I No Longer Want to Be a Millionaire. I Want to Have More Money Than My Neighbors

Just a little bit more.

Photo by Skitterphoto: https://www.pexels.com/photo/architectural-design-architecture-brick-wall-bricks-422844/

One Friday morning, I’m in the laundry room in front of the full washing machine and I realize that there’s no money left on the laundry card.

While I’m thinking about who could lend me the card, the question suddenly arises: who are my neighbors?

My girlfriend and I live in an apartment building on the outskirts of the city. But when I knock on the other tenants’ doors that morning to borrow a laundry card, I feel like a huckster.

I hardly know anyone in our building by name.

People greet each other briefly in the stairwell, and from time to time tickets are hanging in the lobby that draw attention to possible disturbances due to a birthday party or waste that hasn’t been disposed of properly.

We live wall to wall, ceiling to floor, but we hardly know anything about each other.

I ring the doorbell of several apartment doors. Nothing. Finally, a young man opens up. I don’t remember meeting him before. He kindly agrees to lend me his laundry card. He doesn’t want his money back.

Since that day, I’ve never forgotten this young man’s name.

Some people regret the past. Others live exclusively in the here and now. And some live their lives constantly in the future. A time that promises more. More money, more success, more of everything. I’m that kind of person. And maybe you are too.