EVOacademy

Now that we have pulled the curtain back on the brain a little, let’s look up and around for a minute. And let’s use Shakespeare to do it! This is Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29. Don’t rush the words. Take a deep breath and allow the words to have a moment to settle.

Here it is:

“When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least;

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.”

William Shakespeare, Sonnet 29

Though this sonnet begins with mourning and envy, once upon remembering the one who they love, they would not trade places with a king. It wasn’t greater, bigger things that changed outlook, it was remembering the who that mattered most. With each passing day, it becomes clearer – wealth is not dependent so much on how much we hold but rather with whom we share it. 

Here’s to remembering. Here’s to not forgetting the ones that add the greatest value to our lives. For some, it is just the memory we have this holiday season, and this too is rich. Here’s your little reminder to not rush through this season and forget to remember, to treasure. Here’s your reminder that your child will remember the silly dance during clean up or the funny story at the dinner table more than the shiny new toy on Christmas. 

Here’s your reminder that being together is truly the greatest gift. Money, when used properly, is a tool. Let’s use it on the things that matter most. And there you have it, another little tug at that thread of never enough.

Stay tuned, Part Three coming soon!