Money.
I hate to admit it, but I'm fascinated with the concept of money. I think there is something about money that is so ingrained within the human mind that money isn't merely an abstract concept devised by humanity, rather it is humanity. Humanity cannot exist without it, and if you were to define what being human is all about, you would first have to start with the concept of money. I've been thinking about this a lot, namely how money does in fact make the world go around. In my foolishness I used to think that math and numbers ran the world. It wasn't until working full-time that I did in fact realize that: "Philosophy? Religion? Mathematics? That's all well and good, but what actually makes the world go round is the transference of money between those who have it, and those who need it."
This week has really caught my attention when I went to sign a lease for an apartment, answering an ad I saw on Craig's list. It boggles my mind how two complete strangers can come together and decide to live within the same house simply because one has money, and the other needs it. Money is the ultimate uniting force - it simply dictates everything. All decisions ultimately come down to two things: time and money.
I drove down and met with the guy, and though our conversation didn’t necessarily go like this, I replaced the actual conversation with the one contrived in my mind:
[Knock on the door]
Landlord: "Who the $#@! are you?"
Me: "I'm someone who has a $450 check each month to spend on housing."
Landlord: [Smiling] "And I'm someone who has a room available."
And boom, although we would have never stopped each other on the street, asked each other for advice on a homework problem, or even gave two thoughts about the other if one were lost in a downtown square - we were suddenly friends, bounded together by the force that binds all: money.
I hate money; I hate the fact that it brings strangers together, the fact that people are willing to open their house to anyone who has a check. Though, I guess some things are simply inescapable...