Thoughts from my FrIENd.... Once my boss ..

Yesterday, I was driving and the FM radio went off for a few seconds. I thought I should have had an iPod. Then suddenly I realized that I had not used my iPod in the last six months. And then … more things-- handy cam in the last two years, digital camera in the last two months, DVD player for a month and many more gadgets . Now, I can say that I bought that handy cam out of impulse as I had used it only twice in the last four years.

So, what’s wrong and where? When I look at myself or my friends, I can see it everywhere. We are not happy with what we have but all are stressed and not happy for the things we don’t have. You have a Santro, but want a City. You have a City, but want a Skoda. Just after buying a new phone, we need another one. Better laptop, bigger TV, faster car, bigger house, more money… I mean, these examples are endless. The point is, is it actually worth? Do we ever think if we actually need those things before we buy them?

After this, I was forced to think what I need and what I don’t. May be I didn’t need the handycam, the iPod or the DVD player. When I see my father back at home, he has a simple BPL colour TV. He doesn’t need a 32″ Sony LCD wall mount. He has a cell phone worth Rs 2,500. Whenever I ask him to change the phone, he always says … “It’s a phone, I need this just for calls.” And believe me, he is much happier in life than I am with those limited resources and simple gadgets. The very basic reason why he is happy with so little is that he doesn’t want things to make life luxurious, but wants themonly to make his life easier. There’s a very fine line between these two, and after looking at my father’s lifestyle closely, I got the point. He needs a cell phone but not the iPhone. He needs a TV but not the 32″ plasma. He needs a car but not an expensive one.

Initially, I had a lot of questions.

I am earning good, still I am not happy …why?

I have all luxuries, still I am stressed ... why?

I had a great weekend, still I feel tired … why?

I met a lot of people. I thought over it again and again, I still don’t know if I got the answers, but certainly figured out a few things. I realised the one thing which is keeping me stressed is the “stay connected” syndrome. I also realised that at home too I am logged in on messengers, checking mails, using social networks, and on top of that, the Windows mobile does not let me get disconnected. During weekends itself, trying to avoid unwanted calls keeps my mind stressed. I realized that I am spending far lesser money than what I earn, even then I am always worried about money and more money. Also, I am saving enough money I would ever need, whenever needed. Still I am worried about job, salary and expenditure.

May be, many people will call this approach “not progressive attitude”, but I want my life back. Ultimately it’s a single life, a day gone is a day gone. I believe if I am not happy tonight, I’ll never be happy tomorrow morning. I finally realized that meeting friends, spending quality time with your loved ones and spending time with yourself are the most important things. If on a Sunday you are alone and you don’t have anybody to talk to, then all the luxuries of life and money are wasted. May be cutting down your requirements and recalculating your future goal in the light of today’s happiness are worthwhile things to do. May be selling off your Santro and buying a Honda City on EMIs is not a good idea. I believe putting your happiness ahead of money is the choice we need to make.

I think a lot can be said and done but what we need to do is re-evaluate the value of happiness and time we are giving to our life and people associated with it.