The Starting of the adventure
Ewww! What kind of topic will this bring us? What Meaning of Life can we find from a solid piece of turd? Well, it’s not really the turd itself that spark a thought in my mind. The turd, however, was a part of how I came to my conclusion though.
Humans always seek to find a life that is better than their own. Starting from the comparison of themselves to the people surrounding them. This could pertain to any topic ranging from intelligence to finance. The question I use to have is "what sets us apart? How do I get what they have? It surely isn’t just hard work and dedication…". Recently, I had an experience that provoked a different way of thinking and, I think, it’s about to change my life.
Shopping time
It all began this one day when I decided to celebrate and relax a bit. I went to the Spar super market next door to me. While I was walking down this one row, I saw hot chocolate. Mind you, this is the middle of winter when it is freezing! With my eyes fixated on the hot chocolate, I shivered in coldness. I took a step back thinking to myself "I wonder how the most expensive one will taste like. It must be really good". Should I take it? Do I have enough money? Will I end up having enough money for the month? I probably shouldn’t take it. The rest of the food on my hand is already costing me quite some cash.
So I walked out with hot chocolate… the most expensive one. I rushed home. Opened the door. Dropped my bag. Mug out. Kettle on. Opened the chocolate box… it was the tiniest portion of hot chocolate anyone can possible get. A box of Rooibos tea for R30 would last me comfortably a month to a month and a half. This box of R55 would last me, sparingly, 10 days. Guess I’m going have to drink this hot chocolate like its heaven.
… it surely was pleasing. I smiled with every sip of warm chocolate trickling down my throat. The pours on my skin was softened and my body was relaxed while endorphins flooded my body. Lovely!
Afternoon
After my 2 seconds of joy, I was back to the blazing winter, quivering in cold. As the day went by, the more I felt like my tummy was cramping. "I will be fine, I’m just cold"
I’m on the toilet. I couldn’t help the pain that was intensifying in my intestines. It all came out. my lovely cup of hot chocolate decided to make its way out of my life so quickly. So uncommitted it was. Oh well.
I stood up from my toilet seat and flushed the toilet. As I watched my turd get flushed away like a tadpole getting washed away by the waters of a river, a thought struck my mind. So this is the conclusion of my expensive cup of hot chocolate. What a waste.
My thoughts
All the luxuries of human life just end up becoming a piece of turd that gets flushed away. All our physical achievements of luxury gets detached from us when we pass away. Jacob Zuma will pass away without his expensive house.
I grew up with some intelligence but not much financial freedom. Thinking as far into the future as always, my parents decided to take me to more of a well-known high school in the middle of the city. That is always where the financial freedom lies. It is most attractive site for sentimental beings. But because I lived so far away, I had to wake up at 5am every day to be at school to wake the sun up and come home after 6pm to say "good night" to the moon. I seriously needed a bar one chocolate for that extra hour a day. From this experience of hardship, it is really difficult not to become someone that constantly chases for the financial freedom that they ought to seek. I consider it a fear of being poor.
Strangely, recently, I started hearing stories about successful people that has survived a similar hardship I have and started to get detrimental illnesses. Some have their eye removed for a brain tumour, some have 5 to 6 bottles of medications daily. But … they cannot let go of their own career in order to take care of their health … One of the easiest examples is Steve Jobs dying of a disease around the age of 55. He stood on stage marketing his product till the last possible day. It surely is that difficult to let go.
There must be more to life than just physical success and I’m out to find it. It is time to let go of my physical success that I have built up from the past and time to start a new adventure to find something else that I will soon consider a success. I don’t want my success to become just a piece of solid turd …
I am sure this ocean will let me know the meaning of life once I am ready for it…