What We Are: Reflections on Life Between Poverty and Wealth, Control and Letting Go

I am nothing special. Just a human being walking a path.
Sometimes I am a nomad, sometimes settled. Sometimes minimalist, sometimes capitalist. Sometimes driven by dreams, sometimes resting in quiet contentment.

We humans try to define ourselves. We put labels on ourselves – nomad, minimalist, adventurer, realist. We put labels on others and then expect them to stay that way. But life doesn’t work like that. Even if we don’t want it, we change.

And even when we believe we have everything under control – isn’t it really life that has control over us?

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Experiences Between Hut and Villa

I have experienced and lived with poverty. I have sat in huts where people, with the little they have, were generous. Where they shared, laughed, and still never complained.

And I have had coffee in villas, on plates that cost more than a family’s weekly wage. I have seen pools larger than the lake behind a village. But the difference? It was smaller than you think.

Because no matter where you are – loneliness touches every soul. Worries, fears, and hopes make no distinction between rich and poor. The conversations are the same, only the backdrop changes.

Why We Hold on to Ourselves and Others

Maybe it comes from our fear of losing control.
We define ourselves: “This is who I am. I will stay this way.”
We define others: “This is who you are. You will stay this way.”

But life changes us, whether we want it to or not. Sometimes quietly, through small decisions. Sometimes abruptly, through events that turn everything upside down.

We are afraid that something will slip out of control. But the truth is: It always slips out of control. That is the course of life.

The Illusion of Perfection

Maybe we believe that if we just do everything right – live healthy, work hard, chase our goals – then life will remain stable. Then it will remain safe. Then it will remain perfect.

But what happens in the end? It still happens. That moment that shows us we are not untouchable. Illness, loss, change.

It reaches everyone. No matter where they stand. No matter how perfectly they try to live.

Who or What Are We Then?

Are we our dreams? Are we our possessions? Are we the labels we give ourselves?

Maybe we are just human beings on a path. A path no one fully understands. We are travelers – sometimes searching, sometimes arriving. We are everything and nothing at the same time.

Sometimes we are nomads, moving on. Sometimes we are settled because we long for stability. Sometimes we are minimalist because we can let go. Sometimes we are capitalist because we live in a world that works this way.

But no matter what we call ourselves – we remain vulnerable. We remain transient.

The Human as a Machine of Desire

We are machines of desire. We need goals because they drive us. But when does a dream become a chain that keeps us captive?

I have seen people who seemingly have nothing – and yet they smiled. And I have seen people who had everything – and yet they were dissatisfied.

Maybe it’s not about having no more wishes. It’s about no longer chasing them.

As Hermann Hesse wrote:

As long as you chase happiness,
you are not yet ready to be happy.

Life Is Like a River

Sometimes I think life is like a river. It flows – sometimes calm, sometimes wild. We try to hold on to the water. But the tighter we grasp it, the faster it runs through our fingers.

But when you stop fighting and simply step into the water, you realize: It carries you.

What Remains in the End?

In the end, maybe only one thing remains: the now.

The encounters. The conversations. The coffee – whether from a cup in a hut or from fine porcelain. The look into the eyes of someone who feels just like you, no matter where they stand.

Maybe life isn’t meant to be lived perfectly. Maybe it’s just meant to be lived.

Thoughts That May Stay With You

• You are not just a label. You are many things. And you are allowed to change.
• You don’t hold life in your hands – and that’s okay.
• Contentment is not a goal. It’s a moment.
• Control is an illusion. But trust can bring peace.

And You?

Do you know this feeling that life changes you, no matter how tightly you try to hold on?
Have you also noticed that wealth and poverty ultimately leave the same questions behind?
That deep down, people are the same everywhere – with hopes, fears, and this quiet longing for peace?

When was the last time you thought: “Actually, I don’t need that much to be content”?
And who would you be if you stopped defining yourself for just a moment?

Maybe you feel it too – that we are all on the same path. Sometimes lost, sometimes arriving, and yet always on the way.