Child

"A three-year-old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm."
Bill Vaughn

Small children are fascinating to watch, as any parent knows. They are much closer to their true nature than we are, because they have not yet been corrupted by society's influences. We have a lot we can learn from them. Parents often find, much to their dismay, that they buy their child some expensive toy, that they loved when they were kids, only to find that their child ignores the toy completely while he takes the box it came in and starts playing with that. Children have their own ideas about what they want to play with. They know what's interesting to them, and it has nothing to do with a price tag.

How do we apply this lesson to our own lives. First of all, we must forget about comparing ourselves to others. A small child has no interest in who has the fanciest swingset, because that small green worm is much more fascinating in the moment. Then we must let go of the idea that the worth of something is determined by how much money it cost. The worth of something is actually determined by how interesting and enjoyable it is to you, and that has nothing to do with money. A breeze on a hot day is worth a great deal to you, but it is free; it can't be bought. In fact it is the case that the most valuable things in the world are not for sale at any price, but freely available to anyone who goes looking for them.

To be truly successful, we must reach for what we want most at this moment, not what is more expensive. We must stop comparing ourselves with others, especially with others who have more expensive things than we do. What really counts is that we have what we want, which might very well be priceless, because it is free.

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