Back to Basics: The love of money
Todd Osborn, Special to the Gazette
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Right after the bottom fell out of the market, I had a conversation with a local minister. Referring to the old adage he said, “Remember it’s not money, but it’s the love of money that’s the root of all evil.” I found myself pondering this expression for some time.
The first thing that comes to mind when considering the love of money is greed. Greed makes me think of the investment bankers who helped create huge appetites for their mortgage derivatives, the mortgage brokers who fulfilled the need for product, and of course the purveyors of Credit Default Swaps who magically pioneered a way to spread all this risk around. What we all know now was their greed was not good for us.
The less discernible side of the love of money is our attachment to it. Money definitely holds a position of prominence in our society. It seems to trump everything else in debates or discussions about matters of importance. When our personal portfolio values dropped because the markets fell, we naturally became obsessed and worried about it.
I was out in the Flint Hills one evening considering these matters when it occurred to me the natural world around us hadn’t changed at all. The financial morass we found ourselves in was just a man made phenomena. Our relationships with our friends and family hadn’t changed either, unless of course, we made it so because of our concerns about money.
Deepak Chopra recently wrote an article about how to be happy in a recession. He said it was human nature to contract with fear. “Fear deprives people of choice. Fear shrinks the world into isolated, defensive enclaves. Fear spirals out of control. Fear makes everyday life seem clouded over with danger.” Seem familiar?
He offers that we shouldn’t obsess anxiously over what we could lose. He then asks what makes for true personal happiness? “Relationship. Gratitude. Appreciation. Compassion. Mutual regard. Strong social connections. Love you can trust.” Unfortunately, he says it often takes a crisis to bring out those fundamental human qualities.
I have found my solution for changing perspectives can be as simple as getting outside either on a bike or through hiking. I think this works because I tend to replace whatever I was thinking about or dwelling on with something entirely different. Participating in such activities for me is a means of revitalizing myself.
Let me relate by example with a trip report from a recent backpacking venture I did with a group in the Ozarks:
“On the third day of our trip we found ourselves hiking most of the day in a nasty sleet storm. As we neared the eight-mile mark we were on the hunt for a good campsite. No one was looking forward to pitching their wet tents on the ice-covered ground. As the trail rounded a corner and hit the hollow, we discovered this incredibly perfect overhanging cliff, forming a cave complete with a fire pit, some stone benches and even a stash of dry firewood.
Everyone pulled up and dropped their packs. We then commenced to get in touch with our ancestral caveman survival instincts. Such things as building a big fire, drying out shoes, socks and all the wet gear we had accumulated, and hot meals. We each found plenty of dry ground under the overhang to stretch out our sleeping bags for the night. The warm fire was greatly appreciated by all.”
Do you think I was thinking about work when I was hiking in the sleet storm? Or was I worrying about my life savings when we all settled in at the cave? Doubtful. Such worries had obviously been replaced with new concerns.
I have found that trips in the wild can often lead to situations of adversity like the hike we did in the ice storm. The probability of our stumbling across the cave at the appropriate time of day was simply phenomenal. Such experiences help you find true appreciation for the simpler things in life and put complex worries like our financial concerns in perspective.
There are things in life that each of us enjoys doing. Hobbies we might have; be it gardening, golfing or fishing, these are the things we should be scheduling time for and pursuing. They help us get our minds off of things we tend to be preoccupied with, which in turn refreshes our focus and thus provide for our well being.
Todd Osborn is with Raymond James Financial Services in Emporia.
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I've been working to explain money to my not-quite-four year old son. I'm sure he has the concept that things cost money down. He asks how much stuff costs and I have given him choices between things that cost the same amount. I've also told him that the really important things don't cost money. Like hugs and kisses and friends and family. Sunshine and rainbows. I told him if we didn't have all this material stuff it wouldn't matter as long as we had each other. I hope to raise a person who's not so concerned by material possessions and values the important things in life. I think our society has become too materialistic in the last 20 years or so. We have an old farmhouse. It has 2 closets in the whole house, obviously new additions. People 80-100 years ago didn't have many clothes and a dresser was sufficient for their needs. I think we could learn something from our ancestors' way of life.
April 23, 2009 at 3:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )