Richness - Part Three

Yesterday, I was exploring what it means to be rich in life.  I came up with an idea for another short story to illustrate my thoughts on the subject.

A Life of Riches
An elderly gentleman sat in the back of his chauffeur driven Mercedes with a deep furrow and knot on his brow, the look of a man caught up in a maelstrom of worry.  How could he overcome the obstacles he faced in finding a solution that would be amicably accepted by both boards of the companies involved in the acquisition he was brokering?  Employee rights were a contentious and costly issue and it was obvious to both sides that the acquisition would bring with it a certain amount of streamlining of human capital.  Cost cutting and efficiency were always necessary with any deal like this, but this deal was more difficult due to the family-owned nature of the to-be acquired company.  A solution would present itself, it always did and when it did, it usually involved some kind of pay off to the board members.  He leaned forward and tapped twice on the class divider, which a moment later had vanished.  "It's okay, I'll walk from here Jackson", he said to his chauffeur, "I need to clear my head of some things and I think a jolly good stroll is going to be just the thing for putting my thoughts in order.  Go home early and take your wife out."  The elderly man reached forward and let a clip of bank notes fall onto the vacant passenger seat next to the driver.

"Thanking you Mr Phillips.  That's mighty kind of you.  Are you sure you know your way from here?", enquired Henry Jackson.

"Yes, yes, thank you Jackson.  I think we've travelled this route together quite enough times, don't you?"  It was a rhetorical question to which Henry knew better than to answer.  "Pull over just here would you?"

Henry did as he was requested and David Phillips, dressed in the fine cut and cloth of his tailored suit, the perfect Windsor knot of his tie, the gold links on his cuffs and the impeccable shine of his black Oxford shoes, climbed out of the Mercedes and bade Henry a good evening and watched as the black Mercedes pulled away from the curb and was lost in the stream of the evening commute.  David began a quick step along the paved street and was soon lost in his thoughts of corporate acquisitions and mergers.

By car, it would take no more than ten minutes to reach the foyer of David's city apartment, where the porter would come over, open the door and always with a greeting of "Nice to see you again Mr Phillips. Can I get you anything this evening Mr Phillips?", but by foot, on a never walked on before sidewalk, on streets that have unfamiliar names, with buildings of glass, steel and concrete that loom overhead and become the walls of the city maze, this journey by foot was going to take David a whole lot longer than he had planned.  After some thirty minutes of fast paced walking and of balancing two potential solutions to his problem on a theoretical see-saw to see which one carried the most weight, David realised that the towers of this city maze were unfamiliar, and for a moment, he considered that he might actually be lost.  No, he was never lost in life, he was just momentarily caught between several different options, all of which needed serious consideration, that was all.  Looking around, he saw one of those small areas of green that can sometimes be found at intersections in a city, a token of greenery in a the barren desert of construction, so he hurried over and sat down on the nearest available bench.  But he was not alone.

Laying on the bench, with his head resting on what could of once been a respectable rain coat, with his knees drawn up to his waist, was a weather beaten, scruff of what looked like a homeless person.  David was horrified and tried to distance himself from the man, but the arm of the bench proved to be a worthy barrier.  Hastily, he looked about him for another place to sit, but there were no more free benches.  Not surprisingly, this had been the only one with space available.  He thought of getting up but with the walking and his state of confusion as to his whereabouts, David knew that he must compose himself for a few minutes. Any problem could be resolved with a little bit of thought, was his favourite adage. The tramp stirred and raised his head.  David focused on looking straight ahead.  Then the tramp spoke.

"Hello."  That was all that he said.  A simple hello.  And it was said not with the guttural overtones of a drunkard or a waster, but with the tone of a man who had been clearly educated.  David was perturbed.  Talking to the homeless was not on David's agenda for that evening.  "Are you feeling alright?"

"Why would you ask me that?", a question to answer a question.  Never give anything away.  Never show a weakness.

"Well, judging by the way that you're dressed, by your suit I mean, and that you're sitting on a bench next to a hobo, I would say that you were either lost, or that you're conducting some sort of personal experiment."

David couldn't help himself and smiled and looked around at the other man on the bench.  A man, who, judging by the flecks of grey in the hair and beard, was probably in his early to mid-forties. He relaxed.

"Actually, yes I am rather.  Lost, I mean.  Not the experiment thing."  He smiled again at the other man who had now sat up.

"Well now, I can help you there." said the tramp.  "Perhaps we can make a mutual exchange?"

"Oh no, I'm sorry.  I don't carry cash and I'm sure you don't accept platinum cards do you?"  David felt immediately uncomfortable.  Perhaps he had misjudged this man after all.  He readied himself to get up and walk away - fast.

"No.  That's not what I meant at all.  I simply meant that I would help you in exchange for a conversation.  A free exchange between two men of this world.  I don't want or need your money.  My name is Matthew."

Matthew stretched out his arm and offered his hand.  David looked down at it, then looked into the face of the hobo that was called Matthew.  Then he smiled and took the hand and shook it.  An accepted sign of trust between two strangers.

"My name is David.  I'm sorry if I offended you, but most homeless people usually demand money.  I just assumed you wanted the same.  Tell me Matthew, how did you end up living like this?  I detect from your voice that you are an educated man, am I right?"

Matthew reached inside of the coat that has formerly been a pillow and pulled out a bottle.  He offered it to David.  "It's water, from the drinking fountain on the other side of the park. Fresh at noon."  He proffered the bottle once more.  David gratefully accepted it, unscrewed the cap, smelled it, took out his handkerchief, wiped the top of the bottle and then finally took a grateful swallow.

"Thank you Matthew.  So, what's your story?  How did you end up here on this bench?"  He passed the bottle back to Matthew, who also took a drink.

"My story?"  Matthew smiled.  "It's rather simple really.  After a standard upbringing in suburbia, I went to college and obtained a degree in computer science.  Immediately after, I was selected to join the undergraduate program of a large global IT firm and my career started.  I worked hard at the beginning and after a few years my hard work paid off.  I found myself working on a project and I gained a lot of recognition from my superiors.  My career accelerated after that and I began to travel to clients and provide consultation services.  I travelled the world, away almost every week some place new.  In the beginning, it was a joy.  I thrived on it but after a little while, I realised that my life was no longer my own.  I had become a slave that the company owned, telling me where to go and when, encroaching on my own personal free time.  I missed family events, I missed friends birthdays.  I could never plan anything because I would never know where I would be from one week until the next."

Matthew stopped talking and offered the water bottle again to David, who accepted it without hesitation. Matthew also drank again and then continued.

"So, I found myself in my mid-thirties.  I was living in a nice apartment on my own.  No steady girlfriend, no kids, no pets.  Just me and some furniture for company.  One day,  it was early August, that much I can recall, because I was approaching my thirty-fifth birthday, I had a kind of epiphany moment.  A moment of startling clarity and I asked myself the following questions..."

"Yes?", David was deeply interested in the story of this man on a bench in downtown, some where that could equally be no where.  "Do go on."

"I asked myself why?  Why was I doing this?  Why did I need to do it?  Why did I need to live my life in such a way?  Who was I doing it all for?  And the answers came flooding at me.  I didn't need to do it any longer.  I didn't need to live my life that way.  I wasn't doing it for me, I was doing it for them, a faceless corporation.  And at that moment, I knew that I could no longer continue.  So, I didn't.  I quit my job.  I sold everything, I packed a bag and I left.  I travelled, I explored, I tried to live as cheaply as possible and I said to myself that the only things I wanted to worry about each day were where is my next meal coming from? and where will I sleep this night?  I began with no plan other than I wanted to go and do something else in life.  I had  no thought other than getting away from my old life.  I travelled through villages, towns and cities, I passed through entire countries.  I met people on the road, people like me in search of some other meaning to life, people who were living in the place where I had stopped.  I swapped stories, I learned new customs and cultures.  I learned to speak new languages.  I realised that I was learning more of the world by travelling than I had learned through sixteen years of education back home.  I found love and I lost love.  I learned and discovered things about me, I found forgiveness not just for others, but also for myself and very importantly, I became friends with myself.  I saw things I had only ever previously read about in books or seen pictures on television or in magazines.  I walked barefoot on the sand, I swam naked in the waters of the ocean, I climbed mountains just because they existed, I walked in forests of trees, I saw beasts and birds and so many other incredible animals, and I found the wonder of creation and nature.  Every day there was some new experience waiting for me.  And every day, I filled up my soul with life.  Gosh, I do ramble on at times."

"No, no. It's quite okay.  It's an amazing story Matthew."

Matthew took another sip of water, then continued again, looking a little embarrassed.

"I started on a journey and in the process, I found the voice of my heart and it has ever since been my guide and my companion.  I guess that is all I really wanted to say."

David sat for a moment.  He thought about the woman he had loved and had lost because he would not sacrifice his career.  He remembered all of the things he had always dreamed of in life, but had never done because there was never enough time and besides which, urgent matters always demanded his attention at the office.  He thought about the friends he had once known but no longer knew what had happened to them because he never had the time to maintain the friendships.  He had visited many countries but only saw them through the glass of the airport lounge, the hotel bedroom window or the window of the office.  He had never had a family of his own.  He had not spent enough time with his nieces and nephews and now he was nothing other than a distant uncle.  But what he did have was a lot of money.  He had VIP accounts at several banks, he had stocks and shares in various companies, he held investment trusts, he owned a lavishly furnished apartment in the city and a large house on the beachfront in Miami - a house that he had visited one time only when he made the initial purchase.  What did it mean to be truly rich? he wondered.  And then he looked at Matthew, looked at the man sitting in worn out clothes at this side, at the man who had shared his water and the story of his life, and he knew.  

"Matthew, thank you for sharing your story with me.  You may not have any money, but you are rich beyond  imagining.  Only now, in the twilight of my life, do I see that money is not the same as richness. I cannot take my money with me to the next place after my life here, but you will take your experiences with you forever in your heart and soul.  You shall be rich for an eternity and no one will be able to take it away from you.  Thank you Matthew.  But tell me, just how did you end up on this bench?"

 "I had been walking and became a little lost and needed a place to rest.", he replied.