The Wealthy

I decided to visit Malibu for the first time today and the experience was an eye-opening one.  I wasn't expecting much since most of the beach on the Pacific Coast Highway (or California State Route 1) is similar in one way or another; for instance, most of the PCH beaches have thick black rocks or boulders along the beach and groups of seagulls are visible from all ocean direction.  Malibu is considered as one of the wealthiest place to live in California and seeing expensive vehicles such as Lexus, BMWs, Tesla, and Porshes gave proof to its entitlement.  As we drove on the PCH, the beach houses seem very close and very far at the same time; they are either next to the water or on top of the mountains and hills that surround the small beaches in the city and like most of the land in California, dry green plants can be seen through out the vast expansion of the mountains.

Every time I drove to Newport Beach, there was always a swarm of BMW, Porsche, Lexus, and other very expensive cars but in Malibu, everywhere I look, there is always an expensive car here and there, at a higher percentage than Newport Beach. The shopping center across the Malibu lagoon was filled with numerous new and big-name cars that are rarely seen in the small city I live in.

As I study the city, I learned that wealthy people are no different than the poor people.  The rich lost something, love something, and hate something just like any other people.  Life is volatile, it changes all the time and maybe when we least expected; the rich can be poor at any minute and they can lose everything they have at any day of the year.  Some of my clients were once wealthy--they once owned a restaurant and other businesses that brought them fortunes-- and they lost every thing in just one day. One client stated he lost everything so quick that he couldn't believe it; he lost his business, second wife, and custody of his children--all of what he loved the most. From this, I learned we should enjoy what we have and not always wanting something more.  Easier said than done, but I think when we acknowledge the wisdom, there is a sense of freedom that we will experience and this will allow us to enjoy life for what it truly is, rather than living the "what if" style.