Money is a means, not an end.

MONEY IS A MEANS NOT AN END

The obsession with money, For the roba, for the possession of an index of power and superiority It's something we all have inside, a strand of our DNA. Boris Pahor, Slovenian teacher and philosopher, master of morality and aesthetics, author of a dense autobiography, Necropolis, about his life as a prisoner in a concentration camp, at the age of 105, the age of the clearest and freest wisdom, he wrote: «The dictatorship of money has entered our cells". It has probably always been there. Yet, if we want life to be sweet, light and easy in its intensity, to weaken the natural obsession with money, we have very effective tools in their simplicityProvided we want it, and are able to explain it to those who come after us. Soon, very soon.

IMPORTANCE OF MONEY

At the table, even when eating with children, a good rule—and I'm not just referring to formal etiquette—is to never talk about money. Never. The topic can't be ignored; it's a daily topic, but the table, when you are with your family, with your children, or with friends, with a woman or a man in the process of courting, This is not the right place to touch on this aspect of our DNA.There are other occasions and other moments, and we're spoiled for choice when it comes to using them. At the table, we talk about other things, more interesting and more fun. Read more.

ALSO READ: Harmony, a key to happiness. Feeling good about yourself and others, that's inner well-being.

VALUE FOR MONEY

Similarly, money remains confined in its space if, reminding us in a flash of a commandment of Nicholas Machiavelli («The end justifies the means»), let's try to reflect on the fact that the «means», when it comes to money to be accumulated or grabbed, can really be the most brutal and the darkest, it can emerge from the black and gray area of ​​our soulLike when we kill old people, parents, or grandparents, who refuse to give up money to buy us a dose of drugs or to allow us to guzzle expensive spirits. Or when, out of a thirst for money, we resort to "means" ranging from white-collar theft in a double-breasted blue suit to subway robberies by a desperate man who, again for money, becomes the guilty party of crimes worthy of 10-20 years in prison.

LIVE LIGHTLY

Finally, since money is useful to everyone and will always be useful, beware of the preaching of the pauperists with your pocket full, and rather stop at the lowest rung of our knowledge. common senseA great way to keep money from getting too excited, as it's always ready to force its way into the part of the brain where compulsive desires accumulate, is to recognize its value, especially when it's the fruit of hard work—intense, continuous effort. Will anyone say that this makes you stingy? Oh well., let them talk, smile while looking at yourselves in the mirror and reciting in your mind Dante's verses, so dear to my mother: "Do not worry about them, but look and pass by." Rather, think about how to cultivate a lifestyle in which money is not wasted, if anything, it's given away. On the other hand, there must be a reason why, remembering the ancient proverb "It never rains on the wet," in the rhythm of money that calls itself money, the truly rich—and not those who one day are on vacation in the Caribbean and the next week ask a loan shark for a loan to pay one of their many unpaid bills—never lose, not even for a second, respect for their money, even for the most infinitesimal crumbs of a gigantic fortune. Are they miserly precisely because they're rich? Do they try to hide the good fortune they've received from life with an attitude bordering on tic? I would be cautious in giving assertive and generic answers to these questions; every rich person, like every man and woman, has their own story and their own life that speak volumes and provide answers. But surely the attitude of recognizing the value of money, always and in any case, is shared by the vast majority of those who truly have a lot of money, and continue to accumulate it even as they spend and squander it.

VALUE FOR MONEY

In a small provincial supermarket, by the sea, one summer morning I happened to meet Rupert Murdoch, the king of TV and media, for several years now, consistently one of the 100 richest men in the world. He was wearing shorts, sneakers, a white T-shirt, and was surrounded by four sailors, including two beautiful girls, who were accompanying him to collect their shopping bags. I hadn't recognized him, but as I was choosing some perfectly ripe snuffbox peaches, this struck me.cheerful old man who selected the right fruit with far more skill and care than I did. At that point, as we exchanged glances, I had no doubt: I was shopping in the company of a true global tycoon. Intrigued, I got in line behind him when it was time to pay. When his turn came, Murdoch, with a winking smile and making the scissors sign with his fingers as they cut, asked the owner of the small supermarket if he could have a discount. On a purchase, at that moment, of less than two kilos of peaches. The man at the checkout doesn't flinch, he obliges, and Murdoch, with the elegance of a charming Anglo-Saxon, pats him on the shoulder and repeats the word "Thank you" twice, in English and accompanied by a wink. Then I arrive, having known the owner of the small supermarket for years, and I say to him, with the joking tone of a journalist friend: "Am I wrong or are there any here?" two rather incredible news"That was Murdoch, and he managed to steal twenty cents from your wallet, in the form of a discount on a handful of peaches. Of you who only know how to raise prices..." And he: "Yes, you saw right, Murdoch is on vacation around here and comes to me every day to do the shopping, or sends someone. He knows all the prices of everything he buys by heart, from pasta to fruit, and every time he demands a discountI can't refuse, especially since today he bought two kilos of snuffbox peaches, but yesterday, unlike you who do less than normal shopping, he sent his henchmen to quickly pick up 25 cases of wine. Obviously at a discounted price..."

THE ROLE OF MONEY IN OUR LIVES

If Murdoch does it, then don't be ashamed.: money is also respected with small attentions, which help give you a sense of its value, not just its economic value. The value, that is, of a means, fundamental and indispensable in our lives; not of an end, since our existential horizons are different, and have nothing to do with the daily routine of coins or pieces of paper, which constantly pass from hand to hand. And often become greasy.

HOW TO FREE YOURSELF FROM THE SLAVERY OF MONEY

Money, to return to Pahor's prophecy, when it exercises power in the form of dictatorship, becomes a form of slavery. Without realizing it, we become prisoners of it and need it in ever-increasing doses. A form of dependence. Where the primary goal is accumulation, without much concern for real well-being, which also comes from a high standard of living. Indeed, the slavery of money creates anxiety, stress. Fear of not having everything we need.

PRECIOUS PARADIGMS FOR LIVING SERENELY

• How to make a couple last
• Why it pays to be polite
• How to Save a Marriage and Make It Last
• How to teach kindness to children
• You can never have too much patience
• Fragility can make you very strong
• How to learn patience