Exactly what is money? What is wealth? Answers to these questions usually provide typical responses such as money means power, control, security, comfort, happiness, satisfaction, enrichment, etc. These responses simply represent feelings or experiences from exchanging something of perceived value for goods and services.
In reality, money itself is a means of exchange, and nothing more! Over time, wealth has been measured in many ways. In ancient times, wealth was measured by ownership of such diverse items as gold pieces, seashells, animal furs, crops, and, yes, even the number of cows an individual owned. Some of these measures of wealth still exist today in some parts of the world.
For people who use what we think of as primitive forms of monetary items, the same feelings of power, control, security, comfort, happiness, satisfaction, and enrichment are experienced when something of perceived value is exchanged for goods and services. In previous times, the wealthy farmer needed enough cows for barter in order to sustain life and provide a comfortable lifestyle for his family. Today, the paper and coins we call money does the same thing.
Have you ever wondered how the use of paper currency became accepted as a means of exchange? You may not realize that Canadians were the first in North America to use paper currency. In North America's early days, settlers here were often cut off from their previous homeland for months at a time. During such prolonged periods of isolation, coins became in short supply while waiting for the next supply ship from the “motherland” to cross the Atlantic.
By the late 1600's, silver coins were scarce to the point where the authorities of the day were unable to pay the soldiers wages. Enter Mr. De Meulles to devise a solution to divert an economic collapse, not to mention a mutiny from the military! Mr. De Meulles came up with the idea to write a monetary value on ordinary playing cards. He signed each card as evidence of their authenticity and the modified playing cards soon became widely circulated and accepted as legal tender.
The experiment in the use of paper money was deemed to be such a huge success, playing card money continued for many years, and eventually evolved through various forms of paper money to the point of currency we use today. In thinking of money and wealth, how much different is society today versus generations ago? Perhaps not as different as one might think! The main difference between life today and that of previous generations, as we see it, is in the way present society defines what living a comfortable lifestyle means.
We currently live in an era where technology and communication play a very big part of our everyday lives, much more so than experienced by previous generations. Most of us have televisions, radios, computers, household appliances, cars, and other modern conveniences we feel we need to have in order to live a comfortable lifestyle.
As a result, society has categorized us into the “haves” and “have not's.” It seems many people feel that if they cannot afford some of today's so-called luxury items, they are not wealthy, at least in terms of society's current definitions of wealth. One suggestion as to why people so readily use loans and credit cards today is to purchase goods and services, which in turn help individuals to feel wealthy, at least wealthy as seen from their point of view! This has caused some people to have difficulty in sorting out, in their own minds, the difference between “need to have” items and “nice to have” items.
Certainly, we need the paper and coins we call money to survive in today's world, just as people of earlier generations needed cows, gold, and furs to survive. An important issue to consider lies in how we are defining our perceived wealth. One dictionary defines the word “wealth” as:
“Riches, feeling of enrichment, being rich, rich people; abundance, having an abundance of money!”
From this definition, we can see that wealth does, indeed, make reference to money; however, it also makes reference to abundance and enrichment. Abundance could be money, but it also could be an abundance of love, or perhaps an abundance of family harmony. Enrichment is not just about money, either. Enrichment could also be simply how you feel about your life at the present time. Many people feel enriched because of their friends and family, or, perhaps, by their contribution to the community.
Money does not equal happiness! This is perhaps one of the most common money myths experienced by many people today. Happiness is the experience or moments you create for yourself, whether you actually use money or not. Happiness is not a destination; it is an ongoing journey, which sometimes, but not always, requires money!
“Happiness sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open!” - John Barrymore
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