It's that time of the year again

No, not Okoberfest... Though yes, I'll be going to that too... No, not in Germany, sadly. But in Wollongong. I sleepy industrial town where if the steelworks shut down, so would the town.

However, more important matters are that my birthday is in two days. I'll be 32. I can't believe I have made it this far in my life with the upbringing I have had and the past I have had. There were certainly no silver spoons on my dinner table.

However, being poor isn't what I'm afraid of. It's being without that I don't the idea of.

In a world where money is the ruler of all, it's hard to live the life I feel I should have, or did in a past life. I always seem to enjoy a transaction more when it's a trade rather than putting a money value on it.

I once needed a new heater. My friend had a heater he never used anymore. The same friend had bought a new iPod, and he wanted a protective case for it. I had one that fit. Eliminating the money value of the case and the heater, you can see that we both had something we needed.

I needed a heater, he had one. He wanted the iPod case, I had one. We traded. To both of us that was an equal value trade. The importance of the heater to me in Winter was just as equal to him protecting his iPod from scratches and bumps.

Put money into the factor and you can see how all of a sudden the scales automatically lean to one side. Clearly the heater will be worth more than some $10 iPod cover.

The same thing happens everywhere in the world, at least in the developed world. Money seems to put a false value on objects, whether needed or just wanted, and this value is often what we all base our lives on, when we really should be more concerned about whether or not we need something or want something.