We are all worried about the economy and how it is affecting our lives. We worry about the loss of our jobs, of the declining value in any property or stocks we may own, and sometimes these financial and economic concerns overwhelm us and put a shadow over all the good that is happening in our lives.

Robert L. Leahy, a clinical professor of psychology at Weill-Cornel University Medical College, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, says we need to look at our lives in a different way and identify all the riches we have other than money.

”Your portfolio is not simply financial but a life portfolio,” he said in an interview for The New York Times (”Coping Skills and Horrible Imaginings” by Alina Tugend, January 3, 2009). Writes Ms. Tugend, ”Although it’s easy to nod and tune it out when you’re told that money isn’t everything, it helps to really focus on what is important in life besides making money, like your family relationships, friendships and your role in your community.”

Says Professor Leahy, ”You are not just a consumer product. It will sound corny to some people, but if your life portfolio is greater than your financial portfolio, then you’re diversified.”

So, take a look at your own life right now, and think about all the things that make life rich and wonderful for you, such as your friendships or relationships, and write about these things which give you pleasure and make you feel good about living. Please share the good in your lives with us. The things you write about will help the rest of us also focus on the good that is in our own lives.

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