Beyond Consumption

 I do not wish to spend my days

Collecting things that fade away,
A house filled high with bought desires,
Yet empty of the heart's true fires.

I do not need a hundred clothes
To prove my worth wherever I go,
Nor chase each trend the world creates,
To earn applause that never waits.

I do not wish to roam the Earth
Merely to satisfy my thirst,
To take from mountains, seas, and skies,
And leave behind their silent cries.

For what is wealth if hands stay closed?
What is beauty if kindness grows old?
What is success if, at the end,
We never chose to truly mend?

I dream instead of gentler ways,
Of lighting hope in darker days;
Of sharing bread where hunger stays,
And helping lost souls find their way.

Let others count what they possess,
I'll count the lives I've helped through distress;

For joy is not in what we keep,
But in the seeds of love we reap.

The Earth has given all she can,
Her rivers, forests, gifts to man;
The time has come to give her more,
To heal the wounds we've long ignored.

A simple life, a grateful heart,
A willingness to do my part;
To leave behind more light than I receive—
This is the wealth I choose to weave.

So let me not be known for gain,
For larger homes or grand domain;
But for the hands I chose to hold,
And the warmth I gave against the cold.

For when my final day is done,
And all the races have been run,
May it be said: "They lived to give,"
And taught a weary world to live.