Money $$$

[Spiritwind]

Money - by Pink Floyd
Money, get away
You get a good job with more pay and you're OK
Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

I haven’t written much in a long time, but this topic keeps coming up so I’ll see what I can do. We live in unprecedented times, in so many ways, but money has always been a hot topic. Those that have it, those that don’t, and those that keep trying to squeeze more out of us in any way they can. It impacts every area of our lives in innumerable ways.

It’s interesting to think about. I have friends with a lot of money, and friends without hardly any. I have never been wealthy, money wise, in this lifetime, but have had times of plenty, and some pretty lean times in there as well. Even though I came from a family that were fairly well off, it was kind of an ass kissing situation, where if you weren’t giving away your sense of self to be included in the inner circle, you were nothing and had to fend for yourself.

I’ve also read a book called The Mountain of Names: A History of the Human Family by Alex Shoumatoff. He talks about inheritance, and how at one time it was customary for those who had wealth in European countries and elsewhere to give everything to the firstborn son, and basically nothing to the rest. They had big families back then, so that is why so many of us descendants can trace our lineage back to these families. When you start really researching this topic you begin to realize just how interrelated we all are.

What really prompts me to write about this now, though, is the fact that the squeeze has become much more intense for some, for reasons that have little to nothing to do with their desire to find paying work, or with their skills and abilities. It’s like a game of musical chairs, where every time the music stops, there are fewer chairs to go around. This is by design. The upper middle class and outright wealthy generally do not even feel the crunch, and in fact some are getting wealthier, while more and more are driven into poverty.

I just read the following this morning from a telegram chat I am on that illustrates quite well where this is all heading, if the self appointed controllers (yes, it’s that small group of families that own all the big banks in the world and print money at will) have their way. “Chinese digital wallet Alipay requires its users to have a social credit score of 550 or above, in order to get toilet paper.” So, to wipe your bum, you best be a good little slave. And they don’t make Sears catalogues anymore….

There are so many directions I can go with this, but mainly I want to talk about how, first of all, having money does not guarantee happiness and well being, and there are ways to wean yourself off of the heavy indoctrination and programming that tells us otherwise. I can’t tell you how many business men and women I have personally known (and even worked for), who often consider themselves upstanding citizens, maybe even go to church on Sunday, yet engage in shady business practices. They’ll say, “it’s only business”, as if anything goes when it comes to making a profit, no matter who it hurts. We often put those who are disgustingly wealthy up on a pedestal, while looking down our nose at those who “live below the poverty line”, and especially at the homeless. Whether we realize it or not, many have made money their god. They worship it, and have made it the focus of their lives. They are often never satisfied, as if they will get some kind of prize at the end of their life for having more than most everyone else. I hate to break it to you, but you can’t take any of it with you. And it isn’t what matters most in life.

One other thing I want to mention is my observation that those who are wealthy tend to have a false sense of security, and it keeps them from fully realizing the peril that is looming on the horizon for us all. There is a plot against humanity, and all life really. It seems to be insatiable, this thirst for total control. I have had many struggles over this very topic, and in the end it seems to be a spiritual battle for our very souls. I have had to surrender, surrender to the fact that I am not in control of what drives the machinery, and that there is a higher power that wants us to discover the way out.

You see, my husband and I now live in an RV out on a rural piece of property that was completely raw land 8 years ago, in an off grid environment using a generator and solar for power. Like many, when the plandemic hit in 2020, our lives were affected by the fallout. It wasn’t until fall of 2022 that my husband lost his good paying job. No matter what dribble you hear out of the mouths of politicians, the economy has been taking hit after hit. The inflation is through the roof and there is no end in sight. We often think that these are just random downturns in the economy, with such things as the depression in the 30’s, and the housing market crash in 2008, just to mention a couple. But these things are not random. They are planned. I could expand on how I know this is so, but that’s for another post.

It’s been hard on my husband, because he has always made good money, to suddenly not be able to just work harder to make more. It always worked before, but at 78 he’s finding that solution is no longer viable. I, too, have found I can’t just go out to get a job to alleviate financial stress. Then we have our neighbors out here, and many others I know, who can’t even imagine what life might be like if they suddenly woke up one day, and their savings went poof, or their good paying job just disappeared, or even folks out here last year when their homes burnt down and found their insurance won’t cover the cost to rebuild. What would it feel like to go put your credit or debit card in to pay for gas or groceries, and it gets declined. Or how about those who rely on Social Security benefits? We assume it will always be there. But will it?

The thing about money, and one’s earning capacity (and I’m not talking about those who are so rich they don’t have to work so they work at trying to play god), is the feelings of self worth associated with it. It’s easy to think you must be doing something wrong, or are somehow not worthy enough if you encounter financial hardship (like maybe you deserve it somehow). Take the caste system in India, just for an example. If you are born into a lower caste, that’s just your lot in life, and you should just accept it and acquiesce, as if you somehow have to earn the right to be affluent. And the condescending attitudes of those who have wealth is enough to make me want to vomit. But then, like I said, my family had money and the only ones who benefitted were those who were likewise narcissistic, greedy, and fake as hell. They would act like they care, but in reality they did not. If you weren’t like them, then you weren’t in the club. Yes, I’ve had an attitude and noticed the disparity since I was about 4 years old.

Now, since they have stepped up the onslaught against humanity, and are actively trying to cull the population of “useless eaters”, it’s paramount that we understand what we are up against. And to me, the answer is spiritual. I am intimately aware of the problems that come with financial struggle, having had children with very dysfunctional men (yes, I am continuously working on my own stuff even now). I ended up with two young boys in my 20’s and then into my 30’s when my daughter came along. I worked nights, holidays, and weekends for minimum wage just trying to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. Strangely, I have no regrets, and it turns out it was good training to get me where I am now. I used to freak out when bills would come due and I didn’t know how I was going to pay them. It still isn’t easy, but way better than it was back then.

You see, the biggest difference is two fold. One, I learned that sometimes I need to ask for help. Mostly not from people, but from God (which goes by many names, but I’m referring the the truly all encompassing Big Kahuna that gave us the spark of life and awareness). I can tell many stories of how, when I hit those proverbial brick walls, I would finally admit I was powerless, seemingly had no solutions. When I did this, time and time again, I would either think of a solution I hadn’t thought of before, or one would literally fall in my lap. This has happened so many times in my life. The right job would suddenly materialize, someone out of the blue would offer help, or something along those lines.

And the funny thing is, I learned to ask myself a few questions in my hours of need. Am I dying? Do I have a roof over my head, food to eat, and my health? Is it truly an emergency? Generally the answer was no, although health issues can make you shake in your shoes. I’ve lived in beautiful homes, and I’ve even stayed temporarily in a tent on friends property. I’ve never truly been homeless, thankfully. Even then, I believe I now have the skills and fortitude to find a way out. Out of all this I have become extremely solution oriented. People will say, “you can’t do that”, and I say “watch me!”. Even when I myself think something is insurmountable, I find that there has always been a way out. I start looking around, reassessing what I have and what I can use to solve problems that come my way. I have found, over and over again, that true happiness comes from inside, no matter how much money I do or don’t have. I sing uplifting songs in my head, or even out loud. I find time to be around other solution oriented people, and ideas come forward I hadn’t even thought of before. There is a creative wellspring to be discovered, when one starts to wean themselves away from the concept of money solving all our problems.

My neighbor up the road is a good example. He’s lived on a shoestring for most of his adult life. He wanted rock to fix the access road that goes up through our property and his. Lo and behold, he dug down in a certain spot and found he could dig up the decomposing granite we have in our area and use it to fix the road. It didn’t cost him a dime. And here, it would be so nice to just hire someone to come and help with different things, but I currently don’t have cash to pay them. But I’ve traded my cheese I make from the goats milk for all kinds of things. This spring, because of my consistent involvement in our Freedom Exchange market I was able to organize a work party to pull downed limbs and brush out of our surrounding area to burn in a bonfire. I had 14 people show up and they all worked for a couple hours and did an amazing job. We had a great time all working together, building a stronger sense of community in the process, and had fun eating the pizzas I bought for everyone afterwards. It was very inspiring that it was so successful. And people are starting to catch on.

So, I know I am on the right track. It’s true, if things go really haywire, which they might for a time in the not too distant future, and we had to live without money at all, or very little of it, we would survive. It wouldn’t be easy, but we’ve spent these last few years acquiring skills, skills money definitely can’t buy. In fact, it’s almost a requirement to go through a period of financial hardship to acquire these skills. The other thing I’ve found, is that instead of worrying, feeling sorry for myself, or even blaming circumstances beyond my control, it’s always helped to find ways to reach out and engage in activities that benefit others, without expecting anything in return. If you don’t have money, you can be generous with your time. There are so many ways to do this. Sometimes it’s being there for someone going through a hard time, just being that non-judgmental listening ear. Showing up for life and caring for others is always uplifting, and win win for everyone. It can be helping someone move, or helping with a project someone is struggling with. You can volunteer at a food kitchen for the homeless, or visit a nursing home and just talk to people. I went and milked someone’s goats for them for a few days a few years ago, who was overwhelmed with life and needed to get away. I’ve went and helped someone recovering from some serious health problems with her home based business just to let her know someone noticed, someone cared. Helping with someone’s garden is another. There are many more examples, but I think you get the idea. Strong, healthy, balanced, loving communities don’t just happen. It takes involvement, commitment, and in the end is an act of self love. As much as we have been socialized to be rugged individualists, the time is here when that isn’t going to work so well. We’re going to have to work together, and there’s no better time to start than now. The antidote to our crumbling societies is in our hands. It’s time to be the gardeners and creators we were meant to be.

In closing, I will leave you with these bible passages:

Matthew 19:23-26
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.