Modest Aspirations

[I wrote a post about the events in Beit Hanun that is still setting off Zahava's 'uh-oh' meter... meaning I need to sit on it for a bit and allow reason to set in.  Stay tuned.  In the mean time here's something I've wanted to post for a bit]

A good friend and I were once sitting around over a bottle of wine when the topic of secret wishes came up.  I asked him to tell me what he wished for in life.  Without missing a beat he told me that he wished he were so rich that he could afford to make very low-key Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and Weddings for his kids.

This made absolutely no sense to me and I told him as much.

He went on to explain that if you are filthy rich and make a low-key affair, people quietly applaud your modesty and compliment your priorities behind your back.  If you  don't have money and make a modest affair out of necessity, your friends all understand... but in the back of their minds... and perhaps in their private conversations at home... they'll make note of what a shame it is that you couldn't afford to do more. 

The simple truth behind this sentiment became immediately clear to me and I have never been able to forget it.

Up until I heard my friend's explanation, my aspirations had always been a bit more modest (if I can use the word in a completely different context).  You see, I had always wanted to be so rich that I could buy a whole cheese pizza for myself and eat only the first two perfect bites of each slice without feeling the tiniest twinge of guilt.

I don't remember which one of my deepest desires I ended up telling my friend there over that bottle of wine when it came my turn to share... but I'm sure it wasn't the thing about the pizza.