There’s lots of buzz in our office about watching the eclipse today. Getting glasses to wear last minute became an issue as they were sold out locally and overpriced online. I’m so grateful to my sister-in-law for buying a stock ahead of time and sending us a pair.
What does this have to do with our finances? Well, there are lots of lessons to be learned from today’s celestial event.
What does it all mean?
Throughout history ancient civilizations ascribed various meanings to eclipses One of the earliest accounts of an eclipse was in China around 2100 B.C. They believed that the sun was being eaten by a huge being – either a dragon or a dog.
You can understand how strange and scary it would be to have the skies darken in the middle of the day with no explanation. Sometimes the markets and economic news “darkens” without a lot of warning or explanation. This can be frightening too. But ascribing too much meaning to these events can have investors make rash decisions that don’t serve them in the long run. Just like the movements of the sun, moon, and planets, markets go through cycles. We’ve been in an up market for quite a while now. We’re due for a correction, just hard to tell when and by how much. They’ve been able to predict eclipses for about 2000 years now; it’s still a lot harder to predict market fluctuations. Just remember that markets are cyclical and history has shown when there’s a downturn it will come back up.
Are you seeing the situation for what it is?
When the ancient Chinese thought the sun had been eaten by a dragon, they would make loud noises to scare it away. Now we know the sun doesn’t actually disappear, it’s just blocked by the moon for a bit. When your prosperity feels darkened, it doesn’t mean that abundance has disappeared, it’s always there … it just might be blocked for a bit. If you’re caught in scarcity thinking this may block your ability to see the light and move into a better financial situation. Here’s at tip for looking at what you believe about money and flipping the limiting beliefs to ones that help you build wealth and prosperity.
Have you planned ahead?
The eclipse today wasn’t just announced a few days ago– we’ve know this was coming for quite some time. Hmmm…could I have thought about buying glasses before last Friday?! The local stores were sold out and the prices on line hiked up. I was helped out by a relative this time – you likely don’t want to rely on that for a goal as big as retirement. One of the best ways to be set for your long-term financial goals is to plan ahead. Starting to save early, even just a small amount, will help you hit your goals much more easily. And have a solutions fund (aka emergency reserve) for the unexpected situations that show up.
Make up a good story
One of the ancient legends about eclipse I like the most was from the Batammaliba people of Benin and Togo. Their legend tells of the first two women in the world who become the matriarchs of their village. As the village grew, the people began to fight and argue. The women could not get them to stop so legend has it that they blocked the sun and the moon to scare the villagers. It worked. They were so scared they stopped fighting and gave peace offerings to each other to bring back the light.
This reminds me that one of the best ways to build your abundance is to be generous with your money. If you’re feeling like your financial situation has darkened, try helping someone out who’s less fortunate than you and see if the light increases on your own financial situation.