Money Is A Great Servant, But A Bad Master
Francis Bacon
I came across this quote I hadn't heard before and quite like it, as it sums up how I see money very succinctly - it is a tool to use, not an endgoal.
Yet, it is very easy to be consumed by the attainment of the tool - filling up the toolbox but not necessarily having much to work on. By doing this, the goal of life becomes building a great work shed, but not using it to produce anything of any real value, as money by itself is valueless, with the only value it holds being what can be accomplished by using it.
Of course, this is easier to say if someone has enough money - because if that is not the case, the attainment of it precedes the usage of it, unless like many people - they go into debt. And I think this is the other part the quote brought to mind, where when we make having money to spend our master, like a drug addict, we will get our hit at any cost - which is why debt is currently what makes the world go around.
Yeah, it isn't love.
I wonder if we stepped back and could objectively consider our lives, what would the hierarchy reveal - are we slave, or master in our relationship with money?
I think that most of us, have a pretty unhealthy relationship with money overall, despite what we might believe of ourselves. At least on average, most of us are in debt, we want more money but are unwilling to do what is required to get it, we are jealous of those who have more, we think that those who have more likely did something immoral to have it, while we will bend our own ethics to get more for ourselves.
Feel free to argue this :)
But, argue as you might, I am yet to meet anyone who has a healthy relationship with money, including those who go out of their way to actively avoid having it. The reason is that even when they think it doesn't affect them, they still hold negative attitudes of those who do have it, chase it or waste it.
But it is natural for us to have challenges dealing with money, as while it is a tool like a hammer, it is also far more versatile than a hammer and can be used in many ways, to do many things. And, because we have a society where the need for money is so ingrained into just about everything that is important to us (including loving relationships), like it or not, we have to deal with it.
Very, very, very few people are so far off the grid, they have no need for money of any kind at all and pretty much everyone has things on their "wish list" that are outside of their budget. Even if you are the richest person in the world, there is always something larger to buy.
But, perhaps we can learn to have a healthier relationship with money in general and learn to live with it in somewhat harmony. By the nature of how supply and demand works, we will always be chasing something, but I think that when we own part of and benefit from economic activity, instead of being just a consumer, we start to take some responsibility of our part in the relationship. Instead of being a slave to the master, we can at least perhaps become even partners, where we find an equilibrium point where we can feel the thrill of the chase, but temper it with the stability of investment.
I think that over the last few years I have been able to start changing my understanding of money and turning from master into a servant, but this is not concept alone. In order to actually learn, the knowledge has to be applied and behaviors need to change. Carrying a strong scarcity mindset from my past, this has been a challenge as it doesn't feel like "me" in some way - but, that raises the question of who we are when we are constantly becoming someone else, and therefore can wait for another post.
I don't know about you, but I feel that discussing these kinds of topics over the years has played a vital role in the evolution of my understanding of many things and I think I am better off for it. Hopefully, you are too.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
