Reclusland

I’ve been thinking that the thing to do right now is to get out of debt and to stay that way. I’ve been working on it myself (credit cards are done and those lousy student loans are next).

But I also mean something a little deeper than that. There are other debts than monetary ones, and those are usually more important.  Guilt is a kind of debt, in that you feel owe someone something as payment for whatever “wrong” you did. So is anger, if you hold on to it. Blame, both of yourself and others, for past or future actions, keeps things at less than zero.

The reason being is, as I’m sure everyone is aware, change is happening faster and faster (or at least our awareness of it and desire to control it is increasing…) And debt, of whatever kind, brings with it a kind of lag time, a slow emotional inertia. As change happens, it’s best to be as light on your feet as possible, and debt weakens your ability to do so. It means you have to account for more things before you can take action, and that there are less actions available to you when you do.

Now, given the interdependent nature of the world, it’s impossible to live without relying on others, but reliance is not the same as debt. Sure, needing, or even just wanting, to have someone or a group of people around also gives you more to account for and less available choice, but ideally, if you’re staying focused and making friends according to your value system, the positive’s will way out weigh the negatives. That’s what we like to call an investment.

But debt? Debt is nothing but negatives…