If we all let go of one thing we like, and take instead each other's hand; if we all let go of three minutes each day, and find instead a few perfect words for someone in the house ...

... if we all withhold our judgments for one hour, and reveal during that time one of our own small secret sins ...

... if we all skip the same meal each week, and spend the time together in the park ...

... would we have less or more than what we started with? 

It is one of the great and pleasing mysteries of life that we gain by giving things up.

Instead of grabbing things or demanding from others, 

if we give something up, 

we leave a space for something new to enter our lives. 

Knowing how to be poor means knowing how to have a full and rich life without a dependent relationship with material wealth, food, chemicals, or sex. 

It means not relying on the props in life like expensive clothes, a prestigious job, or a sporty car, but relying only on the basics.

Knowing how to be poor is knowing we are not in control, and not wasting our serenity in trying.

It means being completely honest in all things.

It means knowing life is neither easy nor free of pain.

Learning how to be poor is learning how to let go of all the essentials, and appreciating the simplicity that endures.

We don't automatically know how to do that, but we can learn.