Numbers

Just recently I was talking with a friend, and he mentioned how gold seemed to be the only currency in which you can put faith that currency is just paper with user-attached value. I found his point to be very true, and was reminded of just how poor I really am. We attach so much value to that number we carry around on our little plastic cards and in our little folding wallets. Then it hit me that not even gold is worth anything unless you can use it for something. I don’t know about you, but I don’t personally smelt my own solid gold jewelry on a regular basis—and even if I did, I’d need someone who would buy it with something that’s useful to me, not just someone who’d give me cash. Try living a happy life with the things you have… not counting that number.

Our Lady Peace put it well in one of their album titles, “happiness is not a fish that you can catch.” Ever noticed that when you’re busy and constructive you’re happier? The best times in our lives aren’t found in day-to-day living. I don’t look back on, say, a school year, and say to myself “man… I’m so glad I got to sleep at a decent hour each night!” or “I’m really glad my meals each day were sufficient.” Instead, I remember times when I was tested and passed, times when I discovered parts of my personality I didn’t know existed, times that I’ll never have again. In the same respect, Brad Pitt delivered a great line written by Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club), ”hitting bottom is not a weekend retreat.“

Filed under: belonging, change, interaction, money, priorities, value