These are my riches

"I think some people are really brave. Some people are cowards. Most of us sort of fit somewhere in between and I guess I just think of myself like that." Margaret Moth

Margaret Moth was New Zealand's first female camera operator, and went on to work for CNN. It was while on assignment in Sarajevo that she was shot in the jaw, seriously injured, but went on to recover and return.

I remember seeing a news segment on Margaret, not long after that happened, and something she said stayed with me. I was reminded of it when a friend of mine Ralph Brown, who had worked with Margaret when he was a journalist in Christchurch, spoke about resilience.

Ralph mentioned the interview, and now that I approach a birthday milestone this week, it feels particularly apt to share.

Margaret was talking about her choices in life, and about wealth. She said:

‘I’ve crossed the Sahara on a camel. I’ve been down the Amazon in a canoe and I’ve been shot in Sarajavo. Those are my riches.’

Sometimes it’s easy to focus in life on what you haven’t done when a significant birthday approaches – particularly those of us whose dreams were big and courage not inexhaustible.

If, like me, you haven’t ended up married with 2.4 children, have taken a non-traditional path through life, then it’s especially timely to remember the riches you can draw on. I know I am inspired every time I think of Margaret and her words.

What are your riches? Here are a few of mine:

• I’ve swum a mile in the open sea
• I’ve drunk raki fresh from the still
• I’ve stood on the stage at the Globe Theatre
• I’ve been on a sailing boat around Wellington Harbour
• I’ve walked through Genova’s narrow streets, and eaten pesto genovse, espresso and focaccia that was paper thin.
• I’ve walked alone in the bush
• I’ve spent 9 days without speaking
• I’ve held an audience in the palm of my hand
• I’ve seen the Southern Cross rise on the horizon on a night bus from Sydney to Melbourne
• I’ve held my sleeping baby niece in my shoulder on Christmas morning.
• I’ve danced a Tango to Death

Whether we have been brave, or cowardly, strong or week, or all of that in the course of a day, we each have our own riches to draw upon. They provide the stories which shape our lives, the stories we can share when we speak.

What are yours?

For more:
Ralph Brown's article on resilience
More about Margaret Moth. She now has terminal cancer, but many stories.

Edited: in an earlier edition of this post, I said I'd seen the original interview on 60 minutes, but it is more likely to have been the Holmes Show. Ralph also pointed out that he worked with Margaret in Christchurch, rather than Dunedin.
Edit: I wrote this post on 14 March, a few days before my 40th birthday. I heard today, 21 March that Margaret has now died of cancer, aged 59.
NZ PA quote "I would have liked to have gone out with a bit more flair but I feel I can die with dignity. I don't think it matters how long you live, so long as you can say: 'I've got everything out of life',"