The Nourisher - Editor’s Blog

“Poverty is restriction and as such, it is the greatest injustice you can perpetrate upon yourself.”
-Stuart Wilde

A friend recently commented that my husband and I talk about money too much. He warned we may offend those without any. I asked him if he thought we talked about sex too much also. We have been told this before.

Money, sex and majik have been taboo subjects for a millenia. For many reasons the realms of money, sex and majik were forced underground. The more we denied their righteousness and power, the more their expression darkened until they were thought to be the province of only the evil and impure among us. It is time to enlighten them; to have a good look at these particular expressions of the divine, to discern their true essence from that which we have been told to believe.

In Neale Donald Walsch’s Conversations with God books, God reminds us that the only true sin is to disbelieve one’s own experience in favour of another’s opinion. We all love to give and receive money. It feels great to have a wad in your pocket and even better to share it. How can it be “unspiritual” as it is so often accused of being? It feels so good. We only begin to feel tight and anxious about money when we fear there may be a lack of it. What if there wasn’t? Is there really a lack or is this another’s opinion?

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the world belongs to you.
Lao Tzu

My friend’s comment stayed with me for the rest of the day and later that night, a thought woke me up. I had to get up and write it down as it refused to let me sleep. Money is Gratitude. At its essence, money is gratitude.

What if we changed our language, just a little and started to use “gratefuls” instead of dollars? So I’m buying a lounge. The vendor believes it is worth 1600 gratefuls. I don’t feel this much gratitude for the lounge so I don’t buy it. It’s tax time. Time to pay the government a certain amount of gratefuls for their service. The responsibility to choose and observe my politicians carefully is now placed squarely on my shoulders; if I’m not grateful for what they do in office, I won’t vote for them again. If I could choose how many gratefuls to give my policitians (which incidentally, by law, I can - another story) I would give this current government very little. And what about paying bills? Would paying in gratefuls instead of dollars change our attitude toward them? Would we burn our CDs for our friends if we had bought them with gratefuls?

Replacing the term money with the term gratitude changes quite a bit about our lives:

• It is impossible to steal another’s gratitude. How then is it possible to benefit from crime? How can you walk around with another’s gratitude in your pocket?
• The amount of gratefuls paid in a transaction reflect the greed of the person who pays, not the person who has given benefit. If we used gratefuls, could multinational corporations continue to employ poverty stricken people for piddling wages?
• How could a father not pay child support if he knew he was paying his child’s mother in gratitude for the benefit she gives his child?
• A sex worker would be seen more as a sexual counsellor, teacher, healer or master who is paid in gratitude for their service.
• What of the starving millions? What possible benefit could they bring? I can’t speak for everyone, but when I see photos and hear stories about the suffering, such compassion wells in my heart that otherwise would not be felt. Surely the surging of this powerful spiritual energy is worth a few gratefuls.
• Productivity becomes no longer the only way to create wealth. What of wisdom? Have you ever heard of a guru suffering in poverty? Perhaps spiritual masters understand the true nature of wealth. What of beauty? All artists would be given gratitude for their expression. How many more of us would let our natural creative talents flow if we knew we would be rewarded for our efforts? But what about children and disabled people who seem to give no benefit? If you have spent any time with children or disabled people, you would know they give benefit in innumerable ways and so deserve gratitude for their contribution.

“Money is the root of all evil” and “The rich are responsible for poverty” are two beliefs that just couldn’t survive if we paid in gratefuls. If a person finds herself in poverty, she would have to ask herself “what benefit have I given to attract any gratitude?” And if she feels she has given benefit but no one has seen it, she is kidding herself. Deepak Chopra, when describing the law of karma says the universe has a perfect accounting system. God sees all and all good deeds are rewarded. If you wish to be rewarded in gratefuls, just ask.

Essentially, a person is wealthy because she gives benefit for which others feel gratitude and so give money in return. A truly rich person is inspired to give benefit because their appreciation of existence leads them inevitably to assist in its unfolding in some useful or beautiful way. Their earnest offering is valued by others and much gratitude comes their way. By calling dollars gratefuls and money gratitude we see more clearly the essence of abundance. We feel more freedom to benefit others in a way that brings us joy. We are less likely to deny our abundance and feel more willing to give to others who have benefitted us.

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.William Arthur Ward.

There are a few ways you can respond to gratitude. You could reject a persons offerings with “Aw shucks, it was nothing” thus short circuiting the flow of energy, starving you both of further inspiration. You could take the gratitude as praise, avoid receiving it with your heart and let it go to your head. The self esteem and comfort praise gives you becomes addictive and you forget the reason you gave in the first place. Your motivation becomes one of gaining praise and comfort rather than assisting in the unfolding of creation. Or you could accept graciously the person’s offerings of thanks allowing them to feel the power of giving.

I am grateful that my friend spoke his mind. I am grateful for that thought nagging me in the middle of the night, insisting that I write this down. So who should I give my gratefuls to? There is no who. Perhaps writing this will give benefit to you dear reader; I have paid my dues and inspiration and gratitude will continue to flow.

About the Author...

Joanne Hay, Editor of Nourished Magazine, Chief Nourisher and Mother of three is very grateful to live in Byron Bay and be able to share all she has learned about Nourishment. She has trained as an Acupuncturist (unfinished), Kinesiologist (finished) and parent (never finished). She serves the Weston A Price Foundation as a chapter leader. She loves sauerkraut, kangaroo tail stew, home made ice cream, her husband Wes and her kids Isaiah, Brynn and Ronin (in no particular order…well maybe ice cream first).