Things Money Cannot Buy

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Lately, I have been hustling and bustling with a temporary job revolved around editing. This is in addition to my primary job as a financial services account manager. Although I am thrilled to be getting extra green for a craft that is one of my greatest passions and skills, I quickly find a difference between reading, writing, and editing for hire or reading and writing for fun. The particular job I am doing requires a certain rate of editing and reading per hour. This is similar to my full time job that requires a high rate of on-phone time among other performance standards. But when I read and write for fun there are fewer pressures and demands. I can take my time and work through drafts, edits, and final works. I can chisel away pieces for as long as my heart desires.

Being able to read, write, or edit just for the sake of the activity is an immeasurable blessing no amount of money can buy. As I labor away to earn a little extra green, I also remember the priceless treasures from being able to make a difference through the work I am doing. I also start to reflect on the countless blessings money cannot buy, even if they are closely intertwined with anything related to cash. It reminds me of an old Quora answer I wrote from three years ago. From my own point of view, here is a list of fifty things money cannot buy. Every other person’s list might include millions or billions of additional items.

Photo by Storiès on Unsplash

1. Every breath you take
2. Birthdays
3. The calm after a rainstorm
4. Fun and exercise from sports or recreation
5. Joy from cooking a delicious meal for others
6. Being held by someone who loves you
7. Looking at a loved one and wondering how you could be so fortunate to have such an amazing person in your life
8. The pleasure of performing small acts of kindness that seem small to the world, but can mean the whole world to one or a few people.
9. The moment you finally can move past something that used to eat you up inside, with thankfulness that things weren’t as bad as they could have been.
10. The unbounded freedom of forgiveness, when both given and received.
11. The satisfaction when someone else finally begins to understand your place and put themselves in your shoes.
12. Losing count of the blades of grass in the yard, the grains of sand at the beach, or the stars in the night sky.
13. Laughing at a good joke or funny event from months or years ago
14. The relief felt after a certain ointment or medication finally stops an itch
15. Reading one of your favorite passages from one of your favorite books for the hundredth time and gathering an insight you never realized before.
16. A pleasant memory that resurfaces from long ago that reminds you of how things used to be and how they haven’t really changed that much.
17. A film so moving it makes you cry every time you watch it.
18. An adventure to a beautiful new place that completely transforms you.
19. The pure pleasure of eating your favorite food.
20. Sleeping until the late morning or early afternoon.
21. Getting up early to watch the sunrise.
22. Watching the sunset from beginning to end.
23. The moment where you look yourself in the mirror and smile widely at your own personhood and life.
24. The moment when someone else closest to you helps you remember your inner song when you’ve forgotten the words.
25. The moment you realize your life is unfolding exactly as it is supposed to.
26. Beautiful scenes of Nature that take your breath away, like a mountain range, mesmerizing sunset, or the ocean stretching into the horizon
27. Glimpses of creatures in Nature beyond humans — such as ants scurrying about or trees stretching a little taller towards the sky or fish swimming happily in a pond.
28. Joy from having achieved a goal, or on a whole different level having helped someone else achieve theirs’.
29. The peace of mind, recentering, and growth gained after prayer or meditation, in addition to the re-connection.
30. Health and happiness increased from quitting a bad habit.
31. The full moon glowing on a clear and peaceful night.
32. Pondering of life’s ever-wondrous mysteries.
33. Realizing a new meaning hidden in a poem, painting, song, or other work of art
34. Joy from rolling down a grassy hill in the summertime
35. The fun of sledding down the snowy hill in wintertime
36. The relief of cold, refreshing water on a muggy summer day
37. The value and meaning found in service — whether volunteering, donating money, or just helping a family member, friend, or stranger in need.
38. The promise that most of the problems humans and our world face can be mitigated, even solved.
39. Gifts others cannot take away from you, like your smarts, talents, experiences, joys, hopes, dreams, dignity, and loves.
40. Finding genuine wisdom and intelligence on Quora, or from numerous other platforms out there.
41. The sun’s rays pouring down your back on a warm summer day
42. The sound of rain pitter-pattering the rooftop as you drift off to sleep on a cool spring night
43. The pride that comes from a job well done
44. The transformation taking place from stretching beyond one’s own perspective and considering the view of another
45. Meeting new friends
46. The good feelings gathered from a brisk workout, whether in the gym, at a sport, or just plain walking.
47. Reconnecting with family, friends, or acquaintances you haven’t seen for a period of months or years
48. Those times in your life where you can sense a loved one passed away still watching over you or even right beside you.
49. Realizing many more of the infinite riches unfolding each second for each of us in our lives, as we strive to connect to what is numinous and divine at the heart of things.
50. The joy felt from watching videos like these.

These are just a few of innumerable things no amount of money in the world could buy. These are things from my own experience or musings about things outside of my direct experience. Every other person may have similar things or completely different things I never would imagine. What are a few items from your list of things money cannot buy?