WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE…

One of the great things about money is its combination of power and flexibility. The smallest change in its status can cause everything from ripples to tempests in society. Despite the fact that it doesn’t really exist.
All it takes is for the media to start blaring on about the markets dropping and we all get panicked about what it means. Will we be all right in the future? Is there going to be enough money to buy the children a new pair of shoes? Can we afford Christmas presents? What will happen to my savings, my pension, my mortgage? Oh God, am I safe???
Well, actually, yes. You are. At least, as of now. And even if you weren’t, there’s no way you’d know as we can’t actually predict the future. Although we do, all the time. And we try and make provisions for what might happen. Such as stashing up great wadges of paper money so that we’ll have enough for the future. Although interestingly, people who are adept at doing this seldom actually spend the money. That’s another quality which money has – it’s addictive. And we can easily become obsessed with accumulating the stuff rather than using it.
But think of money as though it was water – rather a good metaphor, actually. It’s life-giving and fluid. And, like a liquid, it’ll slush around and fill up all the gaps in your life. When put under pressure it can have enormous power and effectiveness and can blast through things in a way that you wouldn’t expect. And if you don’t do anything with it, in due course it’ll evaporate.
Of course, it’s this last bit that scares people to death. So we tend to think up ways of stopping this from happening. To preserve what we’ve already got. Such as changing the form in which we store it. But, like water, money has a natural flow and the amount of energy that it takes to stop it from moving is disproportionate to the benefit that you receive from stopping this from happening. It’s like converting water into ice cubes so that it won’t heat up and disappear. But that’s what water does. Evaporation is part of its nature. And, even if we experience a drought, eventually it’ll start to rain.
And of course, water is volatile and reacts to external circumstances – it’s mostly fluid at certain temperature but it naturally becomes inflexible when things start to cool down. And it turns gaseous when they start to heat up. In much the same way, money stays happily in gilts, corporate bonds or in cash when the market is bearish, converts easily into equities when things start to get a bit more exciting and transforms into weird things like hedge funds, venture capital trusts and enterprise investments when it all gets as hot as hell. And when things change, money (like water) will easily shift into a different format which is more appropriate for the current situation.
Well…not quite. Because the main difference is that water exists, whereas money doesn’t. Yes, it has a physical manifestation and there’s an underlying energy, but this is almost entirely independent of the way we experience it. And because it’s an idea, it doesn’t really change when the market goes up or down. Instead, our perception shifts. And as a result we feel more or less comfortable about investing at different levels of risk – but we assume that it’s the money itself which has altered.
So here’s another, different metaphor. Money is like a sponge. It’ll absorb anything that you throw at it. If you’re experiencing greed – it’ll take responsibility for this. If it’s lack, money nods and admits that it’s at fault. Are you ambitious? If so, money is what you’ll need. Security? Yup. Safety? You betcha. Fear? Hatred? Guilt? Shame? Yes, all of the above.
And it can become more complex. What about climate change? Well, money is ideal at encouraging people who are looking to develop and cultivate alternative energy sources which won’t destroy the atmosphere. And the inertia and resistance to this kind of development is almost entirely focused on…yeah. You guessed. Money.
So is there a way out? How can I come to regard money as something which doesn’t have this volatile effect on my life?
Well, first you need to realise that it’s just a metaphor. That it doesn’t really have the power that we imply. That it doesn’t really, really exist. Unfortunately that’s almost impossible to do on your own. You need to ‘get’ it – it’s like a joke. Somebody can tell you a funny story and you may understand why it’s humorous but it won’t necessarily make you laugh. You can think about it and discuss it… but nothing will change. Then one day, you ‘get’ it on an experiential level. And only then will you start to laugh.
All of which is leading up me promoting the brilliant workshop Making Friends With Money. I’ve been running this since 1993 and the feedback from people who’ve done it will give you an idea of what they’ve experienced. You can see a chunk of this on the website at www.makingfriendswithmoney.co.uk. This should give you an idea of what goes on. But trying to explain how it works is incredibly difficult. It’s a different ballgame. It’s not linear. The workshop is an experience. An experience which can change your life. But you need to be willing to ‘get’ it.
We’re running it about thirty eight times in the coming year. Different venues – Exeter, Taunton, Barnstaple, Truro, London, Brighton, Bristol and Paris at present, and more to come. It’s a two day workshop with three weeks in between Day One and Day Two. It’s a life changer. But you have to be willing to shift.
Hope this makes sense – if you want to know more, log on to the website or call 01392-346336. And I look forward to meeting you at the workshop later in the year…