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Balancing money
By Ibrahim Bah/Guest Column
 Ibrahim Bah
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Money surrounding everything (wants and needs) we come across can have many effects on the type of life we create in dealing with it. No aspect of life seems to cause as much stir as money. Deciding what role money will play in our lives has a huge impact on the lifestyle we create for ourselves.
Some dream about having lots of money so they can buy their wants, do whatever they want, go wherever they want. For this reason they will do almost anything in order to gain it. By the time they get all the things they had wanted at first, new wants could follow. Their minds are entangled in the crave for endless wants impossible to meet or satisfy. Their ambition to get more, leads them to stressful lives. Often money comes and goes quickly meaning they will find other means of getting it at all cost. The same people see money as the way to solve problems and make everyone happy, thinking the image it will make of them can make others like them for what they have.
On the other hand, others equate money with security, hold on to it tight, follow it, manage it. These people deal with money and put it in its place behind other values such as friendship and responsibilities. These people know we live in a materialistic environment; money and purchasing are an inevitable part of our lives. But we do not have to become possessed by money or the things it can buy. These individuals can put money in its proper place. They have a sense of perspective on how money should be approached. They sort out what is enough from what is excessive. Without such a perspective, they would begin to expect more of material things than is possible.
In order to live well and lead dignified lives, we need money and the things it can buy. We need money for food, shelter, clothing and medical care. To live beyond the level of sheer survival needs, money is needed for education, transportation, entertainment, provision for the future, contributions and so on. Not recognizing the realistic need for money can be foolish. Most of us possess the wisdom on how to control our view of money. Money itself is not bad; it is necessary to carry on our life. However, to live happily and freely, and to avoid becoming a slave to money and material things, we need a sense of balance about it.
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