A Druid perspective on money

[Celtaur]

I think it's important to exchange energy consciously and intentionally, and money is one powerful form of energy, it is currency after all. I always try my best to consider what my exchange is for anothers work. I don't download songs without paying for them, burn movies, download e-books, etc., unless they are offered by the author / producer or they are old enough to have enjoyed their fair share of payment for the work that has gone into them. I do borrow from the library, as part of a public service of education though, and when a book is useful, I often buy it as a form of repayment, but also, I often am late returning my books so give a fair bit of money to the library. I do consider it to be very important to give for what I receive.

In consideration of books or music for example, I consider the work others have done on a new book for readers to enjoy and gain benefit from. Although I could easily download a song online for free, I choose not to, but rather purchase the work. For a book it is much the same. I personally feel it is important to have a fair exchange of energy for the work an author has put into compiling, researching and writing the book along with all the other work that goes into creating a book, publishing it, etc., which assists and employs a fair number of people and effects many lives through families of those employed, etc.

I first came across the concept of money being considered in this fair and respectful manner when reading a book about druidry called "Walking the Mist" and it resonated as a great truth to me. Before this I still had firm beliefs in not stealing, etc., but hadn't considered so much my ability to affect the world through how I choose to direct my money.

Rather than buying from large chain stores that sell numerous products that are considered to be against my values, such as environmentally unfriendly chemical products, or child labour in third world countries, I choose to support smaller companies, and local companies that are more about providing specialized services and products that are guided by a passion for sharing what they have to offer rather than huge profit margins.

Money is energy, and through my choices, I, although in a small, yet impactful way, have the power to affect the lives of others and put my money towards things that I believe affect others in a positive way. Being guided by ideals of good ethics, and learning and making the best possible choice for the knowledge I have, gives me the opportunity to use this energy we call money to be a creative force for my own personal vision.

In terms of the law of attraction as well, I think it is always important to consider what giving does for the other, instead of always for the self and how it influences the results of others lives.

[Ravenblue]

Many times I purchase items from a thrift store or yard sale. If I find things I want or need, it's a way for these used items to be recycled & continue in use.

[Celtaur]

A little of my view on conglomerates...

Unfortunately, with huge conglomerates selling products with such small mark ups this means that there is essentially no competition, and nobody bothers with supporting the little guys out there. It's a vicious cycle because the little guys out there have to charge a bit more because most people are buying from the conglomerates who offer very low prices. Since there are less customers going to the "mom & pops shop" - mom & pop aren't making enough money to make ends meet so they need to charge more for each item, hoping to make enough money to stay in business.

It looks like our only options will be - Amazon, Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, Ebay... Maybe they'll all be bought up by each other or Walmart and become the "One Company" one day and we'll all have to work for them - not surprisingly they are at the top of the list for difficulty in learning how to contact customer support through their own sites. Thank goodness this site was born.

Please excuse my mini-rant on conglomerates.

[Sylus]

While being apart of the monetary system of today, I do agree with you, Celtaur. But for some reason, I just don't like money. I feel like everyone, even the small companies, put it's value before the value of human beings. I don't like the whole monetary system in general. Yes, I know, currently that we need it and what not(for now), but I honestly believe there is an alternative way to living and being happy without it completely. I just personally feel that spirituality and money do not mix. Have any of you ever heard of the idea of a resource based economy and "The Venus Project"? I'd love to know your thoughts on it.

[Sylus]

Never mind my last reply, I couldn't figure out how to delete it,, I just read your reply to The Venus Project in the zeitgeist thread, Celtaur.

[lawbrat]

To a limited extent, I agree with you Sylus. Money kind of sucks, in a way.

Nobody can fully dispute the value of the money system, especially now that it is so deeply entrenched all over the world. (I for one would really hate to try to learn the art of bartering at this late stage...) However I have never been what you'd call a "money-motivated" person and I tend to shy away from those who love it too much. I acknowledge fully that I need it to provide for my family and to have the earthly things in life we want to have. However, I do the things I do more for the difference I can make or for personal development rather than a desire to hoard individual wealth. So when I spend money, I take more consciousness of the act than some. When I buy music, artwork, literature, etc. I'm making a statement of support rather than blindly accumulating more stuff to clutter up our spare bedroom. If something seems 'neat' but not worth moving from place to place, I leave it on the shelf at the store. And I take great joy in purging myself of possessions that I no longer have a need for. Call me crazy, but I've always been somewhat baffled by the "whoever dies with the most stuff, wins" mentality shared by many of my fellow human beings.

[Haruth]

..."whoever dies with the most stuff, wins"...

This should really be the call to arms of the capitalist ideal...

Thanks for the chuckle...

[Celtaur]

For days now I've been thinking about this very subject. With the economy changing the way it is, I think its on many peoples minds. The system built around money is not effective.

For me, I've been thinking about capitalism as an imperfect system. I see that it does have the benefit of allowing people to make choices and is a motivating factor for people to actually work and not sit around, but there is flaws in the purpose of this. Many work at jobs they don't love because they have to, and often compromise their health, well being and quality of life. Capitalism, I think, works off the premise of survival - so in that sense it is a very low form of existence. In this sense it keeps people in survival mode, always needing more to try to get away from the mere experience of just survival, with the hopes of more. In survival mode, the ego grows, the divisiveness, the competition. By nature of the system of capitalism people are lead into a dog-eat-dog competitive reality, which can, and often does, turn quite ugly. People will do a lot of things that may compromise personal integrity and ethics just to get ahead, to be the one on top, and have the inflated ego.

From the perspective that this competition is desirable as a positive role, we can see that leads to the development and advancement of new circumstances, new ideas, new technology etc. But then again, looking at the flip side we can see that it also hinders advancement of new ideas - for example large oil companies hold new technologies down because they have the power (they've reached the top of the capitalist chain). How does one reach the top... well, with competition being the name of the game, it can pretty much be guaranteed that some ethics have been left behind while climbing to the top, fighting off all those other competitors, getting the upper hand in any way possible.

So with this said - from being in survival mode, to ego, to diminished ethics, to beating out the competitor, is this what people are working so hard for? To slowly work their way through this system for the payoff of materialism, a payoff that ultimately goes unsatisfied because the ego always wants more. In general, considering we are built for survival, our very bodies require us to do what it can to survive, are we destined to live in a world where competition is glorified and desired?

I think it is quite sad that we see on television so many people gloating over what they have, so many singers lyrics about how great they are, how much more they have than someone else - essentially egoic and in my opinion quite unconscious - It's kind of like they are numb in a sense. When I saw that Mariah Carey had a ring for 2.5 million dollars and she was flaunting it and showing it off for the camera's like it was a highlight of importance in life, I wondered how unconscious she really was/is, or how desperate she was to prove herself to the world... then I guess I feel sorry for her, as there must be some deep hurt, suffering, going on in there that she's compensating for. I certainly didn't think it was commendable, nor desirable. I just thought of how much good could be done with that money, but that she (and her husband who gave it to her), chose to put that energy towards their ego.

The cause of suffering is desire.

[lawbrat]

The way I see it, the only reward for making a life's goal out of chasing wealth is various flavors of disappointment. If you don't get all that you want, you just keep coveting more and feeling bad about what you don't have. If you succeed at becoming fabulously rich, you are likely to be envied, begged from by hangers-on, resented, lonely, overworked, and/or unable to identify with the 'regular Joes' around you. Sure, maybe the hollow masses will idolize you for your excessive lifestyle. But really, what's another person's syncophantic envy worth in eternity? I think the world would be a better place if more people remembered the virtue inherent in things like moderation, humility, service, and contentment.

[Echo]

I own nothing except my books, a portion of the furniture and my clothes. I have no money. All I earn, from working full time, painting and writing, goes into feeding and clothing, the family heating the house and paying the bills. I share the use of my partner's car these days. I admit, the odd luxury would be nice.. a holiday more than every quarter century, my own car again, for instance! But why should I need more?