Richer Than Kings

 (Shirt: Gentlemen of the Road, Mumford Concert Shirt, Skirt: Loft)

"We're richer than kings. We live better than William I, who conquered England a millennium ago but, for all his wealth and power, didn't have a flush toilet. An army of ruthless Normans and the blessing of Pope Alexander II? Yes, he had those things. Antibiotics and a riding mower? No. Although William was stupefyingly wealthy by the standards of his time and place, he seems starkly impoverished by the standards of outs. No blow-dryer, no iPad, no seedless grapes. How did he get by?"

(Owen, David. The Conundrum. New York: Penguin Group, 2011. Print.)

This quote totally blew me away. The standards we live with and expect are actually crazy by history's standards. And America's standards are much higher than most other countries in the world. It really makes you think about what you actually need, doesn't it?

Frightening.