Thinking about wealth
Posted: 20 May 2011, 03:19
I had a bad experience today. Nothing earth-shattering but something which left me re-evaluating myself. You see, 12 years ago I decided not to be financially ambitious and declined a very good job offer. Instead I became a nightshift worker and lived in a small flat. This small flat turned into an even smaller tent. I intentionally became homeless because i discovered I could live on very little. I thought I discovered what true wealth was. Eventually I moved back into a flat and then finally a van.
Life's a game and wealth's a way of measuring it. How you view wealth alters reality.During my accounting degree, I learned that Control is often more important than Ownership. A company can attempt to hide an asset by giving up ownership. But if it retains control... Similarly, rich people often give much of their wealth to third parties. They relinquish ownership, but again retain control. The rich see wealth differently than ordinary folk.
I checked my bank account a couple of days ago. It was missing £100 until I remembered my silver order. 3 silver maple coins are sitting on my shelf but they still don't feel as real as the money in my Bank account!
So why for christ's sake did I write the above nonsense into a forum I have barely contributed to, at 3.00 in the bloody morning. Truth is, I'm a chronic insomniac. My sleeping pattern is always trying to flip.
But also, because life's going to get really difficult. Not just physically, as in hardship caused by fall in living standards or threat of violence etc.., but emotionally too. People are going to be squeezed horizontally and stretched vertically. The gap between rich and not rich will increase. In the future, it won't be enough to just accept the basics of food, shelter, family, and friends. True wealth is more than this. I don't know what but it's not mere simplicity.
Life's a game and wealth's a way of measuring it. How you view wealth alters reality.During my accounting degree, I learned that Control is often more important than Ownership. A company can attempt to hide an asset by giving up ownership. But if it retains control... Similarly, rich people often give much of their wealth to third parties. They relinquish ownership, but again retain control. The rich see wealth differently than ordinary folk.
I checked my bank account a couple of days ago. It was missing £100 until I remembered my silver order. 3 silver maple coins are sitting on my shelf but they still don't feel as real as the money in my Bank account!
So why for christ's sake did I write the above nonsense into a forum I have barely contributed to, at 3.00 in the bloody morning. Truth is, I'm a chronic insomniac. My sleeping pattern is always trying to flip.
But also, because life's going to get really difficult. Not just physically, as in hardship caused by fall in living standards or threat of violence etc.., but emotionally too. People are going to be squeezed horizontally and stretched vertically. The gap between rich and not rich will increase. In the future, it won't be enough to just accept the basics of food, shelter, family, and friends. True wealth is more than this. I don't know what but it's not mere simplicity.
