Friday, November 21, 2008

Money for me ...........

Money for me has always been a means and never an end. The important point of money is to identify what you want to do with it. Do you want to make money to secure it, buy properties and leave it for your off-spring or do you want to use it for what you wanted it for?

My grandfather was obsessed with saving money. For hours he used to explain about some recurring deposit scheme or some such thing where if you put Rs.1 Lakh how it will become Rs.5 Lakhs in 7 years and this he used to tell to a person who does not think beyond that day, namely me.

Also there was a cousin of mine Shiva whose father was very rich but used to lead a life style of not even taking his car out, always used to keep it under a tarpaulin cloth and travel in a bus.

One day I asked him what is the point of having money if you don't use it for having a better quality of life. He answered saying that if his grandfather and father thought the same then he probably would not have had any money. I answered 'fine if you grandfather works hard saves and saves and gives it to your father and then he saves and saves and gives it to you and then you save and save give it to Raja and then he saves and saves and gives it to his son and what if Raja gives birth to a son like me. All the earlier four generations will become super big fools, Ha Ha!'

Money for me is potential energy and has no meaning unless it is made kinetic.

I would think in a very simplistic way on a philosophical level the origin of money could be explained in this way. When men in the primitive times used to hunt they were like all other animals. Hunt, eat, sleep, hunt again would have been the cycle.

And some time one among them has an idea of agriculture as in wanting to grow a crop. Now others might not understand or share his vision but he will need them to work for him on the crop. So to compensate them for working for his vision which could go wrong or right was where money has been invented and he pays them with that.

So with the money they got, it becomes their energy which they could choose to make it kinetic in whichever way they individually choose to. But again to enjoy money you first need to enjoy the experience of living a life and also to be able to identify what all life's shop can offer you. For instance you can buy the greatest music system that a shop can offer but you can't buy from life's shop a mind which can actually relish the music which plays from it. That mind, you have to have yourself. If not, having money will just amount to securing yourself fearing poverty or to feel a sense of elation in comparison to others who have lesser money than you. Thus it becomes nothing but a measurement for your own self esteem.

If you have a beautiful rich house others will admire especially those who live in the same street, but you yourself will take it for granted in not more than one day after the interior décor is done and from then on you will be only looking at its faults. Also if you have issues with your wife, the same house will look like a horror house from your point of view as you are approaching it after your days work.

Any way before you guys take off on me on this, the point I am trying to make is that no materialistic things like a music system, a car, a house etc can really give you pleasure unless it enhances the pleasure of your own personal feelings with regard to them in one way or the other.

If you are with a person who bores you it won't make a difference if you are sitting in the JW Marriott Coffee Shop and if you are interested in the person a roadside tea shop also will do wonders.

The point of life is to relish your feelings and money can make a point if and only it helps you achieve that.

I don't care for people who want to make money just to save it as I don't understand the point of trying to prepare for losses and death right from the time of being born. Then what's the point of being born?

Ideas and feelings are the only true wealth anyone can really possess and on that account I have always been rich and I will always be, that is at least for myself. Whether that achieves anything in others perception or not it's not my concern as like I said a million times before "I live for myself".

2 comments:

  1. Hi, you stole my thoughts -Almost. Though it is good to save money upto an extent, most people overdo it, no doubt.

    I think one needs to balance the act which could be different for different people.

    The same applies to organisations as well. They should not make profits just for the heck of becoming big but should also look at the ultimate purpose and overall contribution to stakeholders including employees at the lowest level who slog the hardest yet get to reap the fruits of their success much later. Whats the fun of working for an organisation which ignores festivals and your special days (like birthdays) as if they did not exist?

    BTW, have u visited my blog recently or ever?

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  2. Thanks for comment on my blog.Not seen yr blogs but will do so ...

    ReplyDelete