22 Apr Richness and Abundance

Once upon a time, a culture of abundance was created using the barter system.

Historians have traced examples back until 6000 BC, noting,

“…bartering was adopted by Phoenicians…Phoenicians bartered goods to those located in various other cities across oceans.”

Depiction of Scandinavian and Russian traders bartering their wares in 1555

Eventually, currency was born and evolved into many new forms.

An interesting point is that research proves money may not have been invented, but discovered accidentally.

“…historians believe metal objects were first used as money as early as 5000 B.C. Around 700 B.C., the Lydians became the first Western culture to invent coins.”

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Money is a major part of our lives and must be considered on many levels.

For example, personal, family, professional, spiritual, mental, and physical aspects of our lives could all affect how we perceive money.

We can all agree money is required in our lives in this day and age.

As Maslow would say, we have physiological needs such as food and shelter on the lower end of the spectrum.

Wikipedia supports Maslow’s claim by stating,

“Physiological needs are the physical requirements for human survival.”

Maslow’s hierachy of needs

Those needs must be met through hard work and generating a steady income for most of our lives.

What about our higher needs for joy or love? Can money buy them?

Some would argue money can indeed buy happiness or our higher needs.

John Rampton from entrepreneur.com argues that money can create certain stability and relieve anxiety once our salary gets to a certain level.

This of course assumes you have anxiety around your income, as some may have a different opinion or belief system.

Some would say money cannot buy more than our basic life needs.

Remember the saying, “the best things in life are free”?

This would argue that money can only get us so far in our search for our higher needs such as fulfillment or abundance.

This is not to say your food, home or car are going to fall out of the sky.

We have to pay for them and work hard, but you may notice in Bing Crosby’s song (below), many of the things that bring you great joy are indeed free.

Here’s an oldie but a goodie, with some good examples in the song from Bing!

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Then what are the best things in life for you?

What truly brings you a fulfilling abundant lifestyle?

Materials? Experiences? People? Religion? Volunteering? Solitude?

Whatever it is you enjoy, asking some tough but engaging questions is a good start to getting some answers.

Perhaps one way to live a more abundant life is by asking ourselves a simple question: am I happy?

Note: we are not referring to brief moments of happiness or excitement here; rather a deeper fulfillment.

Let’s talk about happiness for a moment.

Some say it’s a pipe dream or not realistic.

What is it?

What if you could hit the reset button in life and start over?

You can.

You can start taking steps to leading a more abundant life, fulfilling your much higher needs.

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It may turn out that money may not be required at all to be happy.

Take Thailand for example.

Despite a less than first world optimal economy, many people of Thailand live a rich life.

A close friend of mine, who spent most of his life in Canada, can attest to this.

His travels in Thailand brought him much joy as he experienced their way of life.

For example, few homes had locks on their doors where he lived. (he said it was a warm and trusting community)

Flooding would happen often, however, the people would simply clean it up and get on with their lives.

My friend told me the people had a happier, more abundant lifestyle than North American living.

Even regular mass flooding would not bring the Thai people’s spirits down.

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It might be hard for North Americans to understand this concept.

When I grew up in Ontario, Canada, I was bathing in material possessions as my family was fairly well-off.

We had everything we could ever want and this brought us many years of fun and excitement.

Certainly, some people in Thailand might be wealthy and have substantial wealth and material possessions as well.

The point is that there is a different way of life in Thailand.

People found joy and abundance simply with family, friends, a warm meal or taking a nice walk.

They didn’t have a lot so they were not attached to materials like us.

Of course, we could all take an exciting getaway to Thailand and have a blast, but that’s different.

Truly finding fulfillment means shifting the way we think and live.

Isn’t that something worth considering?

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Sources

• Barter System History: The Past and Present (History of Bartering), 2018 Intuit, Inc. [Online] Available: https://www.mint.com/barter-system-history-the-past-and-present [Accessed April 22 2018]
• Who Invented Money?, 2014–2018 National Center for Families Learning (Wonderopolis) [Online] Available: https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/who-invented-money [Accessed April 22 2018]
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Wikipedia (Hierarchy, Physiological Needs) [Online] Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs [Accessed April 22 2018]