Does Money Have Soul?

​Money is_______________.

If you were to fill in the blank, what would you come up with?

In a first book circle session with an NGO, I asked the participants, to do the same.

Here is some of what they said:

>> tricky
>> a drive/reward
>> "What's in it for me?"
>> profit as a goal
>> corruption
>> ease and freedom
>> exciting -- making the deal
>> gaps
>> not a problem, people are
>> relationship between people and money is the problem
>> sometimes too much (over abundance, what do we do with it?)

We then explored the implications of these money "stories" on their work, and also, how other people's money stories played a role - from those who donated the money to fund their work, to how they served the world with the money.

We're still peeling back the layers of the onion.

In Lynne Twist's book The Soul of Money she explores how our different cultures relate to money, and how it affects how we live and work, and how we relate to one another.

She wrote:

​Money itself isn't the problem. Money itself isn't bad or good. Money itself doesn't have power or not have power. It is our interpretation of money, our interaction with it, where the real mischief is and where we find the real opportunities for self-discovery and personal transformation.

​​One of my favorite stories in the book is when Lynne Twist returns a large donation from a food executive because she considered it "dirty money", only issued as a PR campaign after a scandal was uncovered.

The very same day, she was in Harlem, collecting $1, $5, $10, and $20 dollar bills in the basement of a leaky church.

She said that the money from the ladies was infused with integrity and heart, and had way more value than the large check from the executive.

What do you think...does money have a soul?

P.S. I'll put a link to Lynne Twists TED talk in the comments. She shares this story, and it often brings me to tears.

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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