How much Money is enough?

A decade ago, someone said, Rs 30,000 a month is good enough for a small family to lead a very good life in India. Now, he looks into the next decade and is not sure how much is enough! He knows, Rs. 30,000 is not enough… even if, he adjusts it by inflation and changes it to Rs. 100,000, it’s not enough. Why have the expectations changed? What is he chasing now? Is this chase meaningful? It’s our life at home, at work, away from home and everywhere! How much Money is enough?

Rules of the game for survival have not changed : food, shelter and peace were important; are significant now; will continue to remain relevant for the human civilisation. So, what has changed? When I take a chopper view, I see no change; but dive deep.. I start seeing the details.

I think, this is a very fundamental design element of our world and this keeps the wheel spinning. We take for granted what we have; we forget about the transience associated with whatever we have; rather, we think that we are the owners of these assets : tangible and otherwise! We measure our value by the things that we have and the life we lead. We aspire to increase our self-worth by acquiring things and habits that we do not have today. We feel significant only when we raise our life to the so-called levels of ambitions. The goalpost keeps changing for us. Some people chase materialistic goals while some chase intangibles like reputation, intellect, spirituality and many more. In any case, it’s a chase that’s important for human life and that keeps one going. This is a fundamental design element in this world. And hence, infinity is the goal for anyone who finds life (and hence, the chase) interesting and worth-living. So, infinite money is enough! And infinite happiness is enough…infinite reward is enough!

The next question is to find out if this chase is meaningful. As long as life is worth it, one has to look forward to the future and have an ambition that is inspirational. There are numerous ways to reach the summit though it might be a mirage. Amongst these numerous ways, there are just a handful of them which are ‘right’. What separates one human being from the other is the belief and hence, the thoughts and action. If I chase the goal of buying a private jet, building a firm that feeds 1000 people a day, meditating in the Himalayas, whatever it is… there are numerous ways to reach the target. My thoughts lead me into action and hence, the journey towards the goal. Success is not guaranteed but action is. These actions are rooted in my thoughts and again, these thoughts are rooted in my beliefs. So, it’s the set of beliefs which define who I am and they explain why I do what I do.

I believe, as long as one’s beliefs promote co-existence and sensitivity to others including nature, the chase is meaningful. The world will be a better place for all to live.

Miles to go before I sleep,
There are many around me : living and otherwise.
I need to think of them and keep running
And making each day a better day.
Miles to go before I sleep!