For the past couple of decades, Americans equated being rich with how much stuff they owned and the size of their financial portfolio. With the economic downturn, many of us had to rethink what was important and place our faith in more than the almighty dollar. Because pre-boomers experienced dire times when we were young, we may be able to use life's lessons to help others walk through the current crisis.

Webster's dictionary tells us that being rich means having more money or income producing property than is necessary to satisfy ones normal needs. Wealthy connotes grand living. Affluent suggests a continuing increase in riches and a commitment to lavish spending, and opulent is an even greater display of wealth. And the last definition to consider is what many of us pre-boomers would like to be: well-to-do, which implies sufficient prosperity for easy living.

All of the above synonyms have to do with material riches. None suggest mental or spiritual riches. And the other uses of the word rich have to do with abundance of natural resources, something of value, sumptuous food, quality ingredients, deep sounds and intense colors and fragrant perfumes, the mixture of gas to air in a carburetor, as well as very amusing or absurd humor. Of course, the antonym for rich is poor. This leaves a great deal of gray area between the two extremes. In financial terms it's the middle class, in mental attitude it may mean feeling okay, but in spiritual terms there is no in-between: you're either rich or poor.

To me, the spiritual condition is a gift from which a positive attitude is developed and material success begins. This is not suggesting a religious affiliation is the answer, although this might help, rather it is the realization that true happiness and abundance cannot be bought. When this is properly internalized it is manifested externally. Look at all the people of the pre-boomer generation have been through over the past 65 to almost 80 years. Now look at your own life. Pretty impressive overall, wouldn't you say?

So, if it's not the money that makes life worthwhile, how do you explain this to those younger than we are? This is not easy; they've been conditioned, by us and others, to judge success by how much money they make. Now we have an obligation to pass on whatever little pearls of wisdom we picked up along the way in order to help them face life on life's terms, because after the economy fires up again - it always has and it always will - they are going to be raising a family, working, trying to save for the future, and caught up in the rush of daily living.

If you just share with them some of the riches you amassed over the years, things like: caring, understanding, patience, helpfulness, acceptance, gratefulness, and trust in things to come; they'll be richer for it and you'll be richer for having done it. That's the kind of wealth no one can ever take away.