Make$ The World Go Round

            If money didn’t make the world go round, I would spin it in a completely different way. People would trade more, and there would be no need to cheat. My life would require less planning and more happening. I would read and learn as much as I can about foreign environments. However, there is only so much knowledge you can attain from reading. I would begin doing. Packing just enough to get by, I would begin my journey to discover the land for myself. The whole experience would be a valuable lesson to store away for my future endeavors. The adventures would never end and the fresh air would never cease. From trails to mountains to sandstone rock, the places I would visit contain no sidewalks. The people are free and immediate family, offering dinner and a spot around their campfire. No fear of danger or predators lurking, if only other souls could be trusted. Never being tricked or snaked out of a deal, these things would never clutter my mind. Stress wouldn’t zip around my spine like squirrels chasing one another up a tree. Doesn’t it sound so peaceful? 

            This is my challenge to myself. Money does make the world go round. It is the source of motivation for the business sector. It feeds families and makes dream trips to Hawaii possible. It makes a great gift when you know not what to give. It is universal and can be converted. Money is printed, traded, bought, sold, invested in stock, and saved for later. Like a big game of monopoly, it goes on and on. Our economy is held in balance through the fluidity of cash flow. Surely I am not the first to discover these truths. I challenge myself to not lose sight of what my heart desires. Money can be distracting, for it is attractive. Money devours the time we have and provides luxuries. With those luxuries, we being to think we understand security. Only once we lose it all can we discover that money is no security at all. I want to discover the gravel on which I can balance these things. To be smart with finances, yet not lose sight of what really matters. Training my mind to be content, and this life to be enough. I need to daily remind myself of the good things that are happening. Sounds pretty cliché, but it’s completely accurate. When things seem to be going downhill, think of the accomplishments of getting up the hill.

            Overwhelmingly, this is more of a pledge to make a living but never quit living. That means, I can make money, have a good job, but not get wrapped up in it. You know when your wrapped up in money, because you become an individualist. The only things you want to do are things that get you ahead. I’ve learned through experiential education that life brings joy when it’s lived together. My pledge to keep working at the things I’m best at, to get better. Never settle for it. Zero in on living and not working to live. Shalom.