Learn how the Matter area shapes money, career, records, and stewardship so your physical world supports stability and freedom.
Matter
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Essential
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Medium
Circumstances
It’s strange the sequence of events that leads to one thing and then another. Yet, history, the act of storytelling in retrospect, is something entirely different than moving through a physical world in the present, not knowing what will unfold next. We’re all bound by the time and place we’re born in. Whether it’s educational institutes, economies, religion, politics, or geological events, they demand our attention—or more truly stated: force us to participate. Circumstances seem to dictate and control some people's lives, while others seem to grasp a hold of their circumstances and bend them to their own will. The physical world can support us, weigh us down, and greatly alter the direction of our lives.
Essence
There lies no doubt in the fact that to be human means to be in relation with matter. Our actions are physical by nature, and all we do has some effect on the world. In its simplest form, it pertains to our clothes, shelter, and clean water. Yet, this area includes a far wider range, from Institutions to time, and money to science. Matter is what we can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. And the nature of this area is strangely one of compassion. If we are lucky enough that our basics are met, then we have the choice to become stewards of our environment and bring higher quality into the world.
The way we then deal with money, systems, houses, etc, shines a light on our values and who we are. It’s magical that the effect of a messy room versus a tidy one¹ has on ones life, being an employee or entrepreneur, choosing to commit to living in the countryside versus a city. All these small or large choices can alter the course of our lives, and if we do not choose consciously, others will do so for us. To cultivate a healthy relationship with Matter that in turn brings support to our life is the art of this area.
Status versus Wealth
A big trap of the Matter area is mistaking status for wealth. Status is a zero-sum game, while wealth is a positive-sum one. In simpler terms, status seeks to possess what others cannot, such as owning a Ferrari, not because it’s a better car than a Tesla, but because many cannot afford one.² Wealth seeks to create value that improves life for many, such as the invention of the lightbulb. When we chase material symbols to feed our identity, we end up empty, but when we use matter as an end in itself, we turn the physical world into something that supports life rather than depletes it.
Being able to produce value for the collective is wealth, while consuming something purely for individual satisfaction beyond our actual needs leads to a feeling of emptiness.³ Finding out that we’ve invested all our energy in adhering to a certain status symbol, such as getting the ‘right’ college degree, or a certain prestigious job, only to find out that it isn’t what we wanted, is a severe loss. Being able to enhance the physical environment around us takes work and investment. True wealth is not merely what we own, but what we build and preserve. And by creating wealth, we can un turn supports our freedom and that of others.
Pillars
Matter is an area most people understand intuitively. This quality can be deceptive as the assumption that the Matter area yields less importance than e.g., the Spirit or Body area. This is most certainly not the case, and the following five pillars of Matter, help balance this area, so it can in turn supports all others:
Essentials
In order to survive and function properly, we need the foundations to be secure. This entails access to clean water, food, housing. clothes, energy (electricity, heating, internet), and other utilities (waste, sewage, sanitation). When people's basic needs are met, it allows for the time and energy to pursue all other interests.
Stewardship
The materials around us ask for care, maintenance, and relation. How we choose to use and own the material things around us determines if it supports or distracts us. This can pertain to living spaces, work tools, transportation, and living an organized life. We can learn a great deal about ourselves from the state of our possessions.
Money
Money is stored energy and is therefore a reflection of our choices, work input, and society's opinion of our value. Increasing income, saving smarter, getting free of debt, and spending/investing with intent can support our stability. The downside of money can become a slave in order to survive, while the upside of money can be freedom to do what we want, when we want to.
Records
The legal and practical papers that anchor us in society and allow us to cooperate with the system. Keeping our papers organized can be the difference between life and death, freedom and imprisonment. Health records, financial documents, and education credentials can shape your life—for better or worse.
Career
The skills we choose to invest in, and therefore the specialized role we inhabit for society, can be called our work. It means contributing, developing mastery, and creating value by turning your abilities into a sustainable livelihood. Ideally, our career is our vocation, and thus a combination of our skills, interests, and that which society values us to do.
Relationships to other areas
Matter is in direct polarity with the Spirit area. Matter is yang, manifested, positive, tangible, while Spirit is yin, un-manifested, negative, intangible. Investment in the Matter area, e.g., ones career or business, will as a rule take energy from the Spirit area. Creating harmony between these two areas can be no small task. It is thus that we often find business people to be non-spiritual, and spiritual people to be anti-material. Yet, these areas can benefit from one another. To find one’s purpose in the world, we must invest in both Spirit and Matter, and find a way to combine the two. More can be explored on this topic in the Service area. ⁴
Matter aligns with Mind and Body, creating clarity. Improving and investing in the Matter area can and should benefit our Mind and Body. Yet, the reverse is also true, if the Matter area is out of balance, the Mind and Body Area can easily suffer, e.g., a too stressful job that produces a physical disease or mental burnout. Matter’s part in clarity is in its support. Living an abundant life entails that we have invested in Matter, and are in good relation with the world around us.
Achievement
Our reality is greatly determined by the Matter around us. Achievement is greatly misunderstood and often rejected by many due to its negative side effects. But it is possible to create an abundant life, in which we find our vocation, earn enough money to make a sustainable living, and have ample free time to cultivate other life areas. This area is mainly one of weight, which can hold us down or support us; the choice is up to us.
Footnotes
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondō
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, by Eric Jorgenson
Note that wealth is not necessarily the invention of something as great or small as the light bulb, but simply the ability to leave something better than it was. This can range from caring for a garden, a house, a company, etc.
See Service area on how to create harmony between the different areas of life
