There is a beautiful line in William Bolitho’s book 12 Against the Gods where Bolitho says, “It is when the pirates count their booty that they become mere thieves.”
It is when accumulating material wealth becomes about our attachment to the money, things, and status rather than wealth’s utility that we start to see and experience problems. Many people, including my past self, have mitigated these problems by avoiding material wealth all together. If we can operate within sound principles then we can avoid the trap of attachment to money and things and live a fulfilling life of abundance.
Don’t let your Ego get involved with your wealth. This goes for whether you have wealth or not. Having it doesn’t make you better than anyone else, and not having it doesn’t make you lesser than anyone else. I’ve met beautifully enlightened people on both ends of the spectrum. I’ve also met… not so illuminated people there too. We are not in control of the circumstance, we are only the stewards at best. Far better to stay grateful, stay humble. Be a servant of circumstance.
Cherish your purchases. The amount of time and work that is put into every little thing is probably more than most people realize. There is at minimum a designing, procurement, re-designing, assembly, testing, packaging, promoting, storing, and shipping all before reaching your hands. For anything worth while, there was a lot of thought and care put into this creation. If we only purchased what we would use and cherish, we might not end up with stuff we don’t want or use.
Only keep what you love. It is okay to lose interest or realize you no longer want something you have. Take a moment to honor an item for it’s time in your life, and then let it go. Donate or destroy the things which no longer bring you joy. This is part of the natural cycle of everything, we don’t need to hang on out of guilt or attachment.
Create opportunities to give from a place of love. Giving frivolously is not really that helpful. For example, giving something to someone because you don’t want it only transfers the burden to someone else, and giving out of guilt only breeds shame. We should strive to give the appropriate gift to the appropriate person at the appropriate time. These gifts become blessed and bring joy to the giver and the given to.
Money comes and money goes, but never should it sit and wait. In the ancient Vedic stories, there is a beautiful Goddess named Lakshmi who is most famous for representing wealth. When reading Her stories she is often described as “cham chala”, or running here and there. She wants to move and dance, and shouldn’t be kept against Her will for selfish desires.
Invest. Every wealthy person I have ever met has gotten there because of investing. There are two places in the Bible where Jesus tells his followers a parable about the importance of investing. Here is a link to one of them. As an active energy, it is important to keep wealth alive by “putting it to work”. There are many ways to invest, find what works for you and go forth!
Set financial goals and make a plan. We need to prove to the universe that we can be responsible with money by making and following budgets and plans, and making intelligent purchases. There are many karmic forces at play in our lives at any given time. Making plans and setting intention will shape the path and align the trajectory.
Our mind will never accept that there is enough money. We are only capable of experiencing “enough” when we put our attention on our soul and the present moment. Right here, right now, we have everything we need. Competing for name and fame will rob you of your peace. Striving or gambling to increase wealth will cause stress and waste. The majority of us haven’t earned the merit to effortlessly strike it rich.