How to
be a millionaire
Translation of "Eine Millionärin wie du und ich" von Harry Waßmann,
SWR2, Wort zum Tag
(Verkündungssendung), 10.7.2019 (spiritual reflection for 10 June
2019)
It´s the dream of many – to be a millionaire.
But how to become one?
Recently, an elderly woman taught me how.
It was in the municipal open-air swimming pool on
a sunny day. The woman climbed out of the water and said beaming with
happiness: "I feel like a millionaire each time when I am in
this pool."
With this she didn´t mean money or assets. It was
her pure joy about the pool, which has been maintained by many
volunteers for 80 years with its attractive play areas, changing
rooms, an orchard and besides
overlooking the castle in
the neighbourhood.
A little swimming pool in a small town –
maintained by volunteers day after day - the joy of being able to use
all this makes her a millionaire.
Of course, this is not the euphemism of an
underprivileged woman who daydreams herself into being rich. It´s
quite a realistic calculation. No
way would she be able to afford such a pool herself, maybe not
even as a millionaire. When people pool
their resources, however, they can accumulate wealth, be it in
the form of taxes or of other kinds of contributions. They can make
many people rich independent of their individual incomes.
The early Christian community in Jerusalem is said
to have lived in a spirit of togetherness like this. All of them
shared everything. They shared their possessions and none suffered
any want. Of course, there were also disappointments, upheavals,
crises - even cases of embezzlement according to Luke in the Book of
the Apostles. Nevertheless, they were inspired by the give and take
of sharing and participating. In other words: They were touched by
the Holy Ghost and lived according
to the spirit of Jesus.
What a blessing that in our country* the really
big legacies which have been passed on from generation to generation
are communal properties: forests and rivers, roads and schools, all
kinds of museums and other assets including churches. Where such big
legacies are privatised everyone suffers a considerable loss of
wealth.
It is worth figuring out how rich we really are –
together with so many others! The "millionaire" in the swimming
pool opened my eyes. Since then I have felt like a multi-millionaire
without taking anything away from others. A millionaire – like you
and me.
*The author
refers to Germany and in particular to Baden Württemberg in the
south west of the country. Many more assets could be added to his
list of big communal legacies such as libraries, hospitals, the
water supply, and not least a vast network of footpaths including
public access to lake shores and river banks which allows freedom of
movement and an experience of nature to an extent which I am
immensely grateful for every time I return from countries where
public property is the exception.
You can find the German text under: www.kirche-im-swr.de/?page=manuskripte&autor=53
In this context the poem I posted for July 2017, 'Why should I pay indeed?' by Barbara Rank
is worth reading, too.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen