Are you sure you don't have enough?

Three years, ago, well-to-do friends of mine, “Nancy and Phil” went on a high-ticket cruise among the Greek islands. Theirs was a luxurious small ship, so the passengers soon became acquainted. Phil, who holds a top-level position in a Midwest corporation, discovered that his fellow passengers held similar or better positions in much bigger East Coast companies, with commensurate incomes.
“Phil fell into such a funk,” Nancy confided later. “He began belittling himself because he wasn’t ‘as important or as rich’as the others. By the time he regained some perspective, he had wasted half the cruise with his ridiculous comparisons.”
It’s all relative, isn’t it?
Before deciding you don’t have enough, consider:
o How many square feet are in your house or apartment? In some societies, two or more families share as little as 600 square feet.
o Do you wish you could lose five or ten pounds? Then apparently, you’re getting enough to eat. Globally, one out of every five human beings is malnourished.
o Do you and your spouse own two cars? It’s not universally possible, but ever since gas topped $4 a gallon, more and more people have discovered busses, bicycles and old-fashioned walking as a means of getting somewhere. Oh, and did I mention carpools?
o I’m a former smoker who remembers how hard it was to quit, so if you smoke, you have my sympathy. But did you know your habit costs your family $41 per pack? That’s according to the Center for Health, Policy, Law and Management at Duke University [Study at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy reported in USA Today, Nov 26, 04 posted on line.] who added up a pack of cigarettes, plus taxes, insurance, medical care and lost earnings due to smoking-related disabilities over an adult lifetime.
This is not meant to guilt-trip any smokers because it is a powerful addiction. It just means that before we think we don’t have enough, we need to look clearly at how we spend our money now.

Where does a dollar go?

What would you do if you discovered, on the bottom edge of a dollar bill you got in change, this handwritten message: "Where does a dollar go? Send me a postcard. [Address] Have a great day!"
Would you answer? When I last talked to Midwest artist Dean Bracy, the man who sent out 10,000 of these dollar bills, more than 6,500 people had replied. And they sent more than postcards: Some sent travel brochures, maps, menus, bumper stickers, refrigerator magnets, baseball cards, even a pumpkin. People detailed their lives, politics and their towns…all to a stranger whom they’d never met.

Bracy's dollars turned up around the globe. They appeared at the scene of a crime, as a gift to a newborn, and in the garter of an exotic dancer. They were wagered by gamblers and given to charities. " [To read my complete story, as published in Readers Digest, go to the Articles link on my website, http://www.BarbaraBartocci.com]

Now pick up and hold a dollar bill. Where has this dollar been? Where will it go? You are holding what Joseph Campbell called “congealed energy.” We live in a universe made up of energy, and money is just one aspect.
In her excellent book, The Energy of Money, psychologist Maria Nemeth, PhD, says our relationship with money is really the hero’s journey in which we enter unknown territory, encounter fears, mysteries and mentors, and eventually—if we are willing—gain a sense of mastery.
What kind of emotional energy do you feel around money? A good way to find out is to write a money autobiography. Write for 10 minutes by hand or on your computer starting with this phrase: “I first learned about money when I was…”
What do you discover after writing for ten minutes?

Rethinking Wants vs. Needs

Here’s my admission: As I write this blog—and entreat your comments as readers—I will also be writing the newest in my series of Grace on the Go books: It’s entitled Grace on the Go: Powerful Prayers to Ease Money Worries.
As I blog, I hope to share my own ideas and also receive your good ideas about ways we can change our consciousness about money—in a positive way.
Scripture says, “As a man (or woman) thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). So I suggest that the first thing anyone caught in financial turmoil should do is re-think.
I come from a Christian background, but even those who don’t will acknowledge Jesus as a great Teacher, and he encouraged his followers to live free of worry about money. He promised that if they would seek the kingdom of God, all else that they needed would be theirs as well.
From China, the ancient Tao te Ching says, “If you realize you have enough, you are truly rich.”
Whoa, here’s the rub. Notice the operative words:
“All that you need.”
And, “Realizing you have enough.”
How do those two concepts square with our consumer-driven culture? For many years, I did my share of bowing before the Consumer Goddess. I didn’t over-spend, but I never became comfortable with just what I had. As I ruefully told a friend one day: “I drive through Mission Hills (our city’s best neighborhood) and think, ‘Wasn’t I supposed to live here?’”
The reality was, I lived in a perfectly comfortable house. I didn’t need to live in Mission Hills. Living in the “best” neighborhood was simply an ego-driven desire.
Part of my life’s journey has been to learn
o How to put the kingdom of God first as a goal.
o How to recognize and be content that I have enough.
How about you? Where are you on the journey?

What does "grace" have to do with money?

Here’s my confession: As I write this blog—and entreat your comments as readers—I will also be writing the newest in my series of Grace on the Go books: It’s entitled Grace on the Go: Powerful Prayers to Ease Money Worries.
As I blog, I hope to share my own ideas and also receive your good ideas about ways we can change our consciousness about money. Isn’t that part of prayer?
“As a man (or woman) thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7).
So I suggest the first thing anyone who is caught in financial turmoil should do is re-think.
I come from a Christian background, but even those who don’t will acknowledge Jesus as a great Teacher, and he encouraged his followers to live free of worry about money. He promised that if they would seek the kingdom of God, all else that they needed would be theirs as well. (The Tao says, “If you realize you have enough, you are truly rich.”)
What is God’s kingdom? Author Richard McBrien says, “We find God’s kingdom in everyday personal experiences. Whenever people show love to one another, forgive one another, or bear one another’s burdens, there is God’s kingdom.”
Here’s what I’ve noticed—and I imagine you have too: when things get scarce--when we get scared that we might not have enough—the ideas behind “loving one another” may go right out the window. Suddenly, we’re most concerned about ourselves. How do I keep what I have? How do I get more before it disappears?
I titled this blog, “92 best ideas” and my second idea is probably the hardest to implement because it involves faith. Not faith in some religious doctrine, but faith in the laws of the universe, and one of those laws says, “There is a cycle of giving-and-receiving. As you give, you will receive. "

Are your money worries real?

Years ago I worried a lot about money. I was always insecure. Afraid I wouldn’t have enough. In my fear, I sometimes pictured myself in the middle of a deep, dark forest (the kind that swallowed up Little Red Riding Hood) and through the trees I would see the red, glittering wolves eyes…”Ready to eat you my dear, if your bank account falls below a certain level.”
I had another vision too, one I learned is shared by many women: I pictured myself in the future as a homeless old bag lady pushing my shopping cart with my cat (and I don’t even own a cat.)
Occasionally I wondered: where did my fears came from? I grew up in a standard-issue, middle-class family. My mom sometimes hollered, “If you kids don’t turn out the lights, you’ll send us to the poorhouse!” But in reality, I’ve never been poor.
Even as a self-employed writer, I’ve managed to earn “enough.”
Here’s what I’ve learned. Our worries and fears---about money or anything else—start inside our heads. And they may—or may not--be hooked to reality.
So the first of the 92 best ideas to ease money worries is this: Figure out if your worries are real (Losing your home or owing $50,000 on your credit card—a situation that actually existed for a friend of mine--- would be classed as “real.” )
OR do your worries exist primarily in your head, spurred on by the media’s fearful headlines or your own confusion between “wants” vs. actual “needs.”?
Maybe the wolves eyes are only in your imagination.
Now let me ask you—what ideas do you have to ease money worries? My years in creative work taught me that the very best ideas come from BRAINSTORMING….so let’s storm our brains TOGETHER. Here are the questions for today's poll:
QUESTION 1: When your thoughts do turn fearful about money, what “picture” pops into your head?
QUESTION 2: What are your ideas about ways to manage fearful thoughts?

92 Best Ways to Ease Money Worries & Feel Affluent

Hello, and Welcome. And guess what? You and I are going to create those 92 ways to ease money worries TOGETHER. I have ideas--a bunch of 'em actually-- but in my years of working on creative projects, I've learned the value of BRAINSTORMING.

So...my invitation is...let's storm our brains together. I'll start out with my ideas for easing money worries and I hope everyone who reads this blog will chime in with your ideas. Then, in OCTOBER, we'll do some voting to find the very BEST 92 ideas.

Now, here's my confession: I have a hidden agenda. I'm starting to work on the next book in my Grace on the Go series, and it's all about--gulp--prayers to help ease money worries. But besides the value of brainstorming, I've also learned that God helps those who help themselves and sometimes grace comes upon us through the good ideas and helping hands of others. That's why I decided to begin this blog--to both give and get help from others.

You know, years ago, whenever I thought about money, I felt as if I were sitting in a deep, dark forest (the kind that swallowed up Little Red Riding Hood) and in the shadows of trees I could see the red glittering eyes of hungry wolves.

I had another vision, too; one that I discovered I share with many women. I would picture myself in the future as a poor, homeless old bag lady pushing a shopping cart with my cat (and I don't even own a cat!)

Sometimes I wondered, why am I afraid of ending my life in poverty? I've never been poor. I grew up in a standard-issue middle-class family. My mom sometimes said, "You'll send us to the poorhouse if you don't start turning off lights when you leave a room!" but really, we had enough. More than enough, probably.

I've been a self-employed writer for nearly 30 years and made an okay living.

But here's something I've learned: part of easing any worry has to do with how we think. So

I'm going to conclude this post with Best Way Number 1: Figure out if your money worries are valid (i.e. the sheriff is coming to take the house or you owe $50,000 in credit card debt which actually afflicted one of my friends) or...are you worries in part a figment of an overactive imagination and too many current scare headlines in the media?