Happiness is... Hi All,
Hats off to GTO for such an awesome thread, definetly makes you think and very valid points. Just went through all the 10 pages and it reminded me of a line I read somewhere. It goes like this
"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get".
To each his own and you will always find people who want to be successful in life and there are an equal number who want to be happy. For sure some of us waste a lot of our life searching for that success/happiness in the wrong place/thing. Be it a car, villa, clothes etc. The list can be endless. I believe it all depends on the person, what he/she is looking for in life.
One of the managers in my Office just got a brand new Optra which sure is a lovely car. For him it might be a status thing but what good does it do to a person if you can't behave properly with your colleagues, abuse them and show no respect to anyone. The goodwill in his balance sheet is in the negative. Also that status and all will last only as long as you are on the road. What car you have parked in the parking lot will not make any effect inside your house/office. Hmmmmm maybe for the youngsters it might get some chick heads turn which again would just be a temporary thing last not more than a few minutes/hours/days/months.
Definetly the lifestyle have changed in India too in the last decade and now people have more things and more NEW things. One of my neighbour who is into his 70s is still more than happy driving around his age old padmini and I do have some friends who are already bored of their car which is just a couple of years old.
Somehow I feel that the same is happening with the relations in life too. In the good old days, you only bought a car once and also married just once in a lifetime. You never bothered as to how the other persons wife looked like etc but now, you can easily get bored of a car that you bought NEW in just like 2 years and are already wondering how would it be to own/drive that new model.
It asks for a lot of patience and dedication to get involved in a long-term relationship and its very very easy to succumb to ones desires. You own a car for 5+yrs, you have got into a deep relationship with her. By now you would have got to know all it has under the hood and when the minor problems start coming in, get them fixed right there and in the next couple of years you know what to do if something happens and most of the times, you will find yourself fixing all those minor things yourself. A little dent, a slight rattle shouldn't bother much. You would love her for what she is and never COMPARE her with any other thing.
The same doesn't stands true for a new car. Also, a NEW car isn't suppose to give you any problem and if it does, you get frustrated.
Once a colleague of mine bought his FIRST NEW bike. It was a black Unicorn. A few months into its life, it fell while parking and there was this little scratch on its little bikini visor. Something that could have been ignored or just a little touchup or rubbinh polish would have taken care of it. But no he didn't want to see even a single scratch on it. He took it to the showroom and asked for a replacement. They denied saying that it can't be replaced for such a minor thing. Any guesses what he did? A few days later he himself smashed the entire headlight thing with hammer or whatever and then claimed insurance and got it replaced.
First thing, that is a big waste of resources and sure added to his frustration, BP etc and the biggest of all the relationship doesn't has that bond. Its his thrid year with the bike now and he already wants to upgrade.
I think apart from the monetary part we also should give a serious thought to our relationships and when I say that here in TBHP, I am referring to the one we share with our machines.
Once again - To Each His Own. |