One Question to Realign Your Life

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Welcome to A Cultivated Life, a weekly newsletter where I explore my curiosity through philosophy, science, history & more to share insights and discoveries in the search for meaning and purpose in life.

Tom Felton was a megastar at a very young age. Right next to the likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.

Tom Felton played the character Draco Malfoy in the original adaptations of the Harry Potter films. Films that went on to gross nearly a billion dollars at the box office over 8 films and 10 years.

The young child actors had to balance the workings of the film industry, childhood stardom, growing up, and just being a kid. Needless to say, by the end of it, Tom Felton was a megastar. One of the most recognizable faces on the planet and wealthy beyond imagination.

As happens all too often, it wasn’t long before Tom was going down a bad path. Addicted to alcohol, Tom wasted away his days, his relationships, and his life drinking and avoiding confronting the deeper issues he was facing.

Eventually one day his loved ones approached him and checked him into a rehab facility. Early on during his stay at the rehab facility, Tom Felton ran away from rehab and was heading back to his favorite bar.

If it wasn’t for a chance encounter at a gas station on his way back to his favorite bar, he may have never re-checked himself into rehab and corrected the course of his life. It was this chance encounter that stood out to me most when reading his memoir, Beyond the Wand, and one that had a profound impact on turning his life around.

The man that Tom ran into at the grocery store gave him a small sum of money, a man of modest means, who didn’t have much to give. Yet he gave what he had in his wallet to the megastar that was Tom Felton.

After handing the money to Tom, this exchange happened:

There he was, Tom Felton, child star, rich beyond measure, an alcoholic, running away from a rehab facility and back to his favorite bar, confronting the question of whether he was a rich man.

No doubt he was materially wealthy.

He had it all: fame, wealth, status. But did he have anything at all? How is it that this lowly man at the gas station could possibly be wealthier than Tom Felton?

Real wealth is not in our things, our status, or our riches. Real wealth lies in the lives we lead. The relationships we develop. The loved ones that surround our tables at the end of our lives.

Tom realized at that moment how far astray he had gone. The money, the status, and fame don’t mean anything if you don’t have loved ones to share it with. It’s the people, and love that matters in the end.

There is a similar reflection from Morrie in the book Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom.

We must ask ourselves today, and each day of our lives. Are we rich?

Each morning as we roll out of bed and head to our jobs, with aspirations to make more money, are we rich?

For we can gain the whole world, yet have nothing at all. We lose sight of our souls in search of something more.

Are you a rich man or woman?

We must lead soulfully rich lives, and abandon the pursuit of material wealth. In the end, it means nothing. All that matters is that we are surrounded by loving and caring souls.

In Case You Missed It:

​Last week's newsletter explored the half-known life and the uncertainty we face in everyday life.

In a society focused on certainty and perfection, it is rather the acceptance and embracing of uncertainty and imperfection that leads to fulfillment. Refocusing our efforts on what we can control and acknowledging that the imperfect and mundane make up the majority of our lives.

That's all for this week. Thank you for reading. I hope you have a great week.

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