Lack of Money is Nonsense

Hope Johnson Hope Johnson
4 minute read

This post is a follow-up to Hope's Wisdom Dialogues Episode Called "There is no such thing as a lack of money", written by Gail Florence.

What do you think an adult will do if you give him 5$? Someone might think it is too little, another might ask for more, and another might just save it and work diligently to increase it. How about giving the same amount to a child? We say, “Here’s 5$ for you.” One child might shout from excitement considering the money as a gift, another child might automatically say, “Thank you!” thinking you’ve given something special and another might say, “What’s this?” or just put the money someplace else, forgetting all about it.

Adults can think of the 5$ by it is amount so, giving it value. On the other hand, children can think of it of just another object. To them, it can be a gift like a toy, it can be something mundane or an object that can be brushed off. Now, how about we look at money through the eyes of children?

Certainly, many of us will react to that offering in a shocked way. Automatically, in many minds, considering money as just another object is difficult. “No, how will we survive if we just think of money that simply?” To think that way is alright. However, to many of us who have ‘seen so much of the world’, we can choose how we perceive what surrounds us whereas children, only perceive through innocence and innate feelings.

So, is lack of money real? Lack can be a perception of money. It is just an idea like many thoughts we make in our minds. We believe there is a lack because we are afraid of not having enough, the incapacity to survive or a future without security. We are afraid to simply surrender to the natural flow of life.

Because of our belief in our fear, we tighten our grip on those we think we need like objects (e.g. money, possessions), people, or concepts (e.g. ideas of our identity, past and future). So, there are situations where we declare, “I own this. You own that,” or, “Don’t touch this because it is mine.”

It also strings to the idea of stealing. From our fear, it ripples to controlling and it expands to the belief anyone can steal. We need to remember that stealing can happen because the person’s needs are not met. He also feels an extreme lack. However, it is up to us to recognize that lack is impossible and all of us are enough as we are.

We may not stop negative situations out there. What we can do is to change our perceptions, how we view ourselves and what surrounds us and undo guilt-inducing projections. For example, if we feel guilty the moment we think of money, we can contemplate on it, look into where the feeling is coming from and release the feeling and thoughts. Then, we move on with our lives without identifying with the guilt.

Identifying with an illusion like the scarcity of money or fear of people exploiting us, intensifies the thought so, we think it is real. However, when we don’t identify or believe it, the intensity lessens until it becomes nothing. What is left of us is a stillness, a sense of calm.

We can let thoughts be thoughts, and feelings be feelings. We can just watch them and see where they are going without strongly attaching to them. Spirituality encourages us to see how our energy plays out given a situation. We can do it with our perceptions on money too. We can ask ourselves, “How do I feel about money?” or “How am I using this?” When we think we lack money, we can watch how we feel about it, and from our feelings we will get guidance on what we can do.

We can also remember to laugh. When we recognize that our thoughts of lack, fear, guilt and anxiety are all made-up, we can laugh about them. We can allow them to flow out of our minds and then, give ourselves a laugh for the silliness of our perceptions. We can also follow the guidance that only speaks of love, compassion, and happiness.

Lastly, we can ask others how they feel about a situation. For example, when there is something we want like a burrito, we can ask, “Would you please not touch this food?”, “Can I have this for my snack later?” By asking, we don’t imply a separation between what’s ours and theirs. There’s still a sense of freedom. Everyone is allowed to flow with their energy.

« Back to Blog