I really like my stuff. I like having nice vehicle to drive. I like to go places. I love to travel. I like to eat healthy. I like having a cell phone. I enjoy writing on my computer. I like having Wi-Fi. I like to have a spacious home for my family. I like to be cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I enjoy drinking good coffee. I enjoy making money and having things.
Therein is the irony of this post – the irony of life actually.
I believe in having experiences over things yet know things help us live better lives. I believe money is not everything yet know money is vital in our day to day lives. Am I a hypocrite? Maybe? Sometimes.
Let Me Explain the Concept with a Quick Story
Growing up and living in the U.S., I’ve had the privilege to take my 11 year old son on many summer vacations.
He’s gone to the beaches of Miami, Lakes of Chicago, Schlitterbahn Water Park, Six Flags, and Sea World among other places.
But do to some unforeseen circumstances and a little luck he got to spend an entire 2 months with family in Mexico(Summer 2015). He’d never really been to Mexico and did not speak Spanish very well.
It was a perfect time though because since school goes into July in Mexico, we enrolled him in School for a couple of weeks.
He made friends, learned to speak Spanish, learned more about his culture and was even invited to dance in a Bailable that summer.
Anyway, He says it’s been the best experience of his ENTIRE childhood!
This really taught me a valuable lesson in Life.
It taught me that although I try to buy him the best things in life, the newest toys, vacations, etc , I failed to realize that it’s experiences that our kids will remember for the rest of their lives.
So now, I remember to invest in experiences, invest in memories, and invest in their future.
Simple but Not Easy
Living the experiences over things philosophy is simple but not easy.
It’s simple because intuitively we know experiences and relationships provide the greatest quality of life and satisfaction yet it’s not easy because the world we live in celebrates status, stuff, and consumerism.
Add to this, the belief that valuing experiences over things means becoming a “minimalist” and giving up all your worldly possessions.
Thankfully, however, you don’t have to be broke, live with nothing or go live off the grid in order to benefit from this philosophy.
I believe even a millionaire living in a big beautiful home can live the experiences over things philosophy because it’s NOT about the money or things you have, it’s whether or not the money or things have you!
Mindset and knowledge are crucial in your journey to getting to know real Mexico. Lucky for us, HERE are some of the best resources to get us started. Today!
Saludos,
Fidel
Enrichment of Life through Travel
