Money doesn't leave me as quickly......

Money has bamboozled me
for a long time now.

If there was something I didn't have ~

I didn't have what others had ~ whether I wanted it or not was beside the point.

Money does engender some pretty nasty feelings!

When I don't have what I think is enough ~

shame, guilt, anger, worry ~ what else ~

oh yes, fear! I've heard a lot of horror stories about not having...........

I really don't like any of those feelings or the horror stories.

When I do have what I think is enough ~

(well, at one time, I would have said I've never had 'enough')

but just for the sake of argument ~

I can feel awfully smug, self satisfied, 

maybe even a little greedy ~ wanting to hold on to more.

When I started thinking of money as merely a tool,
feelings shifted alongside attitude.

(banks and other financial institutions become pretty fancy tool sheds!)

And so I am grateful that I have my bills paid and a bit set aside.

Using my 'tools', I create a world around me that pleases me.

Will I ever have a wheel barrel full of money to tote into the tool shed?  Very likely not.

Have I worried that I'd be a bag lady someday because I wasn't 

an astute money merchant or 

because I hadn't worked hard enough?

Sure have.

When I make my own lunch for work, 
I hear a little 'chi-ching' in my head,

mentally figuring how much I didn't spend at the deli 
so I can have a latte later.

Our lives are full of convenience ~ a nice quality ~

it is convenient to go to the store.

Convenience is part of the price for anything I buy.

Things like medication, shoes, gas for my car

and activities outside of home
that keep spirit and soul together,

are things I cannot create for myself. 

The money tool is essential for these things.

And once more I am grateful.

Taking my eyes, but not my attention, 
off of the fear of not enough,

I have been able to see that I have a 

home, clothes, food, health...

and there's not enough room here to finish the list.

I have what I can develop within my own resourcefulness.

It is always enough in each moment ~ 

good feelings ~ satisfaction, self sufficiency, and yes.... gratitude.

“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only 

empty heads and empty hearts can do that.”

-  Norman Vincent Peale