Oh, the things money can buy. Today, a google search of any and everything can yield positive results, and the best part is, shipping is available to the tiniest hole in the wall too! You can buy clothes, shoes, shades, books, electronics, gifts, toys and even cheese! Yes, cheese! All you need is an internet connection, some patience, a credit/debit card and yes a healthy imagination. Yes, innovation has brought to our fingertips, markets and bazars from around the world. All the marvellous buys however, come with a suitable price tag. What off the things that money can’t buy? That’s what we are here to discuss today.
With so much made available to us for a price, we tend to overlook and undervalue the resources we get for free. When we buy something new, a sort of electrifying energy passes through us and fills us with excitement. After a few days or weeks with our shiny new toys, the novelty fades and we forget just how much we yearned to obtain that thing. There are other things however, that money can’t buy that causes a lasting elation and it is those things that we ought to give importance to and hold dear. A hug from someone you love can lighten the heaviest burden, a genuine smile can brighten the darkest mood, a loyal friend can restore faith that is lost and the sound of laughter can calm your mind. There is not a website or a shop on the face of this planet that sells any of these. We do find appreciation for these simple but profound elements difficult to find however, the cause being, we are too distracted by the materialistic world around us.
In today’s dog eat dog world, we are all shuffling about with ideas of trying to make the best of life. With all the world has to offer, our ‘needs’ also seem to be increasing. We can’t stop ourselves from ‘needing’ that new phone or that bigger car or the awesome sea facing house. We want it all and why not? We work hard to afford the bounties of our labour. While we are at it, there are other things we are ignoring that might not be around for us to enjoy when realisation hits. I was travelling to work on a route I have been taking for the past six years now. At this moment the road is being reconstructed and an alternate route has been sniffed out to make the commute easier. One of the first things that struck me is how different the landscape is six years since I first made that my second home. The second thing that ‘took my breath away’, literally, was how dense the air has become in that part. With the constant digging and construction the air is constantly full of dirt. The air, something I truly took for granted, until now that is.
Air, water, sunlight, love, faith and freedom a few things money can’t buy. Are we too busy to enjoy these little pleasures? A moment of peace with ourselves and within ourselves, though the most easily available gift to give ourselves is something we take advantage of all too rarely. Even meal time is a mad race to the last morsel. The number of people suffering from stress related diseases have increased tenfold in the recent past. An eye opener and a wakeup call for us all. It is definitely time for us to slow down and smell the coffee so to speak, before life passes us by. Meeting up with friends, spending time with the people you love, walking on the beach with your loving pet, driving down an open road with the wind in your hair and no place where you have to be at a particular time, laughing till you have tears in your eyes and crying till the pain is all gone, these are the gifts that money can’t buy but which will enrich your life completely. Making time to enjoy and just be… is a foreign thought for us now. We try to keep ourselves busy all the time with work, entertainment and screens of various sizes and shapes. What good is money in the bank, if we don’t give ourselves time to spend it? Let not life run away from you… make the most of what is already there along the journey rather than constantly rushing for more. As there are many things that money can buy, but the best things in life are free.
