Money consumes time and mental resources more often than
we would like because of the power and control the implied value of money
holds. Bloom says that if we take a hard look at the values and intentions for
why we need money, we will be able to resolve our personal financial conflicts.
He poses a several questions to consider:
- Where
are the opportunities to explore these deeply significant issues of money and
the modern mind?
- Why
does our culture hold such a long-standing taboo against money?
- What
will create the leverage for long-term transformation for individuals and for
culture?
To answer these questions, Bloom uses the example of
J.S.G. Boggs, a contemporary artist who drew a $20 bill on the back of a napkin
to present as payment for meals he’s eaten at restaurants. If the restaurant
accepts this “money” as a form of payment, he will record the date, time,
people involved, receipt, cost of transaction, and even ask for change. His art
exhibition later goes back to buy the $20 bill” for the gallery. Boggs' form of
payment shows how fictitious and perception-based our normal monetary value
system is. Money is what we make of it,
and if we are able to think outside the box and pay with something other than
the currency issued by the Federal Reserve, then we can solve many of our
financial issues.
Bloom also uses Brother Grimm’s fairytale “The
Grave-Mound,” where four characters represents a different archetype, to
examine the relationship of money, the need for it, and its uses. A poor
peasant begs a rich farmer for money to feed his starving children. The rich
farmer’s consciousness questions what choices he’s made with greed and generosity,
and give the peasant more food than needed on the condition that the peasant
watches over his grave for three nights after his death. A soldier voluntarily
joins the vigil on the third night and tricks the Devil who tries to use money
to bribe off the two so that he can take the farmer’s soul. At the end, the
Devil fails to take the farmer’s soul, the peasant turns greedy and wants to
split the money that was bribed, and the soldier reminded the peasant to be
humble by giving away his share so that they can live peacefully off what is
left.
All of us can identify with a single character in this
story, but at some point, we also identify with all characters. Simply said,
we can either let money control us, or control money ourselves and only use it
where it is needed or use it for the benefit of others. If we examine our inner
values, our relationship with money and what we use it for, we can free
ourselves from its control and the way it is used in our worlds.
I like the fairytale "The Grave-Mound." Money is a mean toward an end - to live in this world. However, we often identify money as the end and let money control us.
ReplyDeleteWow! Its amazing to me how the restaurant utilizes that source of money on a napkin. It really shows you that money is just a concept made my human beings as a source of payment. It all comes down to a benefit and what we use it for.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of money is really the only example I know that shows people around the world valuing something with really no intrinsic value. Our monetary system is based in faith. If only faith was used in all business practices.
ReplyDeleteThe 20 dollar bill on the napkin really goes to show how worthless money is beyond the value that society puts on it. The value of all forms of currency lies in the idea of worth that humans internalize.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the other comments about the $20. Essentially, the bills that we have are just paper. They only mean something because our society has taught us to value it.
ReplyDeleteMoney is just paper. It is an illusion of value backed by the government.
ReplyDeleteMoney can be either something powerful used for good or evil-it just depends on who is in possession of it.
ReplyDeleteBloom seems to really harp on the fact that money is really a system of agreement--the same ideas were presented in my chapter only with virtual currency!
ReplyDelete