[Symbols]
Symbols are a means of condensing contemplation. Something which represents something beyond itself. Typically the word “symbol” is thought of as some sort of concise image, pattern or shape like a logo or an emblem, but there are many things not typically thought of as symbols: a person, a currency, a song, a word…
Symbols are inherently meaningless, imbued with whatever we see through them—constructed by our personal association. Of course, we have mutually agreed upon understandings of certain symbols, which gives us some consistency of communication. Meanwhile, other symbols are more abstract and left open to interpretation. Given that symbols are not inherently that which they represent, their associations always have some space to shift and differ depending on the person perceiving them.
The fallacy to watch out for in interacting with symbols is part of what makes them useful and that is for the symbol itself to be treated as that which it symbolizes. Words are the most deeply integrated and commonly used form of symbols in our lives. They are such a powerful method of communication when they are seamlessly comprehended as what is attempting to be expressed. And so, words are also where this fallacy most commonly occurs.
It’s easy to slip into the assumption that whomever we are speaking to has the very same association with the words being shared. It’s easy to slip into the instinct of taking the meaning of words for granted, as if each one inherently means what it means, as if it always existed in that form in the way a rock is a rock and water is water.
Technically, I can say everything at once, as each word is simply a matter of whatever I associate with it. I can say “all” or “everything” and it would be conceptually understood, but no one will actually mentally depict every single detail in existence and beyond.
Currency is a symbol. Most fundamentally, it represents value and is a tool of transferring value with more flexibility than a method such as bartering: instead of requiring mutual interest in the specific items available for trade, each item is able to be exchanged for this common value.
However, currency is also a symbol of trust. It is, in the sense of “I pay you to do something or give me something and I trust you will honor this exchange”… But I’m thinking more along the lines of it being a sort of placeholder for a lack of trust. In contemplation of possibilities gated by trust—if we fully trusted each other to care for and look out for one another—if we fully trust our fundamental needs would be met through a system with sound integrity—that the vulnerability which trust enables would not be betrayed… this replaces something which money is used for. This is seen in intimate relationships that form consistent trust enough to where we do things for each other which are not prescribed a monetary cost.