

Enough is a relative term. Although I understand the significance of this post, culturally, I think there is just SO MUCH difference to know what "enough" is. My former boss had us in a meeting one day telling us about this manager-type guy that helped revolutionize some sort of management technique which was very successful in China. He was heralding and championing this man so much and saying how much he admired him. He said he wanted to try to implement some of the techniques here and how in North America it wasn't accepted... blah blah blah... I looked at my former boss and said "But, we're not Chinese..."

Anonymous said...

Enough is a relative term. Although I understand the significance of this post, culturally, I think there is just SO MUCH difference to know what "enough" is. My former boss had us in a meeting one day telling us about this manager-type guy that helped revolutionize some sort of management technique which was very successful in China. He was heralding and championing this man so much and saying how much he admired him. He said he wanted to try to implement some of the techniques here and how in North America it wasn't accepted... blah blah blah... I looked at my former boss and said "But, we're not Chinese..."

Suze said...

A very levelling comment. Maybe we should all take a leaf out of that book in this materialistic world.

Chief Scientist said...

If you go to older Russians and ask what did the most to change their minds about Communism, they'll tell you it was a "60 Minutes" episode in the early 80s. It was supposed to be a scathing indictment on poverty in America so, of course, the Soviets showed it on TV. What Russians saw was that poor Americans all had microwaves and TVs, something they couldn't get in Russia.

We're the only country in the world where poor people can afford to be fat.

The Grunt said...

Yeah, this is not a praise of communism for sure, but you have to look at it from a point of learning that happiness is not dependent on excess. Excess is good if you manage it responsibly, from a moral perspective.

Scott said...

That is great Grunt! I really like the sentiment behind that. Interesting how different things seem with a little perspective.

Scott

Chief Scientist said...

Well, money may not buy happiness but it's sure a lot more fun to be miserable on a yacht.

Logophile said...

Everything is relative, but having a glimpse of what most of the world considers "enough" is perspective shifting if you are open to it.
Now I am off to the mall to pick up some cute lil summer sandals.

Anonymous said...

When I've had enough, when I've eaten enough, when I've saved just enough, when I've exercised enough,...these all require some rewiring of our circuitry. I'm learning...it's a very neat lesson. Great post, Grunt