Fortune, Wealth, and Money.
When I looked at my life, I was wondering why I seem to be so happy even though at times I can be extremely financially unstable. I’ve noticed other people when they sometimes hear about my circumstances, stress and worry about it more than I do. This made me want to question myself.
Have I been broke for so long that I don’t even feel the stress of it anymore, or am I on the brink of some kind of burnout?
I thought about how absurd it was to even start questioning my happiness just because of society's idea of what a happy life is. One of great fortune.
So this is the exact word I decided to explore.
Fortune.
Fortune is a universal law.
It’s the law of receiving something good.
This idea of ‘good’ can come in many guises.
Help, love, and good health.
It can also come as money.
Two things I can learn from this so far:
1. Money can be a part of Fortune but Fortune is not money.
2. This is why we are ‘fortunate’, because it is our way of respecting the law of Fortune when it comes to us.
When looking at the Cambridge dictionary for definitions I found this:
Fortune – a large amount of money, goods, property, etc.
Fortunate – receiving or bringing a good thing that was uncertain or unexpected.
The word ‘fortunate’ mentions this idea of ‘good’. In the same dictionary the definition for good is – very satisfactory, enjoyable, pleasant, or interesting.
So for example a small fortune could be:
A stranger smiles at me.
This is the receiving of something pleasant in an unexpected part of my day to day.
Therefore, this technically is a part of Fortune and I am fortunate in receiving it.
Why?
It’s simple. Because it’s nice. A smile is friendly and inviting.
A larger amount of Fortune could be:
The love I have from many friends and family.
Because of this, I am very fortunate.
So I looked back at the dictionary's definition and realised something.
The word Fortune has been poisoned by money because greed has seeped its way into its very definition.
Another word to be examined is ‘wealth’.
In the Cambridge dictionary there are two examples:
1. A large amount of money or valuable possessions that someone has.
2. A large amount of something good.
This further proves that Materialism has evolved its way into our very language. The very words we use. Every great philosopher has mentioned that we enter this world with nothing and we leave it again in the same way. So this materialistic way of seeing is unfortunately illogical. It shows a major flaw in the longer term of human existence if we continue to keep chasing it.
I learnt a couple of things from this meditation.
One is that money is just a tool. But a tool like that of an axe. It can help build things as well as help destroy them. But unlike an axe, money can be used indirectly. If someone had bad intentions with an axe, the consequences that follow are immediate. But with money they are vague. Almost cowardice.
The other is the reason why I am happy.
Turns out I am on the brink of burnout.
Just joking.
It’s because I have a great wealth of fortune.
I receive a lot of love and kindness in my life.
I like to think I play a role in Fortune too by doing the same back.
Which leads me to my final point.
Ralph Emerson once said “To have a friend, you must first be one.”
The same can be said with Fortune.
We can receive it.
But we also have the power to become it too.