External Vs. Internal Referencing

There was an item on the tv news yesterday...about men who have lost money...in the recent financial troubles afflicting our world...in different countries...who have
comited suicide. This also happened coming out of the crashing of Wall Street in the
thirties. The take on this phenomenon...by a psychologist interviewed...was that for
some of these very materially wealthy people...there identity...becomes based on being
a billionaire. When the stock market...or other financial emergencies...trim them
down to becoming a mere 500 million man...they feel destroyed at having lost their
definition of themselves...and taking their own lives can result. My interpretation of
these kinds of tragedies...is they come out of human beings...referencing themselves
externally...i.e. "I am what I possess and how I appear to those looking at me from
outside of myself". Years ago...I spotted the danger of externally referencing myself
...and consciously began referencing myself...internally...i.e. based on what was
inside of me...or could come out of what I carried in me...and not on my external
possessions. Living through my own imperfections...this outlook on life...has helped
me to keep on through difficult times. None of what I've just written...is meant to
put myself above others...I am sure there are many who deliver on their internal referencing...wherher they call it that...or not...much better than I have. However
I have good reason to feel...that there are at least 500 million reasons...for
defining yourself...based on what's inside of you...and what you do with it...rather
than...fleeting fame or fortune...or how others see you. May we all survive well
this troubled financial era we're in.................Quester.