Financial Crisis: The Greatest Gift in a Generation

A guest post by Kent Thune, author of The Financial Philosopher blog

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ~ Kahlil Gibran

Isn’t it amazing what happens when money and material wealth are taken away?

This post was inspired by Mary’s story (and those of GoodLifeZEN readers) as shared in her recent post, The Lost Art of Giving.  What occurred to me as I read the post, and the comments that followed it, was that the true spirit of humanity is stronger now than I can recall in my memory.

What I find encouraging and rewarding in the midst of this financial crisis is that, as the excesses of greed, scandal and consumerism are exposed and reduced, what remains for many of us is an enhanced necessity and desire to give of ourselves.  In some cases, there is no other choice but to find creative means of giving because the monetary means of giving has been minimized or even removed by the destructive forces of the financial crisis.

Our net worth may be less today than it was one year ago, but our self worth is now enabled to be discovered… and we have been given what may be the greatest gift in a generation – the opportunity for profound personal growth…

One’s own self is well hidden from one’s own self; of all mines of treasure, one’s own is the last to be dug up. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Why is it that something traumatic is required for us to properly align our priorities?

I believe that social conventions actually cover our true selves and act as inhibitors to reaching our full potential.  These inhibiting social conventions tell us to choose an area of study in college that will produce the most financially rewarding career; they push us to climb the corporate ladder, to earn more money, to buy a bigger house, and to show our love and affection by giving “things;” and these social conventions have us (knowingly or unknowingly) misguiding our children down the same path.

Now enter the devastating “financial crisis.”

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. ~ Richard Bach

As a financial planner and investment adviser by trade, I could find many reasons to be pessimistic this 2008 holiday season.  To the contrary, I choose to find a beautiful silver lining surrounding the darkest of clouds hanging over our heads…

If you know anything about financial markets, you likely understand that they are cyclical in nature.  I won’t spend time or energy here discussing the quantitative dynamics of financial market movements, but my optimism with regard to the human spirit is that the end of economic cycles is marked by a removal of excess – what the media will call a recession and corresponding bear market for stocks – and this process of removal is one of rebirth and cleansing.

What is to give light must endure burning. ~ Viktor Frankl

What the removal of excess brings is something truly amazing:  The tragedy brought forth by the worst in humanity simultaneously enables the best in humanity – much in the same way a devastating storm brings neighbors together and inspires the “victims” to reflect on what is most important in life:

• When we give, we give of ourselves, rather than “things;”
• As we observe all that we have “lost,” our survival instinct reminds us of what we still possess – those things that go beyond the physical and material – our health, family, personal relationships and our capacity to hope;
• And we are reminded that the pursuit of money, material wealth and social status (collectively called “the rat race”) does not bring us closer to happiness, but paradoxically takes us further away from it by diverting us away from the path to meaning and purpose in our lives.

I tell you that virtue is not given by money – but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man… ~ Socrates

As we end a year that history will remember as the worst for the economy and stock market in a generation, I will remember 2008 as the greatest gift in a generation – the opportunity to realize our misplaced desire to pursue money, material wealth and social status is a pursuit void of meaning and purpose.

May we all remember, maintain and teach our children that life is not about making money – money is about making a life.  This would truly be the gift that keeps on giving…

If you enjoyed this article, please visit Kent Thune’s blog The Financial Philosopher

Virtual Retreats:
Mary Jaksch is will offer virtual retreats on Natural Spirituality in 2009.  Virtual retreats are ten day periods in which you are guided to focus on a particular aspect of spirituality, while still continuing in your everyday life. The first virtual retreat, Awareness: The Miracle of Now, will run from 22 February to 1 March, 2009. This virtual retreat is going to be by donation so that no-one is excluded because of financial hardship. Read more about the retreat and register your interest here.

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