Having Everything and Nothing at the Same Time
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It is indeed a sad situation to witness a few famous Hindi and Tamil stars suicide tragically. Well, they certainly possessed all the riches – money, materialistic wealth, fame, popularity, acceptance and everything a human being could ever dream of. Yet, it seems like they have been missing something drastically, so much so as to make them feel as if they do not have anything, and everything they have is worthless. There has to be a clear reason for them to run away from life after acquiring everything they would have ever wanted in life.
Recently, I met one of the richest people in our country. Whilst he was making a cup of coffee for me, his hand shivered and a bit of sugar spilt on the table. He looked at me very sadly and said “Philip, I have everything I need, but I don’t have life”. This made me think about the famous people who committed suicide and shocked the entire world. They all had everything, except ‘life’, which is essential for every human being. This is what I meant when I mentioned that they possess everything and nothing at the same time. It is indeed a very painful situation for a person to be in. It is exactly like a person who is present at the most luxurious buffet at a world class hotel, yet, he has no teeth nor the appetite to enjoy the meals.
What is the point of visiting the most beautiful flower garden in the world, if you are blind to its beauty? Being in possession of the most expensive sound system will be futile if your ears are deaf to music.
Therefore, it is vital to be vigilant and teach our children to be attentive in what they focus to acquire in life. If you are about to go on a long journey, and your fuel tank is empty, it is of paramount importance to pump fuel before you do a car wash, wax and interior cleaning, because the moment you attempt to drive your vehicle it would not move a single bit as it does not have the most essential element it requires. The beautifully waxed exterior and the exquisitely done interior would not be able to fuel the vehicle.
Therefore, make sure you rethink about the purpose of your life. Evaluate if you must reorganize your priorities. If you make a mess of it you will have everything and nothing at the same time. Have a clear understanding of the true meaning of life. There can never be one definition of life for everybody. Nevertheless, all the definitions must be meaningful, because if there is no meaning there will be no life.
What is the reason for you to wake up in the morning and do what you do and go through what you are going through? Where there is no purpose there is no passion. It is absolutely alright for a person to drive towards attaining a golden toothbrush. Yet, if he fails to protect his teeth during this drive, the golden toothbrush he obtains will be of no use to someone who has no teeth. Many of us are like this most of the time. Even though they run to acquire everything they desire, they fail to acquire what they need the most.
There was a time I worked seven days a week just like a mad dog. My family was unhappy, because I was not with them to enjoy life. I was also not happy because I hardly had the time to be with my family. The moment I gave up working during the weekends. We lost a bit of money, yet we gained immense happiness.
Life can become miserable if you do not define it meaningfully and handle it carefully. What is the purpose of placing all the gold that you have earned during your life inside your coffin, if you have failed to make your loved ones happy? Just ask yourself this simple question, “have I contributed towards wiping away the tears from a person’s eye?” Or “ have I helped someone to get over their devastating lifestyle?”
Writing this article every week is time consuming and it does need a lot of thinking. Yet, every time I get a call from someone saying that my article has helped them or their child to bounce back in life during the times they were struggling, it really motivates me to do what I’m doing. There are a countless number of people from across the world who have called me and said that my article which appears in the Sunday Times has really transformed their lives for the betterment.
Just as I organise my priorities every morning, I make it a point to recap them at night, so that I can evaluate if I have lived a fruitful and meaningful life throughout the day. To be honest there are days that I have messed up big time. Nevertheless, I become so determined to get over the mess that I move forward courageously. I am not ashamed to say that there were days that I felt embarrassed about myself and my behaviour but I always make it a point to correct myself and never repeat the misery that I was in yesterday.
There is a famous saying that “ It’s better to have little with happiness rather than having in abundance with misery”. My daughter Esther requested to watch a video on the mobile whilst having her lunch. I advised her never to do so, because she will never be able to obtain the maximum out of her lunch nor the video, as both of them are pleasurable. When you engage in two interesting activities at the same time, you are sure to miss out the happiness of both the activities as you are investing yourself in both the activities simultaneously.
Just as an ink pen is of no use without the ink. A steak made by a world-famous chef is of no use if it does not have the adequate amount of salt.
The materials you have gathered are worthless if they cannot be converted into happiness. That is the reason I said that having everything and nothing at the same time can be disastrous. Therefore, live each moment to its fullest as this moment will never come back again. Do not worry about the challenges of tomorrow, they will only steal the peace you have in hand. Do not regret the losses of yesterday, it will only steal the peace you have with you at present. Live in the very moment to the fullest so that life will be meaningful.
Do not lose your focus or deviate from your original dreams. Yes, you may have to alter some of your dreams based on the demanding situations but do not give up, as life is always beautiful even amidst the challenges. Be thankful for the challenges you face, gold is made through a rigorous purification process. If not for the solid food an infant has, he will never grow up to be an adult by consuming only breast milk. Just as the mother’s milk is appropriate at a certain stage, so is solid food necessary at another stage. We need to understand what we must instill into our minds during various stages in life. If not, we would not be able to grow into the person we ought to become.
As I have written numerous times, life will always throw challenges at you on a daily basis. It is up to you to decide whether you are to control those challenges or those challenges to control you. Possessing everything is of no use if you do not have the most essential things you ought to have, which is “life” itself. Thrive for the joy bringers and destroy the joy killers. Do not trade your long-term dreams for short term pleasures. There is no point of crying endlessly before your father’s coffin, if you have not loved him the way you ought to love him whilst he was alive. Do what you have to do today, so that you do not hold any regrets tomorrow.
For comments: philipnehri@chandanalepa.lk /
voice: 0779 526 496
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