Money
This is a Primary Category with multiple Quests
Mystery
What is the place of money in your life? How much should you sacrifice for material success? Does it limit or free you to do what needs to be done? What is real wealth, true riches?
Money
Money is the life-blood of society. But it suppresses us. It keeps us working at jobs we don’t care about. It stops us from having time to achieve our dreams. We can do better. We can use money to create a more beautiful society.
Explore
Money dictates how we deal with everything – material, intellectual, and emotional.Money
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Explore this Quest: Money
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"Aren’t you ashamed that you try to get as much money as possible?"
“I shall never stop practicing philosophy and exhorting you and elucidating the truth for everyone that I meet. I shall go on saying…Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor and give no attention to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul?...I shall do this to everyone I meet, young or old, foreigner or fellow citizen, but especially to you, my...
"Destroy the myth that wealth and comfort are most important"
"The most urgent task is to destroy the myth that accumulation of wealth and the achievement of comfort are the chief vocations of man. How can adjustment to society be an inspiration to our youth if that society persists in squandering the material resources of the world on luxuries in a world where more than a billion people go to bed hungry every night? How can we speak of reverence for man and of the belief that all men are created equal without...
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Reflect
"Aren't you ashamed that you give your attention to getting as much money as possible?"
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Reflect on Money: "Aren't you ashamed that you give your attention to getting as much money as possible?"
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“I shall never stop practicing philosophy and exhorting you and elucidating the truth for everyone that I meet. I shall go on saying…Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor and give no attention to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul?
What kind of work do you do? – Dysfunctional work, such as military, advertising. – Work that limits choice, such as banking. – Areas of obscene profit, such as education and healthcare. – Work that compensates for dysfunction, such as police, therapy. – Creative functions, such as design, writing, art. – Service providers, such as teachers, health care. – Vital functions, such as food.
What danger does money have for you? "There are some callings where [the ambition to get rich] is a dangerous impediment; among these I would include ministers, teachers, lawyers and physicians." Abraham Heschel
What is the meaning of a product or service you have purchased? What is its true cost? "The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run." Henry David Thoreau
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Challenge
Select a just vocation. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature.
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Money Challenge
Just doing your job is wretched (Public action)
Limit your dependence on money.
Reduce the time and energy you spend earning money.
Establish a maximum level of income.
Work for the good.
"This ingenious instrument of material exchange, money, has turned into the only means or the principal means of human communication…Money is the present-day name for the world of the human ego. Money dictates how we deal with everything – material, intellectual, and emotional things." Jacob Needleman
“There is not wealth but life. Life, including all its powers of love, and joy, and of admiration. That country is the richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings; that man is richest who, having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost, has also the widest helpful influence, both personal, and by means of his possessions, over the lives of others.” John Ruskin
Limit your dependence on money.
Reduce the time and energy you spend earning money.
Establish a maximum level of income.
Work for the good.
"This ingenious instrument of material exchange, money, has turned into the only means or the principal means of human communication…Money is the present-day name for the world of the human ego. Money dictates how we deal with everything – material, intellectual, and emotional things." Jacob Needleman
“There is not wealth but life. Life, including all its powers of love, and joy, and of admiration. That country is the richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings; that man is richest who, having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost, has also the widest helpful influence, both personal, and by means of his possessions, over the lives of others.” John Ruskin
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Action
Businesses should work for the good. Just doing your job is wretched.
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Yes, we need to work for money. But just working at a job is pitiful. It’s how thought is suppressed, sensitivity is diminished, lives are wasted. To be truly productive and creative we need to work for the good.
Enter the Mystery of Money
◉ Explore perspectives you didn't know or don't agree with.
◉ Reflect on your experiences and biases.
◉ Welcome a tremendous insight.
◉ Pledge for the utmost.
◉ Transform: Show that it is possible to work for sheer joy.
The great thing about money is that we can do anything with it, or so it seems. We skip down the yellow brick road, picking up baubles. How far should we go with it? Just far enough for food and shelter? For computers and cars, entertainment and travel? Or can we go all the way, anywhere, everywhere, everything?
Enter the Mystery of Money
◉ Explore perspectives you didn't know or don't agree with.
◉ Reflect on your experiences and biases.
◉ Welcome a tremendous insight.
◉ Pledge for the utmost.
◉ Transform: Show that it is possible to work for sheer joy.
The great thing about money is that we can do anything with it, or so it seems. We skip down the yellow brick road, picking up baubles. How far should we go with it? Just far enough for food and shelter? For computers and cars, entertainment and travel? Or can we go all the way, anywhere, everywhere, everything?
“Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor and give no attention to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul?”
Plato, The Apology
"What is the chief end of man? – to get rich. In what way? dishonestly if he can; honestly if he must. Who is God, the one only and true? Money is God." Mark Twain, 1871
Quests on Money
There are 4 Quests. Each Quest has tools to Explore, Reflect and take action. Select one that interests you and get started!
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Money
A Visionary Society Quest
Make money a force for good in your life.
Reduce the time and energy you spend getting and using things.
Support businesses that are striving for good.
Select a just vocation, one that does no harm and that serves humanity in some way. ‘Just doing my job' is not enough.
– Never enforce a policy without thinking about its implications.
– Do not lie, mislead, or manipulate.
– Every situation should be addressed on its own terms. Be willing to recognize differences
– Do what is right, even if that means risking your personal success or security.
Reduce the time and energy you spend getting and using things.
Support businesses that are striving for good.
Select a just vocation, one that does no harm and that serves humanity in some way. ‘Just doing my job' is not enough.
– Never enforce a policy without thinking about its implications.
– Do not lie, mislead, or manipulate.
– Every situation should be addressed on its own terms. Be willing to recognize differences
– Do what is right, even if that means risking your personal success or security.
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