The quest for money is an empty pursuit,
One that searches for deep meaning
Where there is none.
Cash is just the messenger
Of the transaction.
When the means of exchange
Becomes the center of attention,
Avarice takes the stage
And the focus of the human condition is consumed.
How can one love something
That has no true existence?
Currency of all kinds is past its prime
And change is overdue.
Anything can be considered money;
Its value is just perception
Built on the credibility of the owner.
Bills and coins, bullion and the gold standard;
We are the ones who ascribe legitimacy
To the subjective worth of money.
It can overcome what really matters
If we are not careful;
We must be wise with it
Yet also be cheerful givers.
If we are too thrifty, we become attached to cash.
If we spend more than we earn, we wallow in debt.
Most people are mired in poverty;
A good portion of the rest are flaunting wealth that is not really there,
Living beyond their means for strangers that do not truly care.
Are we really so confused, so confused
That we put our finances on the throne
As idols to be worshipped?
What is there left of us to be saved
When the powers of the purse strings trump human life?
Are we that depraved,
That we rebel
In favor of false systems
That undermine our own souls?
What, therefore, is sacred,
When materialistic fortunes are celebrated
And even the most basic kinds of dignity
Are thrown away?
What of us when our earthly urges lead us astray
From the godly life, rich in genuine fulfillment?
What is the appeal, then, of a messenger that gets consumed
In each and every financial transaction?
The answer for the balanced life is this:
When we gather piles of it – legally –
We gain the power to control our own lives
And, to some extent, influence the lives of others.
The gradual accumulation of earnings
Unlocks access to property and disposable income,
To be spent on entertainment and on building relationships,
With the ultimate goal of (at one point or another)
Settling down and building a stable, loving family.
But this situation is not the norm.
Look around and notice…
The World Engine is the dollar,
A farce of epic magnitude,
A sleight-of-hand of arbitrary,
Monetary weights and measures,
Doomed to fall apart
Once we exhaust the planet of its treasures,
Or ourselves of tolerance for one another.
But wherever there is crisis there is room for growth.
The major problem lies in the ability of the few
To stir up wars as opportunities for accumulating wealth.
Such is the opportunist’s life, the empty life,
Where the miracle of life itself
Is reduced to cabinets of academic files, military campaigns,
Sound bites, conspiracy theories, and
Fabrications of truly scientific proportions.
Can you see that those of us who love money
Are never quenched of their bloodthirst for it?
The quest for money is an empty pursuit,
One that searches for deep meaning
Where there is none.
Cash is just the messenger
Of the transaction.
When the means of exchange
Becomes the center of attention,
Avarice takes the stage
And the condition of all humanity is consumed.
The pursuit of money and power and property and sex
Are apocalyptic in this world and in the next.
Money, when consumed with delight, is like a drug.
Just like opium injections,
Cash infusions are placebos for gangrene infections.
Money binds the nations together as an object of intense affection.
People live and die by the pound;
They say currency makes their lives better.
What has the penny-driven life given anyone
Other than fleeting pleasures and lingering guilt?
If we let it, money can pull us in every direction it chooses:
In the end, almost always, downhill.
However, if we take charge (and inventory),
The power of cash can be a different story.
We can use its influence
To do good for others for a higher purpose;
No longer are we bound to the chains of avarice
That constrict our potential.
Money then gives us the strength
To activate our better natures,
Yielding the fortune of fruit
That is our free will.
