Here is an excerpt from a personal growth money journal I wrote back in the day.
It is a good example of how to make sure you keep money energy flowing into your life through joy in having it. It is not necessary to have a lot of money to enjoy life, but it is essential to have gratitude and pleasure in what you have so that money energy flows more easily.
The lessons I learned here, though not comprehensive, are one I refer to from time to time to keep me on track.
June 14
I have been studying how to improve my relationship to money. I learned that money energy is attracted to pleasure and joy rather than to mere survival requirements.
So, I devised an exercise for myself that involves finding a way to enjoy spending money. I have always enjoyed working and receiving money that way, but I have never thought of how I get joy out of spending it unless it is for big ticket items like going overseas to Spain – a place that for me is a living example of a society that values joy.
As I focused on the idea that I had to observe what spending gave me joy – as opposed to just having to buy the essentials – I discovered that I never think of ‘joy-spending’. Therefore, I went to my greengrocer and scanned all the possible purchases that would give me a sense of joy. The vegetables are so beautiful there, but buying the usual weekly items is same ol’ and it occurred it is far from an addiction. What gives me joy is to experience something that is novel. I am a bit of novelty junkie.
My eye lighted on some honeycomb. I love honeycomb. I love its golden colour, the intricate lace of the cells, the smell and the strange way that when you eat it the honey dissolves to leave only the clean wax that is a kind of oil pulling experience. When I eat honeycomb I feel the wonder that is the gift of bees to humanity. I heard that a teaspoon of honey is all that a bee makes in its lifetime. I make a point of feeling gratitude for bees every time I use it.
I bought my 250g of honeycomb at $17.95, a price far beyond the approval of my inner accountant.
June 15
Now that I have a handle on the idea of looking for joy purchases, I began to think what actually gives me joy other than novelty. Anything that helps me feel relaxed in some way was the next item on my list today. I went searching for my favourite, quite-hard-to-find, organic maple syrup. Buying something that I enjoy but feels ‘safe’ is good.
Unfortunately, I found that I was not in a joyful mood at all! I felt tired, unmotivated, somewhat anxious. This was clearly a time when I could not push through to joyful purchases. So instead, I focused on clearing the anxiety and stress by doing some dancing. I chose some unfamiliar music and let my body answer its rhythms. Was good, the energy returned but I gave up on finding the syrup.
June 16
Today I decided to look at what my body likes in clothing. It definitely likes soft, easy and fresh. So, I looked for some bamboo t-shirts online. I found a nice one at $44.95. But when I thought I should buy it for ‘joy’, it was a step too far. I don’t really need a new t-shirt. I can make do with the tatty old ones that are hidden under my jumpers. My discomfort in spending money on everyday items that don’t need extra money seems to have me by the throat.
Then I realised that each time I see those tatty old T-shirts it sucks my joy away. I tell myself I don’t have the money to have fresh ones. This is a ridiculous lie – Target has perfectly good ones. Still, I don’t buy them. I suppose I think of joy as something exciting beyond ordinary necessary comfort, but extra comfort and freshness is indeed a joy. In the end I buy the T-shirt.
June 17
Today I bought some steak to casserole with prunes and stout. This is not exactly a joy project, but it fits the bill of novelty as I haven’t made that recipe and I find that finding new ones that really work is a great pleasure – even if the numbers of new ones I want to repeat are limited.
As it turned out, the result was okay but not joyful. But I did find a recipe for Pear and Apple Crisp that was a great delight. Experimenting to find the joy in ordinary life and spending the money on it seems to be important skill to develop.
Copyright 2023 Sirmarti Publishing Pty Ltd
Author: Suzie St George
Image:
