Money grows from trees

This morning, I found about one-fourth of a dollar bill by the doggy door, out on the deck. I know how much Nanalu likes to chew up paper, so there's no question who left it there. I was just glad it wasn't a 20.

It made me think, though. It's just a scrap of paper, like every other scrap of paper she leaves lying around. She had no idea what she was eating. And really, what was it? I put it in my pocket, even though it's not spendable. I'll throw it away later. And it feels like no great loss --- what can you buy for a buck?

But that's it? What CAN you buy --- and really, why can you buy anything? It's nothing but a social agreement. It holds no inherent worth. If I have a dollar bill and I want to use it to buy something from you, we have to agree about the value of the item in question. Since it is formalized at a store, there's rarely a dispute. But if you are a person who patronizes  the underground marketplace known as yard sales (garage sales, tag sales, jumble sales --- call it what you will) you know that the agreement part is always in question.

"Five bucks for that set of dishes? There aren't even any bowls. I'll give you $2.50"
"How 'bout if I throw in the glasses and that frying pan?"
"Sold!"

I'm out writing on the back deck this morning. Looking around, I notice the solar garden/patio lights we have illuminating the corners of the deck. They cost a buck apiece. How was that arrived at? It looks to me like there are more materials than that, let alone manufacturing and transportation. One dollar? I'd love to have a solar-powered house, but the cost is prohibitive. Why is that?

I guess I'm considering money and value in a different light these days. I can sit out on my deck and enjoy everything that nature has to offer --- birds, breeze, sunshine, greenery, dogs chasing mice,the scent of flowers ---- no charge. There aren't a lot of things I get more value from than this. What about paying the power bill ---- how do I calculate the value of air conditioning and heating, lights, refrigeration, stove, appliances, computer, and hot water? Considering how much value I get for all of that, the cost in money is miniscule. Yesterday we spent $300 in cash at 2 doctor offices, for check-backs. Worth it? How do you set a monetary value on monitoring health conditions?

Last night we made the decision to cancel our television service that provided a ridiculous number of channels, out of which we only watched 4. Good decision? Depends on how you value the entertainment of those four channels against the other things we will do instead. We both decided we valued our time writing, making art, and talking, much more than the dubious pleasures provided by TV. And anyway, you can always find stuff on the internet.

I don't know if it's old age, or wisdom creeping up on me, or simply the way life in the 21st century is unfolding, but I don't take things for granted as much anymore, not even pieces of paper that I can trade for more "stuff" I think I need. Those pieces of paper, or the worth they represent, are much more scarce now that I'm retired. That makes each one more worthy of consideration before I trade it for goods or services, or let it fall out of my freshly washed shorts onto the ground when hanging out the laundry, only to wind up being eaten by a dog.

It doesn't feel like deprivation. It feels like presence.