Oct 04 2008
Bumpy ride
Sorry for the long-ish absence but it’s been a pretty crazy couple of weeks.
I am of course referring to the drama on Wall Street and the United States economy that has threatened to spill over into our living rooms and lives in the form of slowing economic growth, worthless investment products and uncertainties over our insurance policies and even bank holdings.
It’s been quite interesting and exciting from a journalistic point of view, when you never know what big news the next day is going to bring.
But at the same time, it is definitely unnerving for many of us to be in a position where our investments, pensions, nest-eggs, maybe even livelihoods are at stake.
There have been numerous reports of worried investors, bank customers and insurance policyholders searching for answers and clarity from the authorities and companies that have been affected by the financial turmoil.
Unfortunately, definitive answers have been hard to come by, especially given the continued murkiness about the future and the global economy. The recent news of the approval of the mega-billion dollar financial rescue package in the US is sure to buoy spirits, but the end is far from being in sight.
I’ve never been big into investments and while I am concerned about the future of the economy, I am lucky enough to not be in dire straits yet.
But this crisis has made me think.
I’ve always held that there is more to life than just the chase for cash, the rat-race, the pursuit of the almighty dollar.
Perhaps I have been fortunate to have enjoyed a privileged position where living hand-to-mouth has not been a reality yet.
Yet, in the current difficult situation, it feels wrong to be talking about a higher purpose, about a deeper meaning to life, when peoples’ livelihoods are in jeopardy.
Is life really all about the five or six Cs (I lose track of how many we’re up to now)? When push comes to shove, is that what really matters to all of us?
Will there ever come a time when we can say that, hey, it would be nice to have more in the bank, but at least we have our health, we can enjoy time with our families or a quiet evening with good friends?
I’m not sure we’ll ever have the answer to that question, but I’d sure like to hear what you think!
just happened to see the title and decided to read your post.
i agree with all the 5-6 Cs (and counting) that we pursue relentlessly, working from 9-9, driving bigger and bigger cars in tiny Singapore, upgrading our flats to condominiums just to find ourselves paying it away for the next 30 yrs.
how much have we spent time with what we ALREADY have which are always close to heart? Albeit being overlooked, we comfort ourselves that we are just fighting for a better future for them!
sitting outside SG now and looking at it from Switzerland alone, i feel the drastic difference of how people cherish their personal time, personal life.
their lives are definitely alot more comfortable and stable, however their outlook of life is extremely different. i would not say i agree completely with their outlook but the sheer thought of appreciation seems so much stronger.
maybe we do need a long way to realise the importance of good health, sheer enjoyment of the company of loved ones, the roof over our head, essence and abundancy of our environment, etc (and so much more). yet these are the people and things we have to tend to endlessly. so much of lamenting time and money is NEVER enough.
Basic neccessities in life are food, shelter,and clothing. To have these neccessities, we need money. Well cultural differences have different views in life. All of us are unique to one another. Not one of us are the same. It just that 5-6 Cs is one of the things that we aspire for. Where our goal is, our heart follows. If you so focussed in getting all those things, your mind is concentrating how. Your heart is punding all those blood in your brain so that it will find a way to do it. You geared your whole body to reach that goal. If you are in the stock market now, deifnitely you are worried. If your goal is to be very rich, you are most worried. If your goal is live simple lives, you may take it easy. In time of crisis like these, people are now thinking and thinking hard. How, why, what now? During this time when everyone is in some sort of panic, all we need to do is stop and think. People may cut these and that, not buy this and that, and etc… Poor people does not have that luxury for at the very start, they only have the basics in life. Those who have extra or more, has the luxury of planning ahead. One thing is for sure, everyone of us must go back to basics and strap ourselves because as you say, it will be a bumpy ride ahead.
Conclusion: Whether rich or poor, we must go back to only the neccessties of life (food, shelter, and clothing). Hold on to what you may have (specially those extra money) and just keep is strapped down. Then we wait, no one wants to go out in a storm. When this is all over, let us all go back to our usual ways. Come to think of it, after this US credit crunch, this will make us all a wiser person.
Lastly, there are more precious things in life that is free. That is you family and the love that you have with one another. This is priceless and no amount of money can buy this. Beatles said, “Can’t Buy Me Love”.