Money

For most of us money is something that there’s never enough of, is hard to get and even harder to keep. I know that I grew up the eldest of five children in a family that, particularly while I was a young child, was struggling to make ends meet. I remember being only one of two children in my year in primary school that couldn’t go on the school camp because we couldn’t afford it.  I remember not being able to have the clothes and other things I longed for because ‘Money didn’t grow on trees!’. Boy, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that growing up, I’d have been rich! I grew up in a family that originated from quite poor areas in Scotland and where folks for the most part probably didn’t really expect any more from life. My parents and I migrated to New Zealand for a better life I guess, but the goals were not high – own a home and car, have food on the table and keep the wolves from the door was about it as it still is with most people if the truth be told.

When we grow up in poor, or middle class families we are usually taught, even if it is not a concious teaching, that that is where we belong and to expect any better is to be a dreamer, so don’t even bother. I know that I have grown up believing that ‘rich people’ were somehow better, different and luckier than us.

Luck – now that is a subject all on it’s own – whether it is something that ‘happens to us’ or whether it is something we create. (I used to believe the former, now I know different but that will be discussed on another page).  I know that many of us believe that those who are wealthy, have either come into possession of their wealth due to luck or due to ‘ripping others off’ in some way.

Because we grow up being led to believe that we can not have wealth, that we do not deserve wealth, that it is too difficult to achieve wealth, that we would lose our friends if we were to become wealthy and other such lies, we make excuses for not pursuing it or even daring to believe that we could really be wealthy.

‘Money doesn’t make you happy!’

‘Money can’t buy love!’

‘I wouldn’t want to be rich, I’d just like to have enough that I could…….(whatever)’

Sound familiar? We say these things because we don’t believe we can have it, and so make ourselves feel better with these and other excuses. By being proud to be a ‘battler’ and fitting in with the masses.

The trouble with this is that without money, we can NEVER be all that we are supposed to be or all that we could be in this life. Without money we can’tt help others the way that most of us would love to be able to help.

If we look at ourselves and those underlying dreams and aspirations (often tucked away in the recesses of our minds where we don’t have to look at them), we all have things or had things (as a child or young person) that we would love to do or be. Money, or lack of, is the number one thing that stops most people from achieving those things they would love to do, be or have.

If we look at the things we would love to be able to do for our children, our families, our friends, what usually prevents these things from being possible is lack of money.

If money wasn’t an issue – at all – ever – what your life look like? Would you be living where you are now? Working where you are now? Would you go on trips overseas? Where? For how long? If money wasn’t an issue, you could go on a permanent trip – live some of the year here, some there, follow the weather. Visit your friends and family whenever you want. Take them away on vacations. Help people you want to help or charities that matter to you. You could show others how to live like you do. If you wanted to learn to paint, or play an instrument, or do yoga, or meditate, or dance, or fly a plane, or go in to space with Richard Branson – you could and you would have the time and the resources to become as good at whatever you love to do as you would like to.

You would be spending your life as we are supposed to.

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Filed under: Thoughts About Life

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