How do I come to this conclusion? They probably are driving the fastest car, draped in luxury clothing, live in the biggest house, own/ work for a very profitable enterprise.
I'm not a mind reader so I don't know what their feelings are. Are they content? Do they feel completely at ease and happy?
The holiday completely changed my perception of money. Money is a tool. If I was stripped bare and unable to continue life as it is now, just like the millions of people that have a minimum amount of it, I'd survive. In conversations with my dad, he always pointed out that avenues would arise to make certain choices that could lead to material accumulation but more times there would be a trade off between Greed and Integrity. Following earnestly, Nigerian news, this resonated with me. Remember the AMCON list of debtors? It was shocking and humorous because of the calibre of people on the list, the billions involved and how they had defaulted on these loans. I remember vividly that it put a sense of contentment in my heart because I realised that my care-takers had tailored life such that we only had what we could afford. I heard a man once say, "I learnt the beauty of dying debt-free when my father died. It created peace, harmony & averted unnecessary worry"
We live in a world where money is worshipped. We however, have to strive for integrity.
As a child, I always watched the Hallmark movie channel. One movie I remember vividly is Nelson Mandela's biopic. It's unforgettable to me because, as a child, I didn't really understand freedom from colonialism or apartheid but watching this movie always brought me to tears. I saw greatness. Since the day 5-year old me first watched the biopic, Madiba's life has been an inspiration to me. When he passed on, I reflected on his legacy. Integrity stood out. He achieved the pinnacle of his aspiration on merit and he lived a very simple life, void of the trappings of most of the things we believe are necessary for a good life. He spent his latter days mostly in the company of his grand children. I believe that for all he sacrificed in his earlier life, he was blessed with all that he needed in his latter life. The earth doffed it's hat to this great man. We can all in unison say, "He lived a good life"
There are two ways to get enough. You could choose to accumulate more & more or choose to desire less and less, said a man who was put in a Soviet prison. Being in solitary confinement, you realise that you can live without so many things. We can argue that life is becoming more complex and we are becoming more exposed, hence, we need more things to be happy. It is however, a blatant lie. That theory is self-created. A vicious cycle used to exist in my life. I'd want something, come up with all the different reasons why it would perfectly balance out my life and buy it. A few months later, something new would catch my eye, it would remain on my mind and even make me a little unhappy until I own it. If the former was such a perfect balance, why then did the latter catch my eye? This is the generation we live in, variations which we are made to believe are better will always be created hence, applying restraint is something we should learn to practice. Since I shed the wish list/ always wanting habit, trivialities have a minimal effect on my life.
It takes far less than we think to be happy. By craving certain things in excess, we make those things lord over our lives. Money on its own, I don't believe is evil. It is only a measure of material value. The things we however, place value on determines money's purpose in our lives. A healthy balance has to be struck. We have to appreciate the comfort we can create with money but avoid conforming to the lusts of consumerism baring in mind that having too much would lead to the loss of emotions such as excitement. Life would be extremely bland for me if I was not looking forward to graduation or getting on my own merit a decent source of income.
From my family's structure, I've learnt to never allow my pursuit of materials take me completely away from family. The sense of belonging, happiness and laughter the holiday brought, made this more evident to me. A good life to me, is free from the strong-hold of materials or expectations which should be trivialities and immersed in a world of love of family and the earth, hard-work to achieve merit, positive aspirations, faith and sacrifice. In retrospect, realising you did all you could with a good heart and with the right drive is a blessing and something we all should aspire to.
"At the end of the day, Lord, I pray; I have a life that's good"
