Spending and saving

Pondering the question of spending and saving, I wonder: Are there things that are better spent than saved?

I struggle at my little plot at the community garden with waiting too long to harvest my vegetables. I’m always waiting for them to grow just a little bit bigger, or saving them for later when I might need them more. But if I wait too long, they get bitter or tough, or fall off the vine. It’s particularly hard in the spring, when everything edible that’s made it through the winter seems like a miracle. You don’t want to just gobble up your miracles!

I’m not a big spender in general, while I’m a very good saver, so I guess this attitude toward the garden shouldn’t surprise me. But it really doesn’t make sense. As I promise myself this year to pick generously and go for the goal of using everything up, I find myself pondering the larger question of spending and saving. Are there other things that are better spent than saved?

Clearly, for starters, there is our time. One of the problems with all the emphasis in our culture on technology that helps us save time is that it offers no help in making wise decisions about spending it. Yet if we don’t choose to spend our time today, it’s wasted and gone.

When we think about our energy, spending often has a negative connotation. We have expended too much, or it is spent. Conserving it is seen as wise. True, it’s not good to push our bodies beyond their capacity, or deny them rest when they have been assaulted and need to recover. But in a way, our energy is like our time. If we don’t make choices about how to spend today’s supply, it’s gone forever.

Then there is caring. Again, the inclination to be protective and spend it cautiously is strong. We want to put our caring into safe investments, where we can count on it yielding good returns. This is understandable, given how often it has been abused, starting when we were very young. But from another perspective, it is our nature to care, and withholding today will not increase the amount we have for tomorrow. If we can get access to that well of natural caring, there is an endless supply (though we’ll probably have to grieve as well, to keep the channels clear). We can care hugely, every day, and there will still be the same amount left.

Money may be the hardest. Good arguments can be made for both spending and saving. But I wonder, if we put our attention to being big spenders in other ways — in time and energy and caring — maybe the money choices will be easier to sort out.

In the meantime, I plan to harvest this season with more thought to the present. Yes, I’ll try to spread out the season and think about what can be preserved. But then I’ll pick my vegetables when they are new and when they are in their prime and not wait. I’ll use them up — enjoying each mouthful — and put my faith in the seeds and the land’s ability to produce again.