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#468 On Spending vs. Circulating

Why do we say we “spend” money?

That’s insane. “To spend” means “to use up” or “to wear out; exhaust.” It’s totally linear and pays no attention to the beautiful ecology of circulating money.

I don’t know about you, but when I buy a meal at a restaurant or buy a pair of tennis shoes or a new tire for my car, or whatever, I see the INCREDIBLY interconnected ecology of human beings that went into that simple purchase.

Pull the thread from any one of the components of a recent purchase and look at it. Let’s say you go out to eat. So, how’d that soup spoon get there? There are so many connections in that one object, it’s mind-boggling. Let’s give thanks to the person who set it on the table (as well as the person who made the table) and the person who bought it for the restaurant and the person who made the machine that made it and the person who packaged it up and the person who shipped it to the restaurant and the person who built the truck they drove and the person who built the stoplight and fixed the pothole and … and …. and…

That ONE item touched a remarkable number of people.

And what about everything else that went into that evening out?

Staggering.

It’s an infinite interconnected loop and if we took it far enough, that ONE meal comes pretty damn close to touching every person in the world.

So, I joyfully participate in that process with a huge amount of gratitude. And, I think we should call it “circulating” money from now on. :)

Ahem.