The thing is, people think there is only one currency in the world - money. There isn't. There are many many currencies in the world, and whether we like it or not, we trade in them all the time.
My belief is that at each level of our needs, we trade in a different currency.
Maslow's Heirarchy of needs, and where we are on that at the moment, determines what our primary currency for that stage in life is.
At the very basic level, of course, anything that aids survival is our currency. Food. A place to Live. All of that is our currency. And for someone at that stage of existence, we pay them in those currencies. This goes beyond just barter. Gangsters who don't hurt each other, are giving each other basic survival. Their currency is, quite literally, life. They trade one life for another, and hopefully, most lives are legal tender.
At the level of Safety, we begin to value our life with a lock. We value neighbours who watch our children. That is all human trade, being done in the currency of physical work. You do something for me, and I do something for you.
There is love, one of the most universal currencies. Because humans have stopped trading in love with each other - giving and receiving love, exchanging love as the ONLY element of exchange, not as an appendix to some other transaction (business, physical intimacy etc), humans have started to look at other entities that enable this free exchange of love - our plants, our pets. An exchange of love is the most vital, most basic of all human needs. Anyone who thinks that love is not one of the most universal currencies should read again about the experiment in which newborns died because the only thing they were denied was love. And of all our parallel currencies, the biggest loser is love.
There is, then, prestige. That we give to each other. Talking about new hobbies, new possessions, getting a new address, employing that many more ppl. Prestige is the currency that is traded the most around me these days. A new smartphone, admission to so and so college. The list is endless.
I suspect that many ppl think that they can substitute love with prestige. Respect with awe. I don't think so. And I suspect, that if they ask themselves honestly, they will find that thirst for water is not quenched by a cola.
And finally, the people at self actualisation, trade in the most universal currency of all - energy.
Energy is the most universal currency of all because it is absolute and inescapable. When you are in a room with someone, whether you like it or not, whether you want it or not, an exchange of energy is happening between you. Energy is also always balanced. It is not possible for you, unless you are a saint, to only give out energy. You will also absorb. There is always an automatic equilibrium in energy.
If we had to redo our lives, I think the key lies in being conscious of our currencies, and trading them wisely. Money is not the only thing that makes the world go round. It is one of the things, but there is no need to sacrifice the others at the altar of one.
Go back and evaluate your balance in the 5 core currencies:
A. Energy
B. Love
C. Social Currency (How many ppl will rally around you in a crisis, a dervative of love and energy but a separate currency unto itself)
D. Physical Work
E. Money and its derivatives (purely financial assets)
What does your portfolio look like?
