It appears that life is quite heavily run by the concept of money. Without money you can't buy items you need or want, and it is considered to depict your lifestyle choices. However, a good friend of mine summed up my findings of the irony and spoke that, "money is just as much an object as anything else" (Aidan Subject). This couldn't be more true. Humans are the ones that created the concept of money, created the financial systems, created the hierarchy associated with the amount of dollars someone has.
Now, though life seems to relay a great deal on this, did you know that if we looked to nature, we could learn that life can work without money? Nature has a whole system that works together without ever asking for dollars in return - whether it be for shade, seeds, sun, etc. Its system runs smooth and flawless with a sense of calm flow; where it works together so seamlessly. Nature works through the concept of exchange, trade off, it works with creating a relationship and a connection of reciprocity. This form of sharing is a more regenerative method, where everything works together to benefit each other in an equitable way.
In human life our exchange of money, in my eyes, doesn't create or hold a connection when interacting. It is a spin off of trading, but adds a form of segregation into the mix. Money limits openness to just one view. For example, if you don't have the $2,000 for rent then you can't rent the house. It is simple but unfair. It's unfair because the only reason the house can not be bought is because it costs more in dollars than the person has saved. When we limit the way someone can get something, we disconnect from them and in fact the interaction ends there and does not even reach the point of a flowing reciprocity. It is a segregation of hierarchy. A hierarchy we created.
So, on that note, if we created it and it is stopping us from a full connection, then we can change it and aid it toward reciprocity. We must learn from nature the concept that nothing or no one is better than someone else; each view, each path, each individual adds to this overall connection. We must take it back to the old days where trading was the way of life. The idea of I'll trade you this hammer for your cow.
Now of days if someone paid for a hammer if would be much less than a cow because we are looking at the materialistic version of this trade. It doesn't add connection, it just results to this is how it is, your either there or you aren't. However, when trading there is an exchange of values of people not wealth. The hammer could be extremely useful to the blacksmith and the cow useful to the farmer. Yes, individually the item's money worth varies greatly, but the worth to the people is so valuable. It creates a connection, it creates a space of reciprocity.
We have become quite disconnected in this world despite being so connected in so many ways. We make purchases quite frequently, (groceries, gas, etc.), its a habit and its a necessary component to how we live. However, what if we went to back to trading?
What if we ditched the system; what if all the stocks crashed; what if all the money was gone; would it actually halt life or would it create the opportunity for a change in thinking? Would it make people aware that money truly is just an object and that we depict its value? We created it and we could change it.
If all the money was gone and now everything you had to buy before, now had no price attached, what would you do? Maybe some may steal, but I like to think there would be individual's that, like in all situations, come forth and lead by example; bring back their roots of their ancestors and inspire a world of trading. Inspire the idea of helping one another out on a real scale on a personal level.
Now, in this part of time we run our world through working in a business of some sort. When you work, you get a paycheck to help pay for your items and the person gets help with their business. However, this connection isn't as close to the source as it could be. What if you actually got to make a difference in someone's life more personally?
Here's an example: I'll help mend your fence and in exchange you can babysit my Niece. That is what the money would be getting you (fence supplies or a babysitter), so why not just take it right to the source and create that personal connection and reciprocity? Wouldn't this be a more regenerative way of living?
Now I'll ask you this. If you were given everything you ever wanted or needed for life, what would you do if you won one million dollars? Anything you ever ask for you would have with no cost to it, where would you put that money? Some might say I'll save it or I'll donate it. So, lets take it a step further, what if that was the case for everyone? What if everyone including future generations could have everything they every required or desired without paying for any of it? What would you do with one million dollars? Ponder this for a moment.
I like this question because it really shows how money is just an object and how useless its concept can become. There would be no need to use the million dollars and it would have no use if everything was free or if everything was an exchange of value and worth to people not the object itself. So, can we live like this or is this just an elaborate fantasy?
I think we can truly incorporate these techniques more in our life. Instead of asking for money next time you do a favour for someone, or you purchase something on behalf of someone and they wish to pay you back; say why not you just help me with, fill in the blank. By exchanging the help to the source you create this personal connection which makes the interaction more meaningful than just refunding your buddy. Incorporate the reciprocity and interact with an exchange in a more meaningful way, it creates a connection of value.