No Money

Ever been broke? I have. I am! It's fun in a very sadistic way. Everything becomes an adventure. How will I hop on the train today? Am I actually hungry enough to eat Lentil soup? Is that a quarter between that couch cushion? It's like a day at the carnival, but you're still broke.

Things appear diffirent that they would if you had money. You start to realize that there is value to nickels and dimes. You begin to actually 'Nickle and Dime' your way accross the city. Coins that used to seem a hassle to you when you had real money become your saviour when you're broke. Funny how perspectives flip.

Since you can't go anywhere or buy anything, you start to leave organized society in some ways. No use going to the mall, can't get anything without stealing it. Bars and restaurants become jokes. Do you know how much they charge for Lentil? Bills stop being scary and start being funny, and the whole concept of a money driven world seems a little absurd.

You start to notice the trees. You start to see the clouds move against the blue backdrop of the never-ending sky. You notice puddles of water in places where there should be no puddles. The slightest green becomes radiant and the darkest grey becomes comforting. A new world emerges, one where you never thought to see how much money you did or didn't have. One where the pursuits of your heart are the only one of any substance. Banks are buildings and bankers the people who scatter within them.

It's a very nice way to see the world, and you think it'll never change, and to an extent, it doesn't. Even when the money starts rolling in again (and it always does) you never lose that eye for nature, your awe of the simple things, that disrespect for bills and banks. But, the money comes, and the coins become a pain and the restaurants taste great and you laugh while you curse the lentil as you go the bank to get your cash.

While I clearly prefer to have money and the flexibility it induces, it's not all bad being broke. Everybody should try it once and understand it. It's not a choice, it's just the way things go while you're on the way to where you're going.

You learn that even though you're broke, life still goes, and you're still alive, and you learn that money is just another spoke in the wheel of it all - and at the moment, your wheel is just a little fucky.