Feeling Safe

To feel safe, we have to feel sheltered and in control. A house or apartment provides physical shelter. Friends and family can provide moral support and physical shelter. Government can do the same, or at least pretend to do so. Physical treasures give shelter for the proverbial rainy day.

During good times, we feel sheltered by our circumstances, and we are willing to take risks. There is little need for physical treasures when we feel safe and in control. The future is bright. We are all going to get rich. Who needs gold and silver when we can make a fortune in tech stocks and crypto.

However, when the wind turns and storm clouds gather, things suddenly don't look so good. What exactly are these tech companies producing? Is this crypto thing real, or just as fake as gold points scored in role playing games? Can I afford the big mortgage I took out on my house? Is my cash in the bank safe? Is the government going to save us? Will they be able to keep the currency from collapsing?

It is during times of uncertainty that physical treasures become valuable and sought after. The more uncertain we feel, the more we long for a pot of gold. This is why gold always goes up in price during crisis, even when prices of everything else go down.

By Arnold Paul - Selbst erstelltes Foto, CC BY-SA 2.5, Link