Four Things I Learned When I Did Not Have Money

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There is an ebb and flow to everything. It is the very rhythm of Nature. And when we look closer, we see that it is God’s beautiful design. – Allu

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This post is a sequel to my previous post about money.

Although the ebb of money in my experience did a good job to dampen my mood and make me question and doubt my choices and progress, I can say that the lessons I learned from the situation are very valuable for my purposes.

The experience is, in fact, what I needed to bring me closer to where I want to be.

Where do I want to be?

Where I want to be is a state of mind, or what you would call a ‘state of being’.

Here are some of the things I learned when I did not have money:

1. I learned to appreciate the little things that are usually taken for granted. I think this is the most common thing we all come to realize when something is taken away from our experience. It is said that an apple is the sweetest apple if it’s the only apple.

2. I gradually learned not to be dependent on the idea of money as the basis of my freedom, happiness, self-worth, self-confidence, and fun.

How did I practically arrive to number 2?

• I learned, or was rather compelled, to develop other skills.

• I activated unused assets.

• I appreciated more and highlighted existing strengths and used them to get to my goal. 

• I discovered ways to have fun without using money currency.

• Most importantly, I learned to trust (as I found myself in a situation where I have no other options – but to trust).

I noticed that the points enumerated above are simply mechanisms for adaptation. And if we adapt to changing circumstances, we evolve – a very good thing! For when we lack something, we develop another thing to help us adapt and survive in our current environment. We are pressed to explore more of our capabilities and creativity, which in turn, prod us to become more well-rounded, more integrated, and in the end, happier humans.

This reminds me of Tyrion Lannister in the Game of Thrones series. Since he is a dwarf, Tyrion cannot fight like the other knights and swordsmen to protect himself and his king or queen. His remaining option was to hone and employ his wit, humor and intellect. While some of the best swordsmen and influential characters were annihilated, Tyrion, the dwarf, survived and thrived.

We are reminded of what we often hear about, ‘count your blessings’. This is to say, not to sulk and dwell on our misfortunes or lack. Instead, we appreciate and amplify what we already have. It could be intangible things like our clarity, peacefulness, authenticity, humor, affection, social skills, etc.

3. Another difficult learning I finally came to grasp was to not let external appearances dictate or overwhelm my perception and mood. Now if we can exhibit and maintain this intention to be undisturbed – not only by the looks of our finances, but also by the sour weather, or by the acts of other people – we can say that we have succeeded in finding that coveted solid inner foundation of strength – that state of being – which is so calm yet so strong that it is unmoved, by either praise or slander, so to speak.

Obviously, easier said than done. But . . .

4. Lastly, and this goes deeper into metaphysics, is knowing that we are the creators of our reality. That each individual is Creator Source Being, and that whatever happens to you is your own manifestation (conscious or unconscious) which your ‘larger self’, together with other co-creators, has created as it serves you in one way or another.

I have since learned that life is a mind trick. All that happens to us can serve our highest good if we look at it with the right perspective.

As a Creator Source Being, I created my financial ebb to learn these things I learned.

Needless to say, these learnings are applicable to other areas in our lives as well, where we think something is missing or lacking.

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Money Is Power

Honest. Admit it. Whether we like it or not, money is power.

We may be strongly resistant to the thought that our sense of self-worth could be tied to how much money we have, but having very little or no money at all does significantly affect our level of self-confidence. For so-called conscious “spiritual workers”, especially, it is particularly difficult and embarrassing to admit this to oneself, since we loathe the thought that our value and confidence level could be affected by a mere “material” thing, such as money.

However, rather than to go on continually denying (as many Light Workers do) that our feelings are not a bit affected by our financial circumstances, it serves us to understand our confused or ambivalent relationship to money, so that we may find peace with it.

The first step is to see money for what it really is.

Money is energy. Energy is power. Money is power.

Energy, money, power – they all go through cycles of surges and declines. And just like the ebb and flow of the ocean tides, our emotions are naturally affected by the same energetic movements – the ebb and flow of money in our experience.

So there is really nothing to be embarrassed about when our moods and self-confidence is dampened by the ebb in our finances. It is but natural that we don’t feel so confident and energized when money energy is on the low, as it is natural to feel perky and confident when money energy is on the flow.

However, although we can’t help but feel dispirited when we are face to face with financial ebb, we can always find a way to use the experience to our advantage.

In my next blog post, I’d like to share some of the interesting things I learned when I didn’t have money.