The Philosophy of Swapping
We all like to get a great deal, we like to treat ourselves when we feel down, or have done something hard or difficult, cheer ourselves up when we are tired or bored; they are all human responses, stirred up in us by clever advertisers, over indulgent parents or partners, or our own greed.
It is a battle we all face; the desire for more than we need.
However most of us are very aware that there is just too much 'stuff' in the world and truly we do want to do something about it.
Hence our dreamy thoughts with the 'minimal' look many of us have adopted in our living rooms (whites and soft neutral colours being the most popular choices) and the most acceptable car colour choice, being white.
The very fact most of us try to recycle or use reusable bags instead of plastic ones just goes to show we are at least aware of overindulgence.
Taking time to think about our polluted world and quelling the desire for more than one needs, without consideration for others, and then simply swapping something for something else, sometimes though, just won't do; money makes the world go round as they sing, or does it? We can at times seem caught up in this complicated world of earning money to survive.
Well, I think swapping makes the world go round.
We need to swap our time and energy to get the money.
Then use the money we earned by trading our toil, to enable us to buy our onions.
We have come on a long journey, we have put up with a lot since the days of raiding adventurers began ransacking and stealing from us for their own profit, we have learned how to trade and use money to our advantage, we continue to fight back and we now want our own wealth, and want to have plenty of it in reserve.
And now this progress has been made few of us want to go back to relying on our wits or womanly wiles to feed the kids.
However, in the days when life was simple and could be rewarding in an uncomplicated way, like in the days of the American Wild West, when a deer hide had great value, and a treated skin from a big buck could have been traded for just about anything, when life was free from big money worries, what happened? The buckskin (the dollar often being referred to as a buck) became a form of money.
In 1612 John Rolfe harvested the first tobacco crop of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, less than a decade later tobacco was a major export commodity for the colony, when it was then even used as a form of currency.
Before all this, various metals began to be used as money.
Coins could even be halved or chipped to reflect the trade value of an item.
One day maybe money may become as archaic as 'a pinch of gold dust'.
Now I know we are a long way from ever going back to pure trading, even the most ardent environmentally conscious amongst us see's the flaws in that.
But I think we would all do well to remember that swapping goods for goods, or services, was once a true way of life, one which required interaction, conversation, and the human touch, not only that, but the feeling one gets from a honest swap or trade or haggle can leave you with a real sense of achievement; unlike that of having to do a hard day's work just to pay off the mortgage.
Have you ever noticed how we seem to actually see less money these days? We are increasingly doing trade on the net, or making card transactions and debit actions through the bank; all without ever seeing what our salaries actually look like in 'readies' It seems that what we are directly doing now, is swapping our time for this 'progress'.
If you are in need of a sort out at home, want to have a cleanup of that garage, or grown tired of something, why not find it a new home by swapping it with a friend or acquaintance.
That way you will be rewarded with dialogue, and a real feeling of going back to your roots, making a valid and considerable difference and tapping into the simple, ancient world of trade.
It is a battle we all face; the desire for more than we need.
However most of us are very aware that there is just too much 'stuff' in the world and truly we do want to do something about it.
Hence our dreamy thoughts with the 'minimal' look many of us have adopted in our living rooms (whites and soft neutral colours being the most popular choices) and the most acceptable car colour choice, being white.
The very fact most of us try to recycle or use reusable bags instead of plastic ones just goes to show we are at least aware of overindulgence.
Taking time to think about our polluted world and quelling the desire for more than one needs, without consideration for others, and then simply swapping something for something else, sometimes though, just won't do; money makes the world go round as they sing, or does it? We can at times seem caught up in this complicated world of earning money to survive.
Well, I think swapping makes the world go round.
We need to swap our time and energy to get the money.
Then use the money we earned by trading our toil, to enable us to buy our onions.
We have come on a long journey, we have put up with a lot since the days of raiding adventurers began ransacking and stealing from us for their own profit, we have learned how to trade and use money to our advantage, we continue to fight back and we now want our own wealth, and want to have plenty of it in reserve.
And now this progress has been made few of us want to go back to relying on our wits or womanly wiles to feed the kids.
However, in the days when life was simple and could be rewarding in an uncomplicated way, like in the days of the American Wild West, when a deer hide had great value, and a treated skin from a big buck could have been traded for just about anything, when life was free from big money worries, what happened? The buckskin (the dollar often being referred to as a buck) became a form of money.
In 1612 John Rolfe harvested the first tobacco crop of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, less than a decade later tobacco was a major export commodity for the colony, when it was then even used as a form of currency.
Before all this, various metals began to be used as money.
Coins could even be halved or chipped to reflect the trade value of an item.
One day maybe money may become as archaic as 'a pinch of gold dust'.
Now I know we are a long way from ever going back to pure trading, even the most ardent environmentally conscious amongst us see's the flaws in that.
But I think we would all do well to remember that swapping goods for goods, or services, was once a true way of life, one which required interaction, conversation, and the human touch, not only that, but the feeling one gets from a honest swap or trade or haggle can leave you with a real sense of achievement; unlike that of having to do a hard day's work just to pay off the mortgage.
Have you ever noticed how we seem to actually see less money these days? We are increasingly doing trade on the net, or making card transactions and debit actions through the bank; all without ever seeing what our salaries actually look like in 'readies' It seems that what we are directly doing now, is swapping our time for this 'progress'.
If you are in need of a sort out at home, want to have a cleanup of that garage, or grown tired of something, why not find it a new home by swapping it with a friend or acquaintance.
That way you will be rewarded with dialogue, and a real feeling of going back to your roots, making a valid and considerable difference and tapping into the simple, ancient world of trade.
