Reflective Post Week 11

This week’s discussion in class was pretty interesting. Whenever it comes to conversations about one’s income, people always feel uncomfortable talking about their own wealth. Whether it is for their own security or because they don’t want to end up creating a bad image of themselves, people don’t usually tell others how wealthy they are. It is a matter that is often kept within the family and sometimes even between spouses only. When asked how wealthy those of us were during the discussion, I could tell that both the people answering the questions and those listening to the responses were feeling uneasy.

One of the responses that I found most interesting was when Sarah talked about her family and how she said she is “wealthy in spirit.” Her response reminded me of my mission trip to Tecate, Mexico back in my sophomore year of high school. During the trip, we visited a family to see the difference between those living outside of town and those living inside the town. Many of the people that lived away from towns and city lacked resources including water and electricity. The family we visited, in particular, lived in a small house that had enough room only to place two beds and their belongings in it. To cook, they would go outside and use metal barrels to lit up the fire and the lid to cook the food. Despite it all, the family did not complain for their living conditions. Life might not have been easy for them, but you can tell from their smiles that they were just thankful to be living another day. In the end, the experience of meeting the family influenced me to view the value of life differently. It reminded me of how grateful I am to have the things that I have.