I heard a quote once that said you make within two-thousand dollars of your closest friends. But if you’re like me, human connection outweighs monetary gain. Sure, I plan on owning a Ferrari, but that vision has nothing on the dream to hug as many people as I possibly can.
And yes, by hugging I mean connecting on a relational level with others. But I do mean hugging as well! People need to hug and love on each other more! The thing about money is this; it’s a vehicle. Money is a tool. When all of our bills are paid, no debts are owed, and we can take our families and people we love to nice dinners or far off lands, we carry a peace within us.
With this peace comes the ability to be better able to uplift and love other people. That’s the highest calling in life. And when you can see a spark in someone’s eyes because you’ve touched their heart, you realize it’s something money could have never bought… or did it? When we feel the stress and anxiety of living every other Friday to every other Friday, it tends to leave our vessels empty. It leaves us empty.
How can we pour from that which is empty? We can’t.
There are people in your life that you love with every fiber of your being and you want and wish you could do more for them. By more, I don’t necessarily interpret that as spend more money. I mean devote more attention. You may believe you are giving all of you to someone, but that burning fear of having the Kia repossessed is ever-present, disallowing you to be truly and fully present to those that need you to be. So my claim here is a simple one; money can buy that which you thought it couldn’t.
We often hear that money is the root of all evil. The actual verse is read, “…the love of money is the root of all evil.” I don’t love money, I love human connection. If you’re seeking something bigger, outside of yourself, the money and the Teslas will come.
Those aren’t the focus, they’re only the by-products of that which is your true focus.
The title of this blog is “Association”. What this term represents is getting around people that are of the same or similar mindset as you are. Involving yourself with those that have accomplished incredible things with their lives and humbling yourself to learn what they have to teach. Keeping good company encourages your success to be imminent, whatever your definition for success may be.
C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien were good friends. Those dudes did some things. The point is, find yourself a J. R. R. Tolkien or a roomful of them and let your heart rule your life! Being around people that encourage you to dig deep and pull out the best you that you can possibly be is something that should be strived for daily. If there is an opportunity to be around someone that can help you achieve the next level in your life’s work and you don’t take advantage of it, you simply do not see your life as important.
Some of the people that I have met this last year have illuminated my life’s meanings and purposes. Are you around people that do the same for you? Or are you around those that you care deeply for but they seem to pull out all of your bitterness, all of your anger, all of your anxiety, and all of the other toxins that will keep your life stagnant and immovable.
If the faces you see every day are wrapping themselves around you like rusted chains, the solution is simple. You must get away. If feelings of joy, fulfillment and peace are not something you seek, just stay right where you are, misery requires you not to move your feet.
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