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Sunday, 10 April 2011

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In praise of the people with limited money

"He is able, who thinks he is able. For, we are what we think. All that we are, arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world". - The Buddha

And, with our thoughts, we invented money.

It is said that money makes the world go round. That may be true for some persons. As for me, I do not know whether money makes the world go round. All I know is that money always goes round me and never stays with me. However, I believe, that the real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money. Yet, I realise that it is a kind of spiritual snobbery that makes people think that they can be happy without money. Money and happiness are two totally different things. Money does not assure happiness. But, it certainly can ease the burden of daily life.

As a teenaged student at Royal College, Colombo; whenever I passed the tuck shop and saw those mouth watering cheese cakes, I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am older, I know that it is. But, I also know that if you make money your god, it will plague you like the devil. Thus, the best way to lead one's life is to say that: the little money I have - that is my wealth; but the things I have for which I would not take money, that is my treasure. Surprisingly, people tend to be more careful with their money than with their principles.

I suppose it is the reflection of the era in which we live. Whatever it may be, people are inclined to think that money is the root of all evil, whereas I think that the lack of money is the root of all evil. Another amasing thing I discovered to my utter delight is that, if women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.

The evolution of the idea of money started with barter-like methods that may date back to at least 100,000 years ago, though there is no evidence of a society or economy that relied primarily on barter. Instead, non-monetary societies operated largely along the principles of gift economics.

When barter did occur, it was usually between either complete strangers or potential enemies.

However, when money is used to intermediate the exchange of goods and services, it is performing a function as a medium of exchange. Thus, money is any object or record, that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context.

The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally, a standard of deferred payment. Any kind of object or secure verifiable record that fulfils these functions can serve as money.

Even though money originated as commodity money, nearly all contemporary money systems are based on fiat money. Fiat money is without intrinsic use value as a physical commodity, and derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private".Money and the use of money being thus; let us now dwell on the impact money has on humans. We hardly realise that money is the creation of man. Instead, we run behind it as though it fell out of heaven and as if we have never seen it before. Money, in spite of what those who possess an excess of it think, has no master and does not make a master of you.

It will go with whomsoever it fancies. It is here today, gone tomorrow. It is responsible for most of the ill in society. It is as impermanent an entity as any on this universe. Yet, most of mankind value it more than values. Some value it more than their life.

We realise not, nor make an effort to understand, the purpose for which intelligent man invented it. Instead, we hanker after it and ruin our happiness over it.

It is true that money frees you from doing things you dislike. But, no matter how hard you hug your money, it never hugs back. In fact, waste your money and you're only out of money, but waste your time and you've lost a part of your life.

This planet has a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with and cantered around the movements of small coloured pieces of paper called money.

This is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small coloured pieces of paper that were unhappy. It were the people. Why on earth anyone thought that by manipulating the use of money, all sorrow can be wiped clean is beyond my intelligence. Hence, it is worth realising that no external entity is ever the cause of one's happiness or unhappiness. Money maybe the husk of many things but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; acquaintance, but not friends; servants, but not loyalty; days of joy, but not peace or happiness.

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy.

They who are of the opinion that money will do everything, may very well be suspected to do everything for money.

By definition, limited money can only achieve limited aims: it may help prevent gluttony, but will not solve the problem of malnutrition; a return to a more natural diet of home grown food may delay an onslaught of sickness, but not stop it. And yet acknowledging the limits of money power, without forswearing the right to use it, would be a first step toward restoring our faith in the power of the people with limited money.

It is the people with limited money who move the wheels of economy of a country. It is the people with limited money who mostly come forward to help the down trodden of our society. Those who travel by public transport; those who visit the open markets to buy their household food requirements; those who take their children to the park and beach; those who visit the cinemas for entertainment; those who come together with friends and their families to share a meal together; these are the people who constitute the bulk of the happy people in our society. And yet, they are all people with limited money. Despite their limitations of wealth, they are not only happy, they spread happiness.

In spite of bearing the unbearable burden of living, these people remain cheerful and contented. They are indeed the true children of this universe and they constitute the vast majority of our people in this country. Undoubtedly they have their worries and concerns. All the more reason, praise be unto them. They are the blessed. As such, they, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve our love and affection. Hence, I decided to write this piece "In Praise of The People with Limited Money".

They make the world go round. Their cheer, their charity, their toil, their love of one and all, their love of the simple things in life - all constitute to keep the earth spinning.

"...existence has become an unreasoning, wild dance around the golden calf, a mad worship of God Mammon. In that dance and in that worship man has sacrificed all his finer qualities of the heart and soul - kindness and justice, honour and manhood, compassion and sympathy with his fellowman". - Alexander Berkman. But not those with the power of limited money.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking, keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities. For views, reviews, encomiums and brick-bats: [email protected]

 

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