Money
There are quite a lot of definitions of the word ‘money’. The generally accepted one is: ‘Money is a good* that acts as a medium of exchange in transactions’. Let’s try to think what money really means in our life.
If we take a closer look at the word itself, we will find out that it is uncountable in the English language. And every language is a clever system based on special principles and experience of generations. We cannot count money itself, we can just count currencies (dollar, euro, rouble etc.) or coins. And this seems to be reasonable.
Of course it is necessary to keep the books of income and expenditure in order to know what you get for your work and what is left as savings. But taking money as the primary goal in life is fallacious. I suppose no one will argue with the fact that one can’t buy everything. Money cannot buy:
•lost time
•happiness
•love
•health
•success
•talent
•peace
So money is only a means to reach higher goals and it demands special care. The more money someone has the greater amount of temptations he is liable to. It would be interesting to take a look at what is going on in the head of a millionaire. Is money the only care of his? I believe big money brings big problems, as it begins to control its owner.
The fear to lose all the property is probably the worst thing one can think of. Though striving for money and material values seem to be an inalienable quality of people over the whole history of the humankind. The problem of the rich and the poor is still one of the most acute ones in the world, and no one has ever invented a way to solve it. Some countries take steps to build the society of equality. Sweden is one of them. But I do not think it will be possible, until the majority realizes what values are eternal and what are transient. Big money is practically always made at somebody’s cost.
If I were a millionaire, I would spend a considerable part of it on charity (maybe even half of it). You may say that if I had a lot of money I would be a different person. No I wouldn’t. Because when people are aware of such thoughts, nothing can make them change. I live according to the principle: ‘One should give more than he gets’. Living for people around and not for money or for yourself is really important. And I am perfectly sure that if one lives honestly, Life itself is sure to reward him sooner or later, and he will get everything that he needs, including money.
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*generally it is used in the plural: goods
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