People who don’t have money say, “We don’t need it”. People who have money say, “More money, more problems”. People who kinda have enough money sit around wondering if it’s enough. All of us say, “Money is just a means”. Well, there’s a lot said about money over the long course of history, so I’ll leave that to the pundits. For now, I submit the following as what money should do in order to be or do anything for me…
1. Bring in friends. You know the ones, Abe, Teddy, Ben. It should be a presidential gathering in my bank account. If only money were like bacteria.
2. Bring utility. Dollars should cover needs. A house over my head, cover for my bed, heat for my home and meat for my table.
3. Bring happiness. Hangouts with friends, travel with family, coffee over conversation, freedom from everydayness.
4. Bring help. Charity. The world needs help. Philanthropy by philosophy does nothing, only philanthropy by practicality.
5. Bring hope. Giving a little can mean a lot. Not only for them, but you.
6. Bring joy. (I know I said happiness already, but) Gifts to loved ones, family, and cherished friends. Giving gifts is one of the love languages, after all.
7. Bring power. There is a power that comes with money. The power to provide all of these things in the previous six, not only for yourself but, also for those you care about and even strangers.
Money should be used well. It’s only a representation of our capacity to do things with it. Hoarding, flaunting, evildoing, buying cat food for your hairless cats and affording sharks with lasers on them (ok, that was an odd place for an Austin Powers reference), or whatever is not the way. Conscientious living is purposeful living. We’re all human and we might take to greed on occasion, but that’s nature. Otherwise, striving for using money to do one of these seven things is a decent start.
(Did I miss anything? Seven seemed like a nice odd number to stop. Please feel free to comment, as always).
In Between Degrees 