“Why are you rich? You can barely get by financially.”

The day I woke up to this world, I considered myself rich. Kids laughed at me and asked me this question over and over again.

And to that I replied, “Rich is all about having things like faith, humanity, and kindness. Rich is about treading softly on Mother Earth and respecting its balance. Rich is about spreading positivity in this world, especially among those who need it most. Rich is about that point in time when you decide to share your last loaf of bread with someone who needs it. Rich could be giving a little when you too have little.”

Then another day, I woke up poor.

And again, kids laughed at me and asked, “Why are you poor? You have much more than all of us combined. You have more than we could even dream of having, so why do you lie to the world and say you are poor?”

And to that I replied, “I have a lot because in the process of accumulating wealth, I gave up my health. I lost all of my humanity. I had to lie and bamboozle. I worked my men to the point of exhaustion, paying them just enough to get by. I made many poor people poorer so that all the difference combined made up my hoard of money. I polluted Earth, and even caused deaths.

The world is in a worse state because of me. In my focus on making it big, I stepped over flowers, trampled on squirrels, killed baby seals and their mothers too. I took away the calf’s milk. I slaughtered unwanted baby chicks. I ordered that farm animals get impregnated so I could harvest their eggs, offspring, or meat, or all of those together.

I am poor because if in an instant I am to lose it all, I’d have no friends left. Heck, even my wife would leave. But not only that; if my wealth doesn’t keep on increasing, even the state wouldn’t like me anymore. They would either sue me, or worse, set off some horrible stories about me to try and destroy me. The state is happy that I contribute to its overall wealth. Even though I don’t pay my fair share of taxes, they know that I, somehow, add to the economic growth, which they perceive is a good thing.

I am poor because I am based on the lie that the customers need me. What they don’t realize is that without me, the world would go on. In fact, the world would be much better off without me. I feed many fires to go on: planting insecurity, objectifying humans, and idolizing items. I use media and propaganda and feed the fires of all the lies. I buy my way to politicians, influencers, and Aunty Lucy too!”

So, to all the kids, I say, “I lied. I lied to the public, lied to authorities, lied to my friends and to my wife and kids too. Heck, I lied almost every time I spoke. The only thing I didn’t lie about is that I am poor.”

And how silly of us to think that the poor are those who need help!