Everything on our planet has a value. The trick is to recognize it. For something to have value, it must do something for us. That means things we can’t even see have value. Actually, they are more valuable than the things we can see. It’s just that we don’t think about them or recognize them. Take the air we breathe. The food we eat. Some aspects of these things, like vitamins and minerals, are not obvious to the naked eye.
Animals don’t have to think about values. They just put their heads down, eat and drink and get immediate benefits from these valuable things without having to think about it. Instinct establishes your set of values.
But we humans often have to think about it. We have created this thing called money that is supposed to represent or personify value and, to a reasonable degree, this is true. If we had the old trading system, it would be very difficult to transport a table and chairs to change something. Since everyone accepts money as a common denominator, we are willing to work hard in the heat all day. Or work in a boring office, for money. Why? Because we know that we can sacrifice this paper material to obtain other things that we consider more valuable. Cars, houses, jewelry, varieties of food and clothing.
Some people are brainwashed into thinking that money itself is where the value is, not in the things it can buy. In this case, it is the security of having it that represents value for them. Like the man who rummages through dumpsters for food so he can leave his million dollars in the bank. Or the millionaire who refuses to change a leaky kitchen faucet because of the plumbing expense.
However, what happens if the money loses its value? Talk to people who lived in Germany after the last Great War. Ask them how much the DM was worth during a period of time after the war. You needed a small suitcase from them to get a bus ticket.
Such wanton assignment of value to paper decorated with the heads of famous or infamous people is clearly nonsense, and yet, to some degree, most of us are guilty of it. How many people sacrifice kindness, human relationships, health, and nervous energy to make sure they have the nicest house or car on the street? And the amazing thing about this is that a lot of people with beautiful homes rarely live in them, because the time it takes to do 3 jobs or run a business for 16 hours a day, seven days a week, means that the only time they enjoy them is when they are sleeping.
Shouldn’t our values be more closely aligned with happiness and fulfillment for ourselves and everyone else around us? And once we’ve sorted out these values, we can indulge in a little splurge from time to time, because we’ll probably find there’s money to be saved if we get our priorities right.