After thorough reflection, one has to redefine wealth as having something of value that is beyond monetary. It is also seen that a person of great experience has a wealth of experience, or that a sociable person is wealthy with friends. What is of a newer view with wealth, albeit monetary or otherwise, is that anything one has of value, one is accountable for. Wealth is actually a liability in a sense that one is accountable for how is that of value being utilized. When there is accountability, then one understands that one therefore has no personal possession of anything of value, but responsibility.
It is therefore imperative that wealth be used in a holistically positive manner. Wealth, like leadership or authority, is not having power over the others, but being accountable to ensure that the noble intentions for the sake of creating positivity is therefore met and provided in the field of both private and public concerns. Wealth is responsibility over general affairs. This of course, does not mean that one who is materially wealthy involves all one’s wealth in charitable affairs. One who is financially wealthy should choose the proper utilization of one’s wealth. It should be of benefit to all which therefore makes its use dignified. One who uses wealth to cause harm is abusing wealth, and one who exploits or deceives the other to obtain wealth is also abusing wealth. Harm caused need not be to others, but to oneself as well. Abuse of wealth will, over time, cause one’s right to be accountable to diminish due to misuse. This has shown great evidence with titanic corporations who have been discovered to be abusive, and their consequences are deserving to their fate accordingly.
It is when one realizes that wealth is an accountability that one realizes the need to establish corporate social responsibility, for one to utilize not only financial wealth but one’s innate core competencies for the holistic benefit that one therefore finds themselves in a more sustainable state, with better peace of mind, and a more solid foundation built on strong values and ethics.
Another strong aspect that brings new light is discovering the use and benefit deriving action to consequence. In its primal state, one has an object utilized and gain its intended consequence as its output. What one has to review is the efficiency of use, on how much of the product is the actual intended output or consequence, and how much of the others become residual or side effects that might not have been intended, and how are these side effects also put to good use.
One can better understand this as consuming food for body sustenance, the amount of nutrients should be the intended consequence, but consuming the wrong food would also mean negative side effects to the body, resulting in inefficiency. The food consumed is therefore inefficient for the body, and its consequence will cause the body greater inefficiency.
The more focused and balanced one’s meal is, the more beneficial it becomes for the body, making it more efficient. But another side effect would be excrement, which is an actual vital source of nutrients for the flora genre. This side effect is not being put in proper use when sent through sewage, where it causes more harm than good when its decomposition does not become of benefit for the plants.
In this deeper point of reflection, one can see that there is much more that can be done with a few reflections in one’s choice of action. Priority should be given to one’s core design, to be of positive service for the universe and its greater good.
Column by Haresh Daswani. Submit guest columns, op-eds and letters to the editor at [email protected].
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