There is Only ONE Thing I can Tell You About Money!
"Money Makes the World Go Around..."
Money, money, money...
Whether we have lots of it, or none of it, or enough of it, or NOT enough of it, there's little doubt that most people spend an awful lot of time worrying about money.
Whether You Have it... or Not...
Japanese Maples in the fall sun
I've tried being extremely poor. I lived in my car for a while, and at one point I didn't even have a car and lived on a bench at a municipal golf course and earned money for food by pulling the aluminum cans from the garbage bins there and selling them to a metal recycler.
At the other end of the scale, I once bought a US $400,000 house with CASH, and still had money left over for remodeling and my daughter's college education.
I find myself writing these words because the first experience didn't make me feel power-LESS and the latter didn't make me feel power-FUL.
Fortunately, I have spent most of life between these extremes, which allowed me some deeper reflection on what it truly means to have "enough," and what money does, to our lives.
Worrying About Money is a Dead-End Trap!
Don't get me wrong-- I'll be the first to admit that money matters. It "matters" because it affords us the basic comforts of living, hardship when it is absent and often provides a "measuring stick" by which we can evaluate how we are doing in the world.
Forsythias in bloom
The problem, however, is that when you focus too much of your energy on money-- getting more, having enough, buying stuff, selling stuff-- it tends to strip you of the ability to focus on more important things in life. You start seeing everything around you in terms of money-- how much things cost, how much you can make...
And yes, most things in life are more important than money!
There's a popular bumper sticker out there that reads "The Best Things in Life Aren't THINGS!" and I find that to hold very true across a wide range of life's offerings.
Whether you are worried about a ZERO bank balance, or one with lots of digits, those numbers are unlikely to give your life deeper meaning. Ans there's a really good chance that spending too much time worrying about them will actually turn you into somewhat of an insufferable jerk. You know, that idiot who invariably turns every conversation onto their latest investment, and how they are going to get a Ferrari when it pays out?
Don't be that person!
And don't be "that person" who's having a personal financial crisis and meltdown every time their cell phone bill comes due.
Things that Matter...
The reason I ended writing this somewhat atypical (at least for me) post is that our kids came over from Seattle to spend Labor Day weekend with us.
Salvia in bloom
In spite of the fact that we're already dead broke from a month of birthdays (August is busy around here!), and in spite of the fact that we had other stuff planned.
Because hanging out with them matters.
As do lots of other things in life: pursuing our passions and interests; creating art; spending time with loved ones; reading books; creating something to better the world; cooking the best dinner, ever; visiting other places; listening to music; watching clouds drift by; restoring an old boat... that is where your deeper meaning life comes from.
Here's a functional afterthought for you: In my seven months on Steemit, I have never worried about money. All I have worried about is creating content I hoped other people would find interesting and participating in the community-- engaging with other content I felt added value. I let the money take care of itself.
Since it's all public information, you can look at my Wallet, if you're curious as to how that approach has worked out for me.
So here's my Labor Day Weekend Wisdom for you: The ONE thing I can tell you about money is that it is just not that important, in the greater scheme of things!
How about YOU? How "important" is money in your life? Do you spend a lot of time watching your wallet and bank balances? Too much, perhaps? Or do you see money more as a "tool" that helps us get more important things? Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20170904 16:17 PDT
Money i s a passion of mine. I have been studying it intensely for decades and have owned whole shelves of books on the topic, and studied monetary economics at university.
It is much more important then people think - but not for the reasons you think it is not important, I would hazard a guess.
Who gets to create, distribute, and destroy money, and how, is at the basis of how civilizations work. The ability to conduct war, for instance, is based on the ability to generate money. So if that power is in the hands of unscrupulous, vain and arrogant psychopaths , as it seems to have been for quite a long time, then there will naturally be endless war - in fact, a whole economy based on war.
Money is VERY IMPORTANT.
@onceuponatime, it would seem to me that money carries importance on a lot of different levels, from the individual to the "global." In this instance, I was mostly looking at how money interacts with us at the individual level... and how some seem to sacrifice what actually makes them feel content, happy and accomplished by pursuing money, almost like it were a "God like" commodity.
Based on your study and interest in the topic, I'd defer to your expertise in terms of what money "is;" speaking from individual experience, I can share that in my younger days I was more of an "insufferable jackass" because I was more inclined to pursue money as a "thing" that was an end... as opposed to now, where I am more likely to pursue things I feel passionate about, where money comes as more of a consequence of that pursuit.
On the larger scale, one of the things that made me interested in cryptos was this idea that perhaps it would be possible to shift the center of influence away from the corrupt war mongers towards something more... idealistic and equitable that might involve versions of lasting peace and prosperity. Maybe not in our lifetimes... but somewhere (decades? Centuries?) down the road.
I was once shocked to hear my dad say: "Money isn't real." during a finance conversation. I guess he's more hip than I thought? We had a good talk about money being more of a concept/metaphor than a THING.
This idea goes farther than I thought... but you're right, and it's a classic mistake to focus too much on money. Ironically, when we focus on being our best selves and doing good for others, that can lead to great paydays.
Agreed, Matt... for me, it's the question of whether the money "leads" (we pursue IT as the end) or the money "follows" (as in, we get involved in our passions, and that "great payday" follows simply as a consequence.
you talk about material goods, not about money. money is just means to get to desired material goods. means of transaction.
these words of wisdom about how people spend to much time worrying about money gets ridiculous, if you understand, how nobody even knows WHAT money really is, why people invented and used it and how noone ever even cares. We should spend much more time worrying about money, but not about getting cash or having a car, but about the core function and history of money. now that would be something. and that woould be ENLIGHTENING and emPOWERing.
From where I am sitting, money is merely "a temporary store of value" that makes it possible for me to trade the apples from my trees when they are ready for someone's help painting my house... *when I need my house painted."
For that matter, money can be gold, cowrie shells, walnuts or something else... as long as a sufficient group of people agree that it's the basis for trading. When I was a kid, we lived in Kenya for a while, where some tribal trade was still done in cowries, and in Murano glass "trade beads." That was also "money," at least to those doing the trading.
I used to be far more "obsessed" with money-- as a "thing;" as a "number" when I was in my 20's and somewhat 30's. Now-- at 57-- there's not much I "need" nor really much I feel compelled to "prove" to anyone.
Money can be very fun to manage. As a management game, it never stops. You never win or lose the game, you simply play. To not play or to rely on someone to play on your behalf is everyone's choice. To "love" money exposes you to many forms of evil.
I'm quite content with money when it is simply a "tool for exchange." But people tend to go overboard in their pursuit of money... when someone hoards thousands of newspapers, we call them a "hoarder" and declare it a psychological condition. When someone "hoards" money (well beyond what any person can need) we call it "success." I can't get that to work... there has to be a healthy balance.
I have been both on top and scraping the bottom in this lifetime. Money matters to me at the moment because I don't have that much of it and will have to reinvent myself to find more.
Otherwise, I can't stand money. It corrupts all of those that have control of it and the reason that we can't have nice things. Money perverts so many that it touches.
Yes one could say that money is the evil of all things, but I would rather say, the evil is that someone or somehow we were persuaded to believe in such nonsentical "created out of the blue concept" and to get out of it will only happen by our noncompliance
Well, I have come to see that it is not money that is the root of all evil, but the LOVE of money... which leads to greed, which leads to bad behavior. Money itself is merely a tool for exchange.
Money itself is not evil, but man is inherently weak and is easily corrupted.
I agree, it is only a temporary store of wealth and a tool for exchange. Everything has a value, without a stable mechanism of exchange, it would be difficult to find price discovery.
Couldn't have said it better myself... CHEERS!
Thank you!
Money beautiful word once we understand it. We all create services, but it's our choice of how many of it and how good our services will be.
Nothing wrong with money, when we understand that it is merely a "temporary store of value."
Money is just a tool, use it as one.
Indeed, it is a tool... a "temporary store of value."
Upvoted and also resteemed!
Thank you-- appreciate the support.
My comment was turning into a blog post, so I'm going to do that with it. That said, money isn't everything, but it helps. I would love to travel and see more of the world, but being poor prevents that. To me, money only means something because someone says it does. I can do a lot of great things for free. I really enjoy playing disc golf. I get exercise, sunshine, social interaction, and time with the trees. The great big little things make my world go round.
Thanks for writing and for getting the conversation started.
See you next time!
Mo