True Wealth Beyond the Illusion of Life’s Pursuits
This poem explores the profound shift from chasing a constructed idea of life to embracing the present moment as the source of true wealth. The metaphor of collecting pennies from heaven symbolizes the small but invaluable moments we gather when we live fully in the Now rather than squandering our attention on the elusive “life” the ego relentlessly pursues.
Quit spending
All of your time & attention
Trying to get a life
The one dealing in that coin
Will drive you into bankruptcy
Each moment
You live Now
Is like collecting a penny
From heaven
Spending them
In service
Will bring you wealth
That lasts beyond the grave
And a life
Precious beyond price
John Harper
Podcast Discussion
The Wealth of Living Now
I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. You don’t grasp that what is most alive is inside your house, and you walk from one holy city to the next with a confused look!
Kabir
This piece was born from my ongoing journey to understand the nature of wealth—not the kind that fills bank accounts, but the wealth that fills the soul. Metaphorical bankruptcy refers to the emptiness that results from investing all our time and energy into an imaginary life driven by the ego’s insatiable desires. This pursuit is akin to chasing a mirage, where each step only leads further away from true fulfillment.
God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.
Saint Augustine
Pearl Beyond Price
The concept of preciousness in the Diamond Approach® resonates deeply here. According to A. H. Almaas, our essential nature carries a quality of preciousness that is more valuable than any material possession. When we live in the present, each moment becomes an expression of this preciousness, enriching our lives in ways that transcend the temporal.
Moreover, the idea of a life “precious beyond price” directly connects to the teaching of The Pearl Beyond Price in the Diamond Approach. This pearl represents a significant realization on our spiritual journey, where the ego is transformed and integrated into the fullness of Being. It is a state of presence that brings enduring wealth, not subject to the fluctuations of the ego’s desires or the inevitability of death.
The spiritual journey reframes our understanding of wealth and success. The pennies from heaven are moments of presence, acts of service, and the cultivation of the soul’s true wealth. These investments yield dividends beyond this life, echoing into eternity.
The more we have, the less we own.
Meister Eckhart
The Illusion of Chasing Life
The poem’s opening lines underscore the futility of trying to “get a life” through external pursuits. The ego, always seeking validation, possessions, and achievements, convinces us to construct a life that others will admire. Yet, this chase leads only to spiritual bankruptcy, as the energy spent in this pursuit drains us of our true vitality and connection to the present moment.
Those who have truth as their wealth, the Name as their profit, and modesty as their shopkeeper, are the true dealers.
Guru Nanak
Moments of Presence
Collecting pennies from heaven illustrates how each moment of presence adds to our spiritual wealth. These moments are like small, divine gifts that, when accumulated, create a life of immeasurable value. Unlike material wealth, which is fleeting and ultimately unsatisfying, this spiritual wealth endures and enriches our lives in ways that transcend the physical.
If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
Dogen
The Pearl Beyond Price
The pearl is in the ocean, but the ocean is in the pearl.
Mahmud Shabistari
The true wealth we gather through living in the present and serving others is “Precious beyond Price.” This wealth is not something we can quantify or compare; it is the intrinsic value of a life that aligns with our true nature. It is the pearl beyond price, a state of being that reflects the deepest essence of who we are.
Reality calls us to abandon the ego’s relentless pursuit of an imaginary life and embrace the present moment’s richness. In this moment, in each act of presence and service, we find wealth that lasts—wealth that carries us beyond the grave and into the infinite.
The essential pearl provides the soul with a sense of individuality and personhood that does not depend on fixed impressions, but on spontaneously arising forms of essential presence that structure her experience of herself and give her the capacity to function as a person. The soul matures and transforms into a person of essence.
A. H. Almaas, The Pearl Beyond Price