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True Wealth

I have known hunger, felt the weight of days when dreams were thinner than the rice on my plate.

But I have also seen the sky—how it burns gold at dusk, how a child laughs with nothing but a stone and a song.

They offered me a throne built on broken trust, coated in power, but hollow beneath.

I said no. Because I have learned true wealth is not possession—it is perception.

It is waking to birdsong, sharing warmth, and knowing silence without shame.

It is the courage to walk away when comfort comes at the cost of another’s pain.

It is seeing beauty in a leaf, in kindness, and in knowing you did no harm.

I left their gold behind, but I carry sunlight in my chest, peace in my step, and the meaning of life etched in my soul.