What Money Can't Buy

The following chart illustrates the comparative choices, behaviors, characteristics, and habits of people in the poverty culture as compared to other social classes:

Subject
Poverty Class
Middle Class
Upper Class

Possessions
People
Things owned
One-of-a-kind objects, pedigree.

Money
To be used spent.
To be managed
Is to be conserved, invested.

Personality
Is for entertainment. Sense of humor is highly valued.
Is for acquisition and stability. Achievement is highly valued.
Is for connection. Financial, political and social connections are highly valued

Social Emphasis
Social inclusion of people that he/she likes.
Emphasis is on self-governance and self-sufficiency.
Emphasis is on social exclusion.

Food
Key question: Did you have enough? Quantity is important.
Key question: Did you like it? Quality important.
Key question: Was it presented well? Presentation important.

Clothing
Clothing valued for individual style and expression of personality.
Clothing valued for its quality and acceptance into norm of middle class. Label is important.
Clothing valued for its artistic sense and expression. Designer important.

Time
Present most important. Decisions made for moment based upon feelings or survival.
Future is most important. Decisions made based upon future ramifications.
Tradition and history most important. Decisions made partially upon tradition and decorum.

Education
Highly valued and revered as abstract but not as reality.
Crucial for climbing success ladder and making money.
Necessary for making and maintaining connections.

Destiny
Believes in fate. Cannot do much to mitigate chance.
Believes in choice. Can change future by making good choices now.
Noblesse oblige.

Language
Casual register. Language is about survival.
Formal register. Language is about negotiation.
Formal register. Language is about networking.

Family Structure
Tends to be matriarchal.
Tends to be patriarchal.
Depends on who has the money.

Thousands of years ago the Egyptian people regarded the Sun as the emblem of the Creator. They called the Sun,"Ra."

Some people believe the word Amen came from the vocabulary of the early worshipers of Ra. What we do know is that the word "Amen" has been around for thousands of years. And, when people of different faiths today use the word "Amen," they do not invoke any God or any power just by saying that word. But the word Amen, as used for the past few thousand years, is a part of the language used in communicating with our higher power.

It's an integral part of the acknowledgement that there is something impossible and magical about the way our world functions. For example, we wouldn't say "thank you" at the end of our prayers because that wouldn't be powerful enough. People of all faith use the word "Amen" in communication with their higher power. Amen, thank you, magnificent, bravo, incomprehensible. Amen, like prayer, is a form of gratitude.

So, my point is, we're all aging mortals and our time on this planet is preciously short. We are most content when we have gratitude for what is, rather than frustration for what could be—when we have gratitude for what we believe, rather than frustration for what others believe. When we are grateful, we are less anguished.

If you believe the most extraordinary aspects of your life have been guided by an Angel taking dictation from God, then Amen to you. If you believe that your talents are on loan from some unimaginable source for some exquisite portion of your life, to be passed along when you're finished to somebody, or to something, then Amen to you. If you don't believe in a higher power, then Amen to you anyhow.

As a child growing up in poverty, I kept telling myself, don't be afraid, don't be daunted. Just do your job. Continue to show up for your piece of it, whatever that might be. No matter how difficult things got for me, I kept showing up to do my part-grateful for the opportunity to participate.

If your job is to be a mechanic, then be a mechanic. If your job is to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company, then be a CEO. If the Divine Angel assigned to your case tries to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed through your efforts, then Amen. And, if not, then Amen to you for showing up to do your part anyway-for giving it your very best effort.

Amen to you for having the sheer human love and the inner beauty and greatness of being you. And, for having the determination and stubbornness to keep showing up to do your part of it every day, to do your piece that is expected of you-Amen, thank you, magnificent, bravo, incomprehensible. Money can't buy contentment-never give any person, or any situation, the power to take it away from you.

Doug Wallace is an attorney, a successful entrepreneur and a published author. His book, Everything Will Be All Right is a memoir, scheduled for nationwide launch on October 1, 2009. Doug chose to write his story of growing up in poverty as a way to call attention to the unimaginable hardships for the generationally impoverished. Launched October 2009, available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders Kindle, Sony Reader, and retail book stores everywhere