Money is bad. A lot of people have a negative view of money. At the very least, they feel they have to be cautious when they deal with money. Whatever you do, you have to be careful. Money can be a bad thing.

Money disappears fast. When you need money most, you cannot find it. It quickly disappears. Right after it comes into your life, it will go fast! In Japanese, we used to call it oashi, which means “feet.” Money seems to walk quickly away from you. I guess we can all relate a little to this one!

Money hurts people. This is also a common belief. Money, in the literal sense, cannot hurt people. However, we may feel hurt because money triggers some pain in us: sometimes it triggers our lack of self-worth, sometimes our past relationship issues. Sometimes people do use money as a weapon. They use it to attack others or buy things that can cause harm to people.

Money is scary. When we think that money can accomplish anything, money seems bigger than what it is. We know we can get hurt by money. That is why we begin to be afraid of money. We are afraid of many things. But money by itself is not scary.

Money creates trouble. If you have a bad memory about money, you may feel this way. But money doesn’t create trouble; we do. We create trouble when we break promises or contracts, withhold money out of greed, miss payments, or don’t use it in a sincere way.

Money invites jealousy. We are afraid of negative attention in general. Having a lot of money can cause that. So if you feel hesitant about having a lot of money for this reason, that is understandable too.

Now here are some positive beliefs about money:

Money supports people. Of course, money can support people by enabling them to make a living, helping them learn new things, and providing them with security and all the necessities required to live.

Money makes people happy. As I mentioned in previous sections, money does elicit positive emotions as well. You can in fact feel happy about money even if you have only a little of it. When given or received with happy energy, money can make someone feel good. Even a postcard can make someone feel happy.

Money helps realize dreams. This is a good one too. People have all kinds of dreams, and sometimes money helps to fund them. They can be as expensive as a trip to Mars or they can cost very little.

Money bonds people. If you spend money wisely, you can help create better relationships. For example, you can use money to plan a family trip and make happy memories that will last a lifetime. You can use money to make all kinds of fun arrangements that bring you closer to your family and friends. Sometimes I use my money to treat young students to lunch. I’ll invite twenty or thirty together and we’ll talk and laugh.

Money warms people’s hearts. You can send flowers to sick friends. You can send money to foster care facilities. A few years ago, there was an anonymous donation of school back- packs to a local orphanage here in Japan. The sender of the gift called him- or herself “Tigermask,” which is the name of a famous cartoon character in Japan. After news of the donation was broadcast on TV, hundreds of similar donations started to arrive not only at the orphanage but at nursing homes and other places that needed similar support. That movement inspired everyone and gave them a warm feeling.