Means to an end
There are very few things that I would recommend more to anyone than to travel. Every single travel experience has the best kind of secondary effects. Some people tend to feel smaller in the world, some find themselves, some find someone they love (friendship or romantic-wise); all in all, they always discover something new about them and what surrounds them.
I have had the great happiness of traveling to very different places around the world, some alone, some with friends and some with family. One of the best times where I felt small was traveling to the south of France to Nice and Cannes and Saint Tropez. We all know how there are different levels of economic classes, but experiencing the gap or rather Large Gap between the rest of the world and the very top is unusual. Me and my cousin went out to meet Cannes were the French movie festival takes place every year. Hoping, in a non-realistic way, that we would maybe stumble upon someone famous or rich or just in general a celebrity. After some time walking around everywhere we figured the best way to find rich people is go near expensive places and things. So we went to a street that some french people told us was the most "upper-class".
We finally got there and did not recognize one single rich person there. You may be wondering "how could you tell the rich apart from the normal people there". Well, this specific street (I might be wrong but I think it was called Rue D'Antibes) had different types of stores that all had one thing in common: absurd prices. If it was a car place it was lamborghini or maserati, if it was a watch store it was rolex or bvlgari, if it was a clothing store it was versace or burberry... So you get the point. We just browsed through some of the random prices at these stores, there was a dress that had the same price as a rolex watch... And the people at these stores came out with BAGS! Yes, plural! It was so mind boggling that my cousin and I just laughed at the sight. Of course we looked at the expensive cars that were parked throughout the street like they were regular vehicles and not 150+ thousand dollar cars.
So, what was the point of this economic gap realization? Well, it is awesome what imagination can do. They say that the difference between inspiration and motivation is that both can be done through words, but motivation normally is a more lasting and moving. This moment motivated me, because I felt no need of any of the luxury offered around me. I wish for many things in life and money I figured in that moment should be the means and not the end goal.
