Money

I have arrived!!

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

What makes us think that? And is it really ever true?

This last week, I was incessantly scrolling my Google app feed. There were a lot of articles related to financial advise, probably owing to my recent searches to identify certain investment decisions and taxation.

As I went through some of those articles, I ended up reading a detailed review of the data on income distribution in India and the US and how that’s becoming more lopsided over the years.

Consuming the laid out information, my mind went to how do I fare in these distribution models. As an individual and as a household.

I quickly began to think about what it means to lie in the top x% of the population and how we associate our success to how we have moved up that ladder through our lives. Except for maybe a few who were born with a silver spoon!

Figuring the progress from the start point felt like a self congratulatory realization. A pat on my back for what I have been able to achieve till now. Good while it lasted.

But as my mind raced in that direction, the next question that occurred to me was what was a target to seek? Am I happy with where I am or do I need to strive for more? And where to draw the line of satisfaction?

Thinking deeper, I also came to terms that financial success couldn’t be the only metric on which I can decide whether I have arrived or not…

There are many things that make up my life and existence. And while money is an important aspect of it, it’s not the only one in that list.

My relationships and my association with my family and friends is critical to my functioning. My health is important for me. The contribution of my work to a bigger cause matters to me.

So, while I may associate my success momentarily with how much money I make or what’s my net worth; but in the scheme of life, all those other things matter almost as much as money.

The only difference is that money is probably the easiest to quantify and hence the most exciting of the lot. Their value and importance in life only comes to the fore when there’s something specific happening.

That, however, shouldn’t be so. A good reminder to myself…

Money

~ Rishi ~ Leave a comment

It is what keeps the wheels of our world turning. Yet, there are very few things that hold behind them as much dichotomy as money…

It’s a source of livelihood. It’s also sometimes a reason for ending lives.

It helps us put food on the table, clothes on ourselves, and a shelter above our heads. It also often leads to worries in our mind, aches in our heart, and false pride in our eyes.

It allows us to be more connected and aware about the world. It also blinds us at times to what is happening nearby us.

We love it and want more of it for what it can do for us. We also hate it for what it can do to us or others.

Some of us clamour for it when we don’t have enough. Some do so even when they have more than enough.

It invites respect and creates a safety net around us. It also can incite jealousy making us less safe.

It allows us to help bring up our children in the best possible way. It also sometimes is the reason behind the spoilt ones.

It helps us to take care of our’s and our family’s needs when we grow old. It also often leads to infighting that divides and destroys that same family.

How so ever it may affect us or help us, there is no denying the fact that money has a very influential role in our lives.

And yet, very few of us understand how to handle it and remain sane, whether in scarcity or surplus!