My new grandson, Andres, was just born on Dec. 11 — an early Christmas present!
But first, let me get to the part about the man who died with 2 billion screwdrivers. I really admire this man!
I want to get that many screwdrivers, too — and leave them to Andres!
Is that ridiculous or what? A screwdriver is simply a tool. Who needs 2 billion of them?
And why would anybody die having that amount, and then probably have to leave them to a poor unsuspecting relative to do something with?
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the man I’m talking about, died Aug. 14. Nicknamed India’s Warren Buffett, he had a net worth of $5.8 billion.
Jhunjhunwala didn’t actually use the money to stock up on screwdrivers. (I made up that part — sorry!) But he could have bought 2,320,000,000 screwdrivers with that much money, if he wanted to.
I checked it out with Ace Hardware. You can get a set of eight screwdrivers for $19.99. That’s $2.50 per screwdriver, plus tax.
I don’t think anybody needs even eight screwdrivers, but if that’s what you need, go for it. Ace is the place!
Aren’t dollars or rupees simply tools — just like screwdrivers? Most of us think that hoarding 2 billion screwdrivers is ridiculous.
Yet accumulating 5.8 billion dollars or rupees is not? Isn’t that just as absurd? Why on earth would anybody want to die with $5.8 billion?
Money is the tool we use to exchange things — a medium of exchange. We exchange it to get things, to accomplish things.
If we don’t exchange it, it turns out to be useless. If we don’t figure out what to use this tool for, we save it up and let our heirs try to figure out what to do with it.
Shouldn’t we ask what we want to accomplish with our life and our money to begin with? Why don’t we exchange those screwdrivers — or dollars — in order to accomplish what we want now?
I remember a poster from back in the 1970s showing a woman with her hand to her cheek, saying, “I can’t believe I forgot to make a difference!”
That seems the same as saying, “I can’t believe I forgot to exchange my money! I could have invested in a world that works for everyone! On the other hand, however, just look at this collection of screwdrivers!”
This is the season of gift-giving. As I said, I have already received my Christmas gift — my little grandson! He is a gift to the planet, as is every child.
Everything is a gift: screwdrivers, tools, money, our existence, our genes, every idea that comes into our heads.
It would be a tragedy, not a gift, to pass on to little Andres those 2 billion screwdrivers, or $5 billion, and force him figure out what to do with it. That’s our job!
This is also the season of hope. I love the winter solstice. It comes during the darkest days of the year, at least in the northern hemisphere.
Even though we know the days are getting colder, they are getting lighter! (By the way, to test your provincialism, do you know what they call the winter solstice in Australia? The summer solstice!)
This season is also the time we celebrate children. The solstice and children both give hope for the future.
The gifts, the celebration, the decorations are mostly for the children. They are the true hope of the planet.
It will also soon be their turn as guests on the planet to be responsible for its well-being. Yet, why wait until we are dead to bequeath this gift to them?
Let’s use our tools — money and what not — for them now!
If this doesn’t inspire you, don’t worry about it. Go fix yourself a screwdriver to drink, sit down and relax! However, remember: One screwdriver is good; 2 billion, not so good!
Happy holidays!