What If Money Was No Object
The following video shares a portion of an audio interview with the late philosopher Alan Watts that is set creatively to a variety of images. In it he invites us to take seriously a very interesting and, I think, important question: “what would you do with your life if money was no object?”
When he starts it seems like a nice question to ask. Like, “wouldn’t it be nice if this were the case.” As he moves on, observing that we can easily end up spending lots of our time on things we don’t enjoy, it becomes an important question. And then when he imagines the way we are teaching our children to choose things they despise by unintentionally modeling a way of living that actively chooses to do things we don’t like, it suddenly seems like an absolutely crucial question for us to ask and invite our children, friends, and loved ones to ask as well.
How important has money become in our culture? Important enough that lots and lots of people do things they get next to no satisfaction from just to get more of it. Naming it that way makes it sound crazy, but it’s a kind of crazy that much of our culture has accepted. And of course extricating ourselves from this situation isn’t simple. But maybe, just maybe, asking the question is a start.
The video is just 3 minuts long. Watch it when you have the time; share it if you choose. Perhaps it will make a difference.
Notes: 1) If you are receiving this post by email you may need to click here to watch the video. 2) Thanks to Maria Popova at Brain Pickings for pointing me to this video.
Much, much, much to think about. Not only what do I desire, but what is God calling me to do?
Thank you for opening up this conversation! I’ve been seeing this video float around Facebook. As someone working within my passions, I find that so many things in our culture are not set up to handle freelancers or creative entrepreneurs. One small example: I had to switch banks because they were charging me a fee since I don’t have a paycheck auto-deposited. I won’t even get into what a nightmare health insurance has been. It’s great if someone’s true passions lie within a big organization, but we don’t have the infrastructure in place for people to safely live and work outside that without a lot of effort. Not a complaint about my own life, but more a call for systemic change so that more people can feel confident about following a dream. I think we all would benefit from more people working within their purpose and passions.
Dawn, I COMPLETELY agree! My initial thoughts were similar to yours as sometimes we have make sacrifices to meet basic needs of food, shelter, clothing as they all require a specific sum of money – money that comes from a job of some kind. That job may or may not include health benefits.
In so many ways society is set-up for the big organizations, as you mentioned. How can there be more flexibility for people to truly follow their passion while still being able to meet basic needs.
Lots to think about indeed!