on: Too Little Too Much, Money

Too much money. Too little money.

If you have a lot of it, you find security in a substance that can blow away with a whipping wind. You feel the need to continue to fan the flame of finance and keep your treasure chest stocked. You buy nice things that you grow accustomed to. Mortgages, subscriptions, food, hobbies. Therefore, you need more money to support your lifestyle choices. You feel status from your financial worth. You fear how you would exist if an illness, death, or accident removed you from the money-making game. You are far removed from those that don’t have money, so struggle to empathise with the poor. You make decisions based on whether or not you will be financially secure or not. You feel envious of your boss that receives an even higher salary. Fear your identify is unknown to you apart from your savings account. You have a lot to lose when you have a lot of money.

If you have too little of it, you feel the effect of not being able to buy what you need and want. You work endless hours to ensure you can pay for the week’s groceries. You tell your kids no to school trips and fancy trainers. Tell yourself no to a take-away coffee on the way to your next shift in work. You stay in your house as you can’t afford a bus fare or fuel for your car. You regret all the opportunities you missed that may have kept from this situation. You envy all the people you see on Instagram. You compulsively think of little jobs you could take to earn an extra £50.You can’t pay for the leak in your kitchen. You worry your kids will remember all they didn’t have growing up. You feel judged. Unappreciated. Scared. You have a lot to lose you when you don’t have a lot of money.

It seems money has screwed over the rich and the poor. Created inequality. Unhealthy comparison. Fear. Overworked. Pride. Shame. Anxiety.

Is there a middle ground? A land that lies between too much and too little. An equilibrium. Resting place. Where money is neither an obsession nor a worry. But simply there for necessary consumption by the whole of society.

I suppose it sounds like socialism. Collective money making that keeps the rich from hoarding and the poorer from starving. A system that can be taken advantage of by evil or lazy. But can be utilised by those that are completely unable to provide for themselves.

Perhaps idealistic. Perhaps naïve.  Perhaps beautiful.