Does money have “value” in itself? If it does, what is it? Better, “how much” is it? Idle questions, you might say. We all know what we can buy with ten riyals or with ten dollars or ten euros. I agree on that. But ... do we really “know”? As I, in a previous article, suggested that we know what time is but we cannot really experience it, I am suggesting here that, although we are aware of what money is, i.e. a means of exchange through which you get a “thing” or a service, I am not too sure that everybody acknowledges its actual “value.” What you are certainly familiar with is the idea that money allows you to buy things, the things you want such as a house, a car, clothes, jewelry ... It also allows you to do the things you want to do, such as traveling, entertaining yourself, cultivating a sport or a hobby ... So far so good.
At this point I ask you: How much money do you need to satisfy such desires? You might feel contented with, let’s say, 1,000 (whatever). You may have frugal tastes, you may not need surplus, a little over the bare necessities is enough for you. You may enjoy living in a small comfortable home, you might like eating tuna and, occasionally, salmon. You go on holiday to reasonably good resorts, stay in a three or four-star hotels. On the other hand, your friend may prefer to live in a large villa, eat caviar, travel first class and stay only at the “Fours Seasons.” So, he or she needs, let’s say, 100,000 (whatever). Fine. Someone else wants to live in a palace, eat...(what?), travel on their private jet and only go to the most exclusive holiday resorts. They need 1,000,000 (whatever). Fine. No problem accepting the fact that people are different, therefore they may wish for different lifestyles.
But ... after that? When an individual has their most expensive wishes satisfied, what do they need “more” money for? Adding millions to millions, even billions to billions ... Will this improve the quality of their lives? Will they be happier? These are the questions that puzzle me. Seeing how so many people literally struggle to earn more money and property, to relentlessly increase their income, to save more, to gain and to hoard, I can’t help wondering, “Why?” What is the spring that compels them to want more and more? It may be the need to fill an inner void, to overcome an inferiority complex, a desire of revenge toward deprivations previously suffered. It may also be a simple desire for “power.” Many have the erroneous belief that money gives them power. Power over what? Over other people because, when you have a huge bank account, you can order them around? And then? Does ordering other people around make you a better, smarter individual? If you have been conditioned to believe that the more you amass, the greater your value is, you certainly give money a miraculous property that it does not have. If this is your case, you are deceiving yourself. Money may put a human being on a pedestal, where he or she receives admiration and praise. But its base is made of clay. Something happens to the money? The pedestal collapses.
Only the true nature of an individual can confer him or her the status that makes them worth of true, well-deserved admiration. The one who is incensed “only” for the money owned, has very little to be proud of. Extreme wealth is like a coat that can fall off your body any time. What is truly important is the human being underneath. Besides, when you have worked and strived all your life to “accumulate,” often neglecting other important priorities such as family, rest, enjoyment, what happens to all you have hoarded when you pass away? Do you leave it to your heirs? Can someone believe that struggling for money (overlooking love, caring, availability etc.) in order to leave a “treasure” is a worthwhile endeavor? Anyone whose ultimate goal is to amass a fortune cannot live a “normal” life, also dedicating an acceptable amount of time to more uplifting activities. The result? An unconsciously sad, probably selfish, certainly unfulfilled life. No matter the size of their bank account.
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