Everything in this world is centered around money. People read their horoscopes for it, they pray for it, and they even indulge in tarot for it.
I understand the reason for this behavior. Money means resources. If you have more of it then it means that your future is secure and your family’s future is secure.
However, many lust for money even after they have achieved basic financial security. People with houses and stable jobs still yearn for more prosperity.
I do not understand this obsession with money. If you are still craving for more after you get basic security in life then it means you do not have a passion for anything else. A strong desire for money is the only passion that such people have.
On the other hand, artist starts thinking about their next project as soon as their basic needs are met. Sometimes they start creating even in poor conditions.
Now if I talk about myself. I write for a living but it is also my hobby. Technical writing is what puts bread on my table but my stories, essays, and opinions fill my soul.
Freelance work is similar to foraging for food like a bird while pursuing my hobby feels like singing just for the sake of it.
My first book was self-published so there were no stakeholders involved. I know that if I were to make this a full-time job it would ruin my passion.
If my security was dependent on my passion then it would ruin it. When I am creating art I am not thinking about my next meal. Instead of that, I am consumed by the fire inside me. If I am thinking about my next meal then it interrupts me. When I write I just want to let the words flow and I do not want to think about publishers, editors, and sometimes I even ignore Grammar.
My art already has the burden to keep me sane. I cannot strangle it with financial statements.
Money sort of ruins everything! It ruins passion and it makes you feeble. You are ready to follow the instructions for it. On the other hand, an artist needs to be bold!
He or she ought to question and defile the traditions of a century. A person worried about success or money can never do that. Think about most of the legendary writers. None of them had extraordinary levels of wealth.
Sadly, many writers or thinkers have that wealth today and that is why most of what they spew is motivational bullshit. We do not need to be motivated. The Western civilization stands at the edge of collapse. If we get any more motivated we will fall.
It is clear to me that everyone in society deserves basic security. If society cannot provide that to someone then it has failed to organize itself. Then the individual is responsible for himself but in this alternative, society has no right to exist.
We need a new currency. One that does not ruin passion, empathy, compassion, and love.
About the author
Chirag Saxena is the author of ‘Reinventing the Wheel’ and a content marketer by profession. He takes great interest in philosophical questions.