The Role of Money In The Search For Inner Peace

I interviewed Jeff Casebolt in the mid-nineties. Jeff was then a Colorado Outward Bound Instructor, and had travelled the entire west coast of North and South America -- kayaking from Alaska to just north of Vancouver and then, from there, cycling to Tierra Del Fuego on the tip of South America. The first thing I asked him was why he did the trip.

"It was both a physical and a spiritual journey. The word 'spiritual' has a lot of negative trappings associated with it, but I think all of us are on an inward journey.  On the trip, people kept asking me why I was doing it, and the answer always changed. The picture changes.  I am realizing, more and more, that it really was something that I was looking for internally.  The external was certainly an incredible adventure, but it is more and more clear to me that we are all looking for inner peace." 

         When I questioned that -- suggested that by the evidence most people have very little interest in inner peace, he responded:

"I think a lot of people are not conscious of what they are looking for, they couldn't articulate it, or even think about.  But yes, I think everybody is searching for an inner kind of place that is more peaceful."

Inner peace is a different path for each of us. Money, financial security plays some role for each of us – for some major, for others minor. We all need to eat, we all need shelter. Most of us need a car; a functional, reliable car is better than a car that constantly breaks down. Most of us should have a reserve against bad times, a reserve to fund new creative projects that will take a while to get to fruition, a reserve against illness or accident, a reserve against retirement. 

But the important thing, I think, is that the objective is not money. It’s inner peace. That, for most of us, comes from meaningful work, meaningful relationships. Above all, at least in my case, it comes from a relationship with my inner world. It comes from a relationship with nature or with serving others or with learning.

 “He poured the tea into two red enamel mugs. It was dark and scalding. We sat a minute or two until he suddenly broke the silence: “Isn’t it wonderful? To live in this wonderful twentieth century? For the first time in history, you don’t need to own a thing.”
      - Father Terrence, Irish Catholic Priest and Cistercian hermit on the coast of Australia in Bruce Chatwin’s book The Songlines

The important thing, I think, is to know who you are and what you want out of life. Keith Richards said, when asked about the widely-reported near-death experiences he’s had from drug abuse, 

“I’ve lived my life my own way, and I’m here today because I’ve taken the trouble to find out who I am.” 

 . . .

 What is the role of financial security in your life? Would you be more at peace if that role was increased or diminished?

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Below, the two-page spread of this entry from the Heron Dance book, Nurturing The Song Within.