Oh wow, considering what’s been going around in the world for the last year or so, I’d have thought someone on this portal would have written a review on MONEY! Imagine my surprise when I found out I was the first to pass this way!
Money… everyone is concerned with it, is it not?
Myths:
Money is evil - Like fire, money can destroy but it is not necessary the case if its use is directed in the right course.
Money is all encompassing - Money can buy plenty & cure a great many but it can’t buy love, hope or health.
Money buys forgiveness - Yes, we’ve seen the use of money diminishes one’s wrongdoings but we all know that it can’t diminish one’s guilt.
Realities:
The rich becomes richer - That’s how the system works. Knowing that, make it to your advantage.
No money, no talk – Even your kid won’t talk to you if you have no money for toys on Christmas day ;-)
Money makes the world goes around – That’s self explanatory, isn’t it?
Pros:
Money ‘buys’ respect. Hear me out before you shout your lungs through the roof! Yes, the earning of a living translates to respect. In that sense I mean.
Money grants one good service. I’m afraid the world now is filled with subpar services and we suffer as consumers. However, we also know that if you’re willing to pay, you’ll get the service you like & think you deserve. It’s not the way it should or ought to be, but hey, who says the world is fair? Grow up ;-) Life would be easier for you once you’ve accepted that!
Money is a great tool to have. Imagine, you can get the best doctors if you are diagnosed with some illnesses; you can check out the coolest hotspots around town, you can drive a sports car around, you can even learn how to play golf as well as Tiger Woods does! Isn’t that a marvelous tool to own?
Cons:
Money breeds jealousy & insecurities in others. Sometimes even in the family, or should I say especially within the family!
Money takes away your time. The more money you’ve, the less time you have.
Money requires management of it & that’s a big headache if you’re not a calculative (oops, that should probably read as mathematical ) person.
So, now that we’ve made a list, what’s my stand on money?
Verdict:
I like money. Money brings with it a sense of security and prosperity. Money buys happiness to some degree in that with money, you can bring your family to a nice restaurant, your friends to a great movie, your spouse to a high end & peaceful resort. If you are alone, you can cure boredom with it too. Without it or the lack of it, we sink to the bottom of society; we may even lose self-respect, we feel silly & useless and in the worse case, we simply vanish into thin air. Money is essential in our daily lives, we can’t live without it no matter how much we don’t like it or if we detest people with it. So, love money for what it is. It is a neutral object. What each and everyone of us prescribed the meaning to it is what determines if it’s used in the right way. Like fire, it brings warmth. Like fire, it might also bring destruction. But like fire, it is essential and worthy of our time and thoughts.
Ahhh, the beauty of having money… especially more than you need. He who has that has freedom in life!
Watch historian Professor Niall Ferguson the story of money & the rise of global finance in this documentary series from British broadcaster Channel 4 The Ascent of Money: Dreams of Avarice if you are interested in global perspective on Money. It's an interesting portrayal of money from it being a prescribed trust to that of portable power. Money as a matter of fact is of value only for what others are willing to pay for it.
It's hard to think about it as a neutral object though. All the points that you brought up above makes me think about all the different ways that money and wealth are handled and perceived in different cultures. Thanks for weighing in on this topic with this very thought-provoking review, Sharrie! :)