I wonder at the madness with which people chase money & in some cases all their lives. No matter how many zeroes they add, it never seems to be enough. It’s not enough because every zero that we add to the number 1 represents a new possibility that defines freedom to the next level. The irony however is what sets us free keeps us hooked all the time. You can love me. You can hate me. But you can’t ignore me. Yours unfaithfully MONEY
But is it justified to blame the money which technically is not more than just a piece of paper? Yes, it can do wonders for us only if we need it to. That need is simply defined by us. I might just need a pot of coffee, a balanced diet for lunch & maybe a glass of wine in a house with a window overlooking a mountain. Oh! I forgot the fresh drinking water, electricity, house rent, a table on which I could keep my laptop on which I’m currently working. Oh, shit….there is more to the list! What about my clothes, a car to drive around, some cash to go on dates, buy a bottle of scotch for a friend whose birthday I’m visiting. Oh my god, I completely forgot the travel I need to make at my home town to visit my parents as they are getting old. This loop can just be unending. So the truth is not about how much is enough but in defining what is enough. I might require money to buy stuff that I don’t need but make me feel complete. The beauty industry is a testament to that. In the same breath, co-exists a possibility that I might just decide to skip the need for actual money & surrender to life for taking care of itself like “Saddhu” you find on the banks of Ganga river in Varanasi India. So in a way money in itself doesn’t have any meaning unless we put one to it. This meaning comes from our understanding of self & therefore the needs associated with it.
Money shows who you are at the core!
The current difficult times are looming large with the ongoing pandemic situation in the world. With the announcement of complete lockdown, I decided to move to my hometown with a bag having some of my basic clothing & personal care kit. Never did I realize that I won’t be able to get back to the city where I work for the next 4 months as of today while I am writing this piece. This situation has changed the way I look at myself. My rented apartment had all the stuff I “thought” I needed however I lived happily for the next 4 months without feeling the pain of missing anything even once. Just to put things in perspective, I could manage without my shoe range (boots/sneakers/slip-on/ sandals/black & brown leather shoes) & managed with just a pair of loafer’s leftover at my parents place a long time back by my brother. It taught me that I am a minimalist & introvert soul who is trying too hard in the external world to show otherwise with mindless consumerism of things, people & social masks.
Money makes societies inclusive or exclusive.
On a laidback trip to Vienna, I was taken by surprise on my 2nd day. I checked into a boutique hotel which was sort of a bungalow in a quiet hilly town on the outskirts of the city. We were too tired after waking up early to leave for this place & had 3 big bags of luggage along with my ex & sister. I pre-booked a room with a view of the mountain on the 1st floor. Little did I know that there was just 1 person to help in the hotel who was supposed to leave sharp at 6 PM. After the checking-in, we asked for help to take the luggage up to our floor. This help duly came & said, “Sir, I am afraid that I might not be able to help you today as my working hours are over”. Before I could say anything, he swiftly moved towards his car & left the hotel. We finally ordered a cup of tea, gathered the courage & took our sweet time to move the luggage in our rooms. It taught me that personal lives are important irrespective of which financial strata of the society you belong to. Since money distribution is quite even in Europe so the quality of life for the lowest denominator is also considered very well.
On the contrary to this worldview, there exists countries where the gap between rich & poor is shockingly huge & so is the odd money distribution. The rich people do not perceive money as means anymore but a power associated with an exclusive club of millionaires or billionaires. It’s a symbol that they have arrived which brings an invisible right that the best life must belong to them only. This manifests with sea-facing mansions, luxurious yachts, personal chartered flights, or expensive cars to name a few. And on the same land lies a huge population of people who lives in slums housing 4-10 people in a single room of about 100-120 Sqft. There are no separate toilets. They have to go out, stand in queues to finish their business in public washrooms. They work in the most unhygienic conditions & mostly are daily wagers. The concept of personal life doesn’t seem to exist here; yes maybe the idea of the same is more than enough.
Money comes to those who never chase it
Money making is a journey where the destination is insignificant & intentions of what you create as a value proposition is all that matters.
“If you make meaning, you’ll make money” – Guy Kawasaki
We make this meaning by being useful to a certain audience and can happen in many ways like inspiring, entertaining, informing, or making someone’s life simply better. The media mogul Oprah Winfrey agreed at an event that the reason for her financial success is that her focus was never on the money. She brought the most inspiring stories on her show in the most entertaining & intriguing ways for her audience & nothing else mattered. This simple insight could make her $4billion net-worth women featuring in an exclusive list of the world’s richest 500 people on earth.
Conclusion
Money can make your life look like an amazing dream or an existential hell. It’s that oil which makes different parts of a system work together as a flawless machine & yet has the power to jam it as we can see in world markets today. It cannot define us but certainly impact us. So for me, is it necessary? The answer is yes. Is it most important? The answer probably is no. The real problem lies when money becomes a habit & it begins to define us. Alternatively, we may have a lot of money while we experience our best life yet not be attached to it at all. It is this freedom that’s brilliant.
