This is an era where we travel miles to sit down to conferences facing experts, diplomats and business people to discuss climate change topics, discuss peace on malignant wars that transcends centuries and generations, discuss commerce and trade for a bigger and better share of the revenue pie. It is evident that human race has gradually steeped into gluttony digging up and making use of natural resources more than what is required, acting on ethnic cleansing to get hold of occupied land for improved commercialism and complete clout. Citing circumstantial aspects - religion and race, caste and creed, clan and community is but a disguise under a restrained human mask.
If you are a city dweller and happen to hop onto any shopping complex you'll find people milling all over the premises clinging onto hyaline flashy and huge branded paper or polythene bags and at times heavier than their physical capacity to carry. Earlier I wondered how rich people are growing and so fast. Even while dining out I observed people placed next to your table was more interested in finding out what platter and drinks you ordered before making up their minds for ordering dinner. The bigger the serving on your table the better is the hospitality of the dining room manager. The "more you shop till you drop" phenomenon is so arresting that it sets a benchmark for respect and social graces for the one who's carrying the excess baggage.
I have also observed mood shifts not just restricted to adults but children as well if you're unable to buy something you fiercely desire. The tiny ones cry out at the top of their voices while the adults are smart enough to label the products either as tacky or start comparing one brand with the other silently making their way out of the shop with a hard-nosed face. Sometimes feigning to be smarting under unruly behaviour of the dull sales people hired at the shop.
Today our lifestyle is more showy and snazzy measured by yardsticks like the number of cars we own, the pockets of the city where we live, the brands we wear, the solitaire we possess, the type of membership to a club or lounge we have - priviledged, gold class or premium, the number of real estate properties we own, which schools or foreign universities we are sending our children to study, the number of company shares we own in the stock market and whether we are a prized proprietor of a boutique hotel and spa in an upmarket place and the number of followers we have in social media platform. Family reunions and festivals are weighed much on the gifts we exchange bragging our worth in monetary terms. The whole mankind, it seems, is quantifiable.
The age-old adage "Cut your coat according to your cloth" holds no sway in this era. The owning and the buying habit is epidemic. It is a naked truth that behind all the arty show the credit market takes the full advantage having the last laugh. The labyrinthine of splurge is so intoxicating that certain psychoanalysts prescribe retail therapy for people with dismal outlook towards life!
Feeling miserable I have tried my hands on retail therapy or spa outing but never sensed any magic healing. I wonder how throwing money at tangible goods will help uplift one's mood when actually you're burning a hole in your pocket.
Does tying to emulate other people's behavioural and consumption pattern fog our senses? We get caught in our own web not knowing where to tie the leash. The results are ominous indeed. Feeling low, tensions wrought, outburst of frustations in open forums, child spanking, excess drinking to erase your mind off the carnal failures - we are no longer able to rein in our lives.
Surveys worldwide suggest urban people flocking to yoga classes or taking recourse to spiritual sessions have leaped over the years. And so has the healthy living business show. So has the gun violence, more stories of rape making headlines the world over and more erosive treatment towards Mother Earth for the already bloated city resulting in extreme weather shifts in both the world hemispheres.
Who is at fault putting one's fodder to another's mouth, wasting resources in the name of imperforate development? No prize for guessing that! We, human beings, cannot live in harmony with each other, neither are we thankful for what we already have upsetting the entire ecological system of the world. Even today I do not understand what amount of booty we all should have to satiate our needs. Natural resources are limited but we have devoured them to such an extent over the eons that now the straits are clearly visible. All good things come to an end.
Our philistine nature combined with remorseless behaviour drives us to make iconic progress in science and technology both constructive and destructive. Nonchalant of the fact that life has taken control of our senses. We are mute spectators watching the gladiator in an open ring fight for his life. With the bloodbath over, we go down to the ring to clean the spot before another one comes in. The need to be socially responsible towards environment and life draws upon us once the scene of decimation comes to a close.
Albeit the cleaning up process be it in the name of poverty eradication, human rights issues of relocating refugees, environmental upgradation, making access to safe drinking water and sanitation, clean fuel and energy, cultural transcendence, community counselling and so on all comes for a price. Thus the show of going for more never ends. Self realisation is just but a paradox.
If you are a city dweller and happen to hop onto any shopping complex you'll find people milling all over the premises clinging onto hyaline flashy and huge branded paper or polythene bags and at times heavier than their physical capacity to carry. Earlier I wondered how rich people are growing and so fast. Even while dining out I observed people placed next to your table was more interested in finding out what platter and drinks you ordered before making up their minds for ordering dinner. The bigger the serving on your table the better is the hospitality of the dining room manager. The "more you shop till you drop" phenomenon is so arresting that it sets a benchmark for respect and social graces for the one who's carrying the excess baggage.
I have also observed mood shifts not just restricted to adults but children as well if you're unable to buy something you fiercely desire. The tiny ones cry out at the top of their voices while the adults are smart enough to label the products either as tacky or start comparing one brand with the other silently making their way out of the shop with a hard-nosed face. Sometimes feigning to be smarting under unruly behaviour of the dull sales people hired at the shop.
Today our lifestyle is more showy and snazzy measured by yardsticks like the number of cars we own, the pockets of the city where we live, the brands we wear, the solitaire we possess, the type of membership to a club or lounge we have - priviledged, gold class or premium, the number of real estate properties we own, which schools or foreign universities we are sending our children to study, the number of company shares we own in the stock market and whether we are a prized proprietor of a boutique hotel and spa in an upmarket place and the number of followers we have in social media platform. Family reunions and festivals are weighed much on the gifts we exchange bragging our worth in monetary terms. The whole mankind, it seems, is quantifiable.
The age-old adage "Cut your coat according to your cloth" holds no sway in this era. The owning and the buying habit is epidemic. It is a naked truth that behind all the arty show the credit market takes the full advantage having the last laugh. The labyrinthine of splurge is so intoxicating that certain psychoanalysts prescribe retail therapy for people with dismal outlook towards life!
Feeling miserable I have tried my hands on retail therapy or spa outing but never sensed any magic healing. I wonder how throwing money at tangible goods will help uplift one's mood when actually you're burning a hole in your pocket.
Does tying to emulate other people's behavioural and consumption pattern fog our senses? We get caught in our own web not knowing where to tie the leash. The results are ominous indeed. Feeling low, tensions wrought, outburst of frustations in open forums, child spanking, excess drinking to erase your mind off the carnal failures - we are no longer able to rein in our lives.
Surveys worldwide suggest urban people flocking to yoga classes or taking recourse to spiritual sessions have leaped over the years. And so has the healthy living business show. So has the gun violence, more stories of rape making headlines the world over and more erosive treatment towards Mother Earth for the already bloated city resulting in extreme weather shifts in both the world hemispheres.
Who is at fault putting one's fodder to another's mouth, wasting resources in the name of imperforate development? No prize for guessing that! We, human beings, cannot live in harmony with each other, neither are we thankful for what we already have upsetting the entire ecological system of the world. Even today I do not understand what amount of booty we all should have to satiate our needs. Natural resources are limited but we have devoured them to such an extent over the eons that now the straits are clearly visible. All good things come to an end.
Our philistine nature combined with remorseless behaviour drives us to make iconic progress in science and technology both constructive and destructive. Nonchalant of the fact that life has taken control of our senses. We are mute spectators watching the gladiator in an open ring fight for his life. With the bloodbath over, we go down to the ring to clean the spot before another one comes in. The need to be socially responsible towards environment and life draws upon us once the scene of decimation comes to a close.
Albeit the cleaning up process be it in the name of poverty eradication, human rights issues of relocating refugees, environmental upgradation, making access to safe drinking water and sanitation, clean fuel and energy, cultural transcendence, community counselling and so on all comes for a price. Thus the show of going for more never ends. Self realisation is just but a paradox.
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