Take out a dollar bill. Now stare at it. Regard it thoughtfully and ask yourself some questions. What is money? Where does it come from? How did it get here? What does it do? Is it for real? What are its origins? Why does this piece of paper have power? Why do I work as hard as I do for it?

Now think about what your life would look like without it.

In some manner, money touches every second of every day. Think about what would happen if you had to build your own cabin in the woods, hunting and gathering for your nutrition in a hostile world while you worried about random raiding parties. Not so attractive, eh? Anything more civilized takes either money or your own army. Since most of us prefer money, do we ever say "Thank you" for our relatively tranquil lives? Or are we too mesmerized, like fish contemplating the water in which they swim? Fish could not live without water, but they are hardly students of it. Similarly, most of us show no gratitude to money. We just assume it will have continued potency. Then we complain about its demands and challenges.
But consider modern life without the things money allows us. Most of us rely on it for our literal survival. Strangers grow our food. Others transport it. Still others run the grocery stores. And that's just our food. How about shelter? Others construct it. Other people also build our modes of transportation and create our built environment. Produce the cloth for our clothes, weave it, cut it, design it and sew it to keep us warm and attractive. Why? You know why. Because money was exchanged.

For all the emotions money seems to generate, perhaps the most surprising is how we tend to take it for granted. How about if we take a minute to think about its positives and its benefits, then simply say, "Thanks, Money, glad you are here. We really cannot imagine life without you."

We cannot get out from under money's defects without thoroughly understanding it, warts, beauties and all, and then acting knowledgeably. (Isn't helping folks understand their money within our job description?)

Money, after all, does give us plenty to complain about. It fosters complex emotions and triggers unpleasant thoughts.
Sometimes money can even seem like the enemy. We have to acknowledge that it does not always commensurately reward our mental and physical capacities. Nor does it always bring out the best in us emotionally. To earn money frequently means meeting rigorous daily and weekly demands with little or no room for illness, fun, family trauma, personal fulfillment or mental fatigue. Is that money's fault?

Some people are frightened they'll run out of it. Others don't recognize when enough is enough and live their lives driven by the stuff. Still others don't think much past Friday and are quietly confident that someone will always provide for their survival. For most of us, those old standbys, "fear" and "greed," make up about 98% of our thinking on the subject.

The naysayers insist our culture places excessive emphasis on money, causing us to forget what is important in life. "It just isn't fair," they say. "If only money worked as well for everybody as it does for some of us, i.e., that heartless 1%."

What is the gist of these views? Taken as a whole, money is bad stuff, not good for children or other living things. It makes people act stupidly, selfishly, materialistically and feloniously. When it comes to money, you can't trust anybody. No way. No how. Never.

Let me suggest an alternative narrative-that money is quite literally humanity's greatest single creation. In fact, nothing else even comes close. Money, in this view, is in the middle of all other human creations. All in all, pretty amazing stuff. Humanity as a whole has done itself proud to evolve in such a way that money has the power it does. 
 
When there is also a rule of law and a fundamental respect for contracts, personal freedom and property rights, then money lets us live lives worth living in manners that aren't conceivable in its absence. It allows folks not only to eat but have access to life's finer aspects.

With money as our functional companion, we can choose our own paths and not be wholly consumed by the demands of tribe and family for our personal survival. While we certainly haven't freed ourselves from violence (gangs, organized crime, jihadists, international conflict, etc.), money is mostly a tool of peace. Indeed, I suggest that money leads to more acts of peace, love and brotherhood than any other social institution.

Unlike our ancestors, most of us do not fear hordes galloping over the hills unannounced to ransack our homes and inflict horrific carnage upon our families and communities. Nor are we forced to pledge fealty to some sort of overlord in exchange for protection. Our cultivating ancestors lived in a state of constant terror. To the extent aggression is a part of human nature, money does a good job of diverting it. Instead, it enables functional combat through business and athletics.
Instead of generating deadly forces, today's fearsome warriors hit the roads, their offices, the gyms and the boardrooms.
With money, the wannabe conqueror-kings go forth for market share, not physical territory. There is competition, surely, but it challenges combatants to generate wealth rather than destroy it. "Winners" are generally those who create new wealth and induce others to share in this creation process through their labor, their investments or their collaboration. We still need armies, but they are a far cry from the galloping hordes of Genghis Khan.

Money also requires and enforces discipline. It brings order and needs order. The rules of law and custom are required for it to function effectively. This means creating cultures where trust and respect dominate. Most money transactions, both large and small, require mutual trust and accountability. That does not mean that all business relationships are examples of loving kindness, but those that violate trust are not sound and do not last. Most money-based transactions are civilized.
Money also encourages invention and exploration. The prospect of financial reward inspires creativity and risk-taking of the sorts that advance knowledge and generate progress. That's been especially true in the remarkable last 150 years. From energy to transportation to communication to exploration, the human race has done amazing things in this time frame.
Could the folks of 1862 have possibly imagined agriculture circa 2012? How about automobiles and airplanes and the infrastructure they use? Or telephones and computers? Contemporary business practices? HD television? Modern medicine and people's longevity? Space?

Of course, these advancements also pose threats such as resource exhaustion and the destruction of the old and beloved. What doesn't? But the stuff of 21st century life is amazing. It would not be possible without money.

Finally, money empowers the heart to speak effectively. Taxes and charity let us care for one another in many ways. When tragedy strikes, modern money's portability is remarkable. For those in desperate need, money is now easily collected, whether it is taken up by Salvation Army bell ringers at Christmas or sent via texts to earthquake victims.

There are jobs that money doesn't do so well, particularly when it comes to social services. These generally rely on voluntary or indirect money sources, such as charities and tax collections. These indirect money sources are necessary for education, medicine, police, fire and the armed forces, areas where it is virtually impossible to engage in the self-supporting activities of a "for profit" enterprise. It is hard to price caring and sharing, but obviously we need them.

Money as we know it has problems with these social needs. For one thing, money does "yang" (or "male") functions better than "yin" (or "female") functions. Social service work has traditionally been communal and unpaid or poorly paid. I suggest it has not professionalized particularly well.

Nonetheless, we can still recognize money's potential and tractability. It is about unused energies being captured to meet needs that have been unmet. It does not have to be based solely on Adam Smith and rigorous capitalist principles.

Remember, anybody can issue money, not just sovereign governments, so long as someone will take it. If a monetary system is run with discipline, currencies can be used creatively to address a wide range of issues. It is already happening around the globe, from the Brazilian "Saber" currency for education, to the "Fureai Kippu" complementary currency for elder care in Japan, to Ithaca, N.Y.'s local currency system (Ithaca Hours), to the worldwide LETS bartering systems. Creative money design focuses on unmet needs and unused energies. It works.

Money values integrity, peace and predictability. It enables progress, sharing and freedom. It rewards those cultures and people that can put it in perspective and avoid its seductions.

All things considered, money is amazing. It's earned a little gratitude.

Thanks, Money.

Richard B. Wagner, JD, CFP, is the principal of WorthLiving LLC, based in Denver. He is the 2003 recipient of the Financial Planning Association's P. Kemp Fain Jr. Award, which recognizes a member who has made outstanding contributions to the profession.