From India, where there are more chronically malnourished and starving people than any place else on earth, to the isolated and disconnected world of the rich living behind their gates, Lynne Twist takes us on an intimate journey as she examines our fear-based relationship with money. The Soul of Money is a profound and beautiful read about the deep need of the human spirit and soul to be connected to others, and how alike we humans are in our desires, no matter where we live, no matter how much we have or don’t have. Twist kindly and gently shows us how to be better human beings.The Soul of Money begins with Twist addressing such common money myths as “there is never enough” and “more is better.” She invites us to explore our own relationship with money and how that relationship molds our view of the world and each other. “Money has become a playing field of how we measure our competence and worth as people,” she says. In a country of mass consumers, this is a disheartening truth. Twist reassures us that these thoughts can be changed when we learn to see money as a valuable tool that can be used to reconnect us to our deepest core values.
Twist shares lessons she learned about life and money while working as a fundraiser for the Hunger Project. Stories are told about the wondrous things that can happen when people come together and share their resources. A woman in Harlem gives Twist a $50 dollar donation that in turn opens Twist’s heart and prompts her to return a $50,000 check given to the Hunger Project by a corporation attempting to repair its damaged image. A group of Senegalese women, whose tribe was running out of water, sees an underground lake in their visions and believes that if they dig, they will find water. However, as women, they are forbidden to do that type of work. Twist and The Hunger Project arrive and negotiate with the male leaders. The women are allowed to dig. The underground lake is there. The tribe goes on to flourish. The Chinese proverb “Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” comes to mind as Twist reminds us that self-sufficiency and self-reliance are tied intimately to self-respect.
For many of us, our fear-based relationship with money often keeps us from showing up with what we have to share. When this fear stops the flow of money to us and through us, we lose the chance to contribute meaningfully to the betterment of our own lives and the lives of others. Our souls are blocked from expressing what
is uniquely ours to give. It is not necessary to show up with big things, big money, big ideas. We just need to show up. Who we are, not what we have, is our biggest asset. The Soul of Money is truly a how-to book on life. It is eye opening, heart opening, and poignantly hopeful.
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A garden is a gift we give ourselves and a celebration of hope for the future.
Love, Betsy and the Flowergirls
A garden is a gift we give ourselves and a celebration of hope for the future.
Love, Betsy and the Flowergirls
