Skip to main content

Things that matter ... or don't matter

Read somewhere - "It is paradoxical that as our incomes rise, we find it more and more difficult to live within our means. " (Source)

We live in the age of abundance, where, more often than not, we have lot of options, many of which hadn't even existed few decades back. Yes we are often unhappy and keep longing for more.

Got a car? Probably you'll want' a bigger one. And then even bigger, probably an SUV. And then probably a Audi or Mercedes or BMW ... 

Wear a watch? You may want upgrade to a swanker one. And then probably something with a charismatic logo.

With every increase in means, our goals also increase, usually disproportionately and our lifestyle upgrades. But at what cost?

Does chasing all these lifestyle goals matter? Or, to what extent does it matter? Rather what really matters? Do we often ignore the trade-offs?


Things or moments?

Lifestyle trap or freedom that arises from financial independence?

Showoff that five you adrenaline rush or relative anonymity with peace of mind?

Fashionable designer  but uncomfortable clothes work 10K or a decent looking, comfortable non-descript clothes worth 3K?

New clothes every alternate month or less clutter in your wardrobe?

Alcohol with its aftereffects versus bland sobriety without aftereffects?




I don't have answers, but hope this provides food for thought ..


Comments

Shop @ Amazon

Popular posts from this blog

Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset

Bottom line - If you haven't seen them, then get a DVD/ Download it and do watch it (unless you hate each and every so called "romantic" kind of movie) - not much taxing - total run of 3 hours(for 2 movies combined, seen back to back) _____ What if you are guy travelling across and exploring Europe (wishful thinking!) and strike a conversation with some young chick in the train (wishful thinking again!), decide to spend few hours together at some place, say Vienna ... and that day turns out to be the most memorable day in your life? Well, this is precisely the story of Jesse and Celine in the movie "Before Sunrise" and their meeting ten years later forms the premise of "Before Sunset". (Today I saw them for the 3rd time) Interesting concept, I would say but that is just surface of the movie. The real soul lies in the light hearted kind of discussion they have. That forms the heart and soul of these movies. Well, the discussion isn't specif

Somewhere @ Nowhere - The Book

FINALLY .... After a tryst with so-called-creativity, I have come up with a book -  Somewhere @ Nowhere. You can have a sneak peek at the story & a few pages from the publisher's website and order the same & get it home delivered anywhere in India/ Abroad. Details as mentioned below- - Preview and get the book home delivered from HERE Also, you can join the following groups - - Orkut Community - Facebook Page Hope you like the work. Would appreciate a feedback. Till then ... Happy Reading!!! And yeah, please spread the word (relying on word of mouth & word of blog publicity) :-) ___ Update (18/02/2010) - Thanks for the initial response to the book :) Update2 (25/ 02/ 2010) - Thanks for the feedbacks on the book those who have read it. (hope to get a feedback by others soon). Encourages me to overcome inertia and write more! Meanwhile, those who ask for why is it currently not available in traditional retail outlets - well, I hope it will be

Just aise hi ...

That lady was probably in her early 30s, seemed like a resident of a well off locality, probably wife of some well off businessman in the town. (SEC A type, in marketing jargon!) . She seemed to be coming after a shopping spree, although calling it a 'spree' would be an exaggeration, as all he had was a small bag. It seemed that she could not get a car that day and hence decided to take a rickshaw to her way back home. "Ae rickshaw" , she blurted After some negotiations, the elderly rickshaw-waalah obliged, and she kept calling that person as "rickshaw" ! I was just reminded of a sequence from movie Lage Raho Munnabhai where Gandhiji says - "If you want to judge a person, observe how he behaves with a person having a lower standing than him" !!! I smiled, nodded my head once and went ahead !

We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented

(Disclaimer: I am NOT justifying any action or behavior. I am just speculating why people usually act so) _________________________________________________________ “We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented” – The Truman Show (a 1998 movie starring Jim Carrey) The above line explains a great deal about why we hold on to some beliefs as gospel truths, and form our judgment about things and act in a specific pattern. This movie (which I feel is still quite under-rated!) had Jim Carrey, a person whose entire life had been a live, non-stop, unedited television show. He lived in a world which was completely artificial; everything, everyone knew that everything were fake. But the person was real. His emotions were real. He was conditioned to a certain realities of world, and believed in it. The makers of the show did not want to show him what the ‘actual’ world was. He was made not to want to explore the outside world, made to fear things that could have led him

Update on Somewhere @ Nowhere

Some quick updates on my book Somewhere @ Nowhere. - I had self published it through www.pothi.com  around 3 months ago and the feedbacks have been quite encouraging. - Meanwhile, I got to know about a contest being run by one of the leading publishing houses in India and entered it ... and the book was selected for publication! - So the book should be out in markets shortly (maybe in 1-2 months). Hoping to see it in the Landmarks and the Crosswords soon. Keeping my fingers crossed ...