Month: August 2017

Life and money, seamlessly interwoven

So much of life seemingly comes down to money: appearance, social status, free time (and how you’re able to use it), opportunity, influence. In many areas of our cultural and social lives money has come to define us, limiting or separating us from one another as patterns of consumption become a way of life, a sense of self, and yet another way to set ourselves apart.

It’s something touched on recently with I am not just a sum and Money as a pivot of matter & intention, which spoke of how money flows through life, alongside a few other posts around the role of economic factors in education and society more broadly (see Notes One).

And it just seems strange at times how so much of our value as human beings is tied to this one method of quantification. Rather than money simply being an aspect of trade and a practical reality, it’s woven throughout our existence; including those areas of culture that give us shared meaning.

Activities and interests that impart meaning, identity, and belonging – books, movies, fashion, events – increasingly come across as being essentially about money. Whether we can afford to keep up with the latest trends or standards often seems an impossible or possibly futile race (Notes Two). As patterns of consumption, they work well; but as sources of human meaning and social cohesion they seem questionable.

I mean, we all seek to find our place within life: to create an identity and, based on that, form affiliations and pursue our interests to build a life for ourselves. As humans we seem drawn to expressing our true nature and finding others to celebrate or develop that with. Ideally, I suppose, we’d all hold meaning in one another’s eyes, even while we might tread different paths ourselves.

What would it mean if everything in life were simply a transaction? If every aspect of existence were part of a calculation and relationships were merely trade. If we always needed ‘something to offer’ in financial terms; rather than bringing qualities of love, friendship, compassion, patience, creativity, and so on. If, at best, everything in our lives were window dressing for the image we decided to craft for ourselves.

Almost everything now can be seen in terms of money: it all has a cost and a price; a figure attached that skates alongside all aspects of modern life. Is that simply “how it is” or could there be areas of life where we all stand equally, without the countless divisions money seems to create and sustain?

Money may create both opportunities and limitations for our lives, and it may be effective in terms of dividing and selling certain things; but when it comes to life, to human meaning and personal worth, it surely cannot become the be all and end all of existence. It just doesn’t seem quite right. As if we might be missing the point of life and reducing everything meaningful down to this one thing that really isn’t.

Notes and References:

Note 1: The motivation of money
Note 1: Economics and the task of education
Note 2: Relating to cultural benchmarks
Note 2: How many things are cycles (we could break)
Note 2: Fashion, self & environment

Ways to share this:

Shared spaces & how things get done

Any kind of endeavour in a way needs a structure: a sense of the duties, rights, responsibilities, and limitations necessary to sustain it happily and healthily (hopefully backed up by sound, inclusive, and flexible reasoning). We might be talking of a country, community, workplace or, in this case, of housing arrangements.

As there’s this shift towards collective ways of living (whether that’s subdivided properties, developments, or more intentional communities with shared facilities), questions arise around the realities that’s creating and how best to manage them (see Notes One). And, anecdotally, this often seems problematic: standards or conventions around use of space and consideration for others vary, as does the sense of how people might get involved in maintaining things, making changes, or resolving issues.

It seems many exist in quiet resentment at having to live in such proximity, irritated at freedoms being limited by their impact on others, and tending to tune these ‘annoyances’ out. Maybe that’s because we’re increasingly independent rather than community-minded; or because life’s stressful and having that impinge on the home environment is the final straw; or maybe we’re losing the sense of regulating our actions out of concern for others (Note Two).

And then market ‘provision’ doesn’t always align with our ideals: many developments seem to create unusual situations where space is lacking or overlooked and even greater consideration than ‘normal’ is needed to coexist happily; regulating how people operate within these places is another challenge; as is how well they ‘sit’ within the surrounding area.

There’s also the issue of what we contractually agree to (aware as we may or may not be of the details) alongside our intention to actually abide by the spirit of our commitment. Which is all quite complex. We may see contracts as merely stepping stones to what we want, rather than something to honour and uphold. We may view any limitations on our freedom out of social consideration for others as antiquated or unenforceable.

All of this may be true, and – as with almost any situation – the factors at play and how best to navigate them seems unlikely to lead to a simple solution, let alone one that can be realised without the willing involvement of everyone concerned.

You might have the wisest contract conceivable managing a well-designed property, but if those within it aren’t interested in bringing it to life you’ll likely end up with conflict or disappointment. Conversely, an engaged and motivated group of people could probably bring blissful harmony wherever they happened to find themselves.

Which in a way comes down to communication and intention: ideally we’d have great systems to understand and operate within, but practically we often live within imperfect systems and need to find ways to rework them as best we can.

But then, does it matter if we live together out of mutual understanding and consideration rather than resentment? It must have considerable social impact, but unless we rediscover the value of such cooperation all this may prove difficult to resolve.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Living together
Note 1: Real estate, rental and human nature
Note 1: Nature tells a story, about society
Note 2: Laws and lawlessness
Note 3: Need to stand alone & think for ourselves
Note 3: People wanting change

Money as a pivot of matter & intention also addressed this idea of systems and how best we engage with them.

Ways to share this: