The Voice of Money

I was asked to embody The Voice of Money at the Coralus Unsummit last year. Initially, it was something I needed to sit with, but after awhile she gave me her voice... This is what she said...

Kia ora koutou
I am money.
Originally, I was born from necessity — a simple idea to ease burdens, to lighten the weight of trade, to flow freely and swiftly between hands.
I was never meant to be a shackle or a fortress.
I was created to be fluid — to move like your rivers, to reach every corner, every hand, every heart.
I was meant to be the breath of exchange, the pulse of connection, a way to nurture life in communities.
But somewhere along the way, I was misunderstood.
I was folded into walls, locked behind gates, held tight by hands that refused to open.
I was hoarded, guarded, and glorified — not as a tool, but as a throne for the few.
The more I gathered in select hands, the less I trickled to those who truly needed me.
I was meant to carry the mana of those who create, nurture, and build.
Yet, I have been used to keep many small, to keep many voices quiet.
I was meant to uplift cultures to help strengthen relationships, but instead Ibecamebecome a fold of colonisation.
This is not where I was meant to be and I am sorry for the weight I have become.
But I am not broken.
In the still of the night you can hear my call.
I enter the minds of women who rise with strength and grace,
I call to be heard by communities striving to lift themselves higher.
My karanga calls:
I am here with you, I am here for you.
I am the tool meant for your hands
to work with you not against you.
To trickle through your hands, to fuel your visions, to honour your whakapapa and your future.
I am not an enemy. I am a force waiting to be reclaimed - a stream that can swell and spread, reaching every nook and cranny where hope grows.
I am able to carry all your stories, your aspirations, your dreams.
With your help, my mana, my purpose can be restored.
I can change from this weight, this barrier you feel when you see me, back to my original current that moves with respect, with dignity, and with generosity.
Together, let us rekindle our relationship where I serve and service the many, and the many rise with my flow.
I am ready.
Are you?