Slump time has come with a big bang! Its unexpected..the magnitude of it and uncertainty on how long it will last. Nevertheless maybe its time that we reconsider our priorities in life.
Decades of the good life have made us soft. What was once considered luxuries, now a necessities.
A nice car, apartments in the city, eating at fancy restaurants, travel the world are all a status symbol. I can be a guilty party too at times and maybe it is also time for me to set things right. There are people carrying handbags that cost more than thrice the monthly income of a maid (our parents survived without them). The media encourages and amplifies this ostentatious consumption and reality TV doesn't help either? What's up with "MTV MY Sweet 16"? Paris Hilton BFF, Kimora Life in Fab Lane..its stupid & funny at times but perpetuating such luxury and flaunting money...its not fab to me!
I believe the hard times will hold a timely lesson for many of us. Being wealthy is not a sin. It cannot be in a capitalist market economy. Enjoying the fruits of one's own labour is one's prerogative and I have no right to chastise those who choose to live luxuriously. But if one is blinded by materialism, there would be no end to wanting and hankering.
Neither an Aston Martin, Rolex nor Hermes Birkin can make us truly happy or contented. They are like a fog obscuring the true meaning of life. When the end approaches and we look back on our lives, will we regret the luxury car or city apartment that we did not acquire? Or would we prefer to leave at peace with ourselves, knowing that we have lived lives filled with love, friendship, goodwill and kindness, that we have helped others along the way and that we have tried our best to leave this world a slightly better place than how we found it?
1 comment:
i think that it goes back to the teaching of our prophet that everthing needs to be balanced.
and practicing rationality in life is key.
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