If Money Were No Object: Callings of the Heart

If Money Were No Object: Callings of the Heart

There are moments in life when one wonders—what would I do if the chains of money, status, and expectation did not hold me? The world, as it is, is framed by economy and necessity; livelihoods are often measured by salaries, promotions, and survival. Yet, if we set aside these metrics and listen to the whisper of our inner calling, the answers can be profoundly revealing.

I imagine three pursuits, not as professions dictated by market forces, but as vocations of the soul.

1. A Teacher of Wanderers

Teaching, in its purest form, is the most sacred of callings. To ignite curiosity, nurture thought, and prepare young minds for a world not yet born—this is not employment but an act of devotion. Were money irrelevant, I would seek to teach not within the narrow confines of examination halls, but beneath the banyan trees, on mountain trails, and across rivers where life itself becomes the curriculum.

Philosophers such as Socrates taught without fees, offering dialogues instead of degrees. In today’s world, where education is often commodified, returning to such untainted pedagogy would be an act of quiet rebellion against a system that reduces learning to business. It would be to resist the commodification of curiosity and to affirm the dignity of knowledge as a human right.

2. A Poet of Everyday Life

Poetry, for me, is not mere ornamentation of words but a way of living truth. In a world swayed by political campaigns, corporate slogans, and the endless noise of consumerism, poetry offers resistance through simplicity and depth.

Were money irrelevant, I would write verses that draw from the soil of everyday life—the laughter of a child chasing a butterfly, the resilience of a labourer in the marketplace, the silent grief of a widow by the riverbank. Poetry has the power to confront injustice, to heal wounds, and to remind societies of their forgotten humanity. Pablo Neruda once declared that poetry is an “act of peace,” and perhaps, in a fractured political climate, it remains the balm that people desperately need.

3. A Caretaker of Forgotten Spaces

The modern world moves with ruthless haste, erecting skyscrapers where forests once stood, and forgetting heritage in the rush towards ‘development.’ If freed from the compulsion of income, I would dedicate myself to restoring what has been neglected—ruined temples, abandoned libraries, desolate gardens, and even fading traditions.

This role is not merely nostalgic. It carries socio-political meaning, for it challenges the narrative that progress lies only in newness. Reviving forgotten spaces and practices is to preserve collective memory, reminding us that societies without roots are societies without resilience. It is to resist the global tide of cultural homogenisation and affirm the dignity of local heritage.

A Reflection Beyond Wealth

To dream of these callings is to acknowledge a deeper truth—that vocation is not always synonymous with profession. Money, while essential, often narrows our imagination of work to survival alone. But human life, in its essence, seeks meaning. Whether as a teacher, poet, or caretaker, the real measure of labour lies not in coins but in contributions to humanity, culture, and the flourishing of future generations.

If wealth were but a fleeting breeze,
I’d sow my hours beneath the trees.
To teach, to write, to guard the past,
To give my breath to things that last.

For coins may rust, and empires fall,
But truth in verse will outlive all.
In service, song, and sacred land,
I’d shape my world with open hand.