For too long we have been held captive in our thoughts and lives by the object we call money. We have unduly allowed ourselves be subject to inhumane conditions, commit despicable crimes, silenced our consciences even in the face of the unthinkable sins against humanity and God; and what for? An inanimate object called money.
Money has lost its primary utilitarian purpose which it was meant for; the exchange of goods and services. These days we strive for it even at the exchange of our joys and the loss of our souls; it is a cause for great sadness. This delusion on humanity has for too long been fuelled by the media industry. The movies we watch, the songs we listen to are all hyped and ultimately leading towards the same message that money answers all problems or that more is better.
Like my friend Ovie Osah comments, “People who look at the youths today and wonder where the younger generation is headed would do well to consider where it came from”. We grew up with a wrong perception on money and societal values and like the saying goes, old habits die hard. I grew up listening to ABBA singing “Money, Money, Money”, and even now my niece listens to Jay-Zrapping about “On to the Next One”. So it’s ingrained into our subconscious and we strive day in, day out looking to make more money thinking that would lead to the happiness. I have nothing against money, but I’m writing to discuss an alternative view on the object called money and how we can use it to free ourselves and mould the world in the way that speaks to our very souls and affirms confidence in what we believe in.
We wrongly assume that he/she with more money has much more to offer. Also popular in present day society is the belief that more money equals more success; and closely followed along that school of thought is the myth that financial success brings happiness. But if you believe in this then you must also believe in Walt Disney’s fairy tales. If they hold any truth, please explain how and why a good number of suicide cases are amongst millionaires or billionaires who lost a couple of millions in the recession? And why celebrities like Alexander McQueen committed suicide? And also why Halle Berry, Britney Spears and Owen Wilson attempted suicide in the past? How would one explain away the great depression that surrounds other similar celebrities which is characterized by drug abuse, anger management lessons, nasty divorces, broken homes, and general sexual abuse that are associated by most influential families across the world?
Money is a tool; a means for the exchange of goods and services nothing more. It is not an aphrodisiac and so cannot make you happy neither is it an end in itself, merely a means to an end. You may have a billion dollars that you won at a lottery or inherited but without having a purpose to which you can meaningfully contribute towards society or commit yourself towards achieving your soul’s desire to playing a larger part in the community and world you live in, then I’m afraid your stashed away billions is nothing compared to the joy a community worker who prepares food for homeless folks each day. And you’re of little more value than the zeroes digits at the end of your bank statement literally speaking. Nelson Mandela succinctly puts the higher purpose of living when he said, “In judging our progress as individuals, we tend to concentrate on external factors such as one's social position, influence & popularity, wealth & standard of education. But internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing one's development as a human being, humility, purity, genorosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve your fellow men. Qualities within the reach of every human soul”.
We are all blessed in different ways, some with the talents of singing, dancing or acting while some others have an astute sense of intuition and yet others creativity. A fraction of us have been blessed with financial success. But just like the man with a great vocal range that ends up as a banker feels largely unfulfilled, and the actress that ends up working as an air-hostess would every morning have a pang of regret. So also is it when you have huge amounts of money and find yourself overwhelmed and burdened by it. Without making any meaningful contribution toward your soul’s higher purpose you will forever remain in chains of fear. Fear of being swindled or robbed or making risky investments or having fair-weather friends for company. Such is the power of money.
However the truth is simple; whatever we have in excess does have a negative impact. An abscess of blood in the body leads to clot. When you dam water, it turns stagnant. When you store up money in a bank with the ambition that it would give you happiness, you get nothing but endless worries in return. I speak from experience; I come from a fairly privileged background and know families that are publicly respected and even a constant icon of envy, struggle within themselves over money. It brings endless grief, mistrust and in some cases a bloody strife. Money without good works is dead.
Most successful partnerships in the world today are between people with a variety of gifts coming together to have a meaningful synergy. Just as music is a gift, money is a gift- nothing more. To have a successful recording label company, you can have all the money in the world but without one good musician and subsequent album sales, can a record label really be said to be successful?
What’s my point here? In the world today, we’ve limited ourselves in broad classifications of the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Those blessed with money listed as the haves, and those without money are generally looked down on as the “have-nots”. This is a blatant falsification of fact. We are all “haves”, albeit in different ways. The essence of life is in finding a meaningful way to use our gifts towards leaving the world a better place than we met it.
The legends and names of departed souls that we would forever remember are those who despite all odds, despite limited financial prosperity, made it their life’s duty to leave the world in a better place than they met it. Think of Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Pope John Paul II, Mohammed Ali, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton they contributed their gifts not money towards making the world a better place and their names would forever resound from generations to generations.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and other American billionaires who in recent news recently donated half of their fortunes have only just begun to understand the power behind the sort of collaboration we’re discussing here. So please stop the mindless competition and animosity amongst yourselves for money and start collaborating and establishing meaningful partnerships that would uplift our society in general and hopefully a good night rest.
Thank you for reading.
Ebuka Anichebe is a freelance writer, business consultant and an extraordinary motivational speaker.
Follow, befriend or stalk me at: http://ebukaanichebe.blogspot.com/
Write me at: ebuka@jeanpaulconsult.com
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