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Business, Family and Happiness

22 November 2009

One evening, a rich merchant came across a fisherman, who after the day’s work, was relaxing on the bank of the river. “Old man, why don’t you fish?” the merchant asked. “I already have,” the old man replied. “Why don’t you fish for some more?” he pressed on. The old man shook his head. “What am I going to do with more fish?” The merchant smiled at the old man’s naivety. “You can sell it and earn more money,” he suggested. “And what am I going to do with more money?” the old man asked again. “You can buy a bigger boat, catch more fish and make more money.” The old man still shook his head. “And then?” he inquired. “And then you can buy a motor boat and become rich.” The old man gave a knowing smile. “What do I do after I become rich?” he asked. “You can buy a ship which will catch fish by thousands and make millions of dollars.” The old man thought for a while. “And then?” he asked. “And then you no longer have to work but relax and enjoy your life,” the merchant noted. “What do you think I am doing now?” the old man asked.

The merchant thought for a while. He had no answer. This anecdote rings a familiar note. As materialism grips people’s hearts, they directly correlate money with happiness. That is to say that the more money they have, the happier they think they will become. It is amazing indeed how people undergo metamorphosis when they hoard more and more money. Of course, there are people who put money to a good use, but there are also others who use it otherwise. Lechery, deception, treachery, infidelity, snobbery, vanity and hypocrisy (to mention a few) are offshoots of money-making.

That is when people render themselves insensible to decency, honour, morality, truth and self-respect. History is full of that: from Adam and Eve to Caesar and Cleopatra; Agamemnon and Helen of Troy to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. People have gone to great lengths to get power and money. Did they get what they desired? Yes. Were they happy after they got what they desired? No.

Of course, like a fountain spring, it begins with something small and with good intentions. For instance, wife ventures into business because she wants to supplement her husband’s income. Husband agrees because he, like his wife, also dreams of a better tomorrow for their children. But what both of them don’t realise is that they have sown the seed of discord, which in time bears only divorce.

It always starts with something harmless- such as strangers becoming business friends, lending and seeking a helping hand, visiting a night club, going out for a dinner and then one thing leads to another. People do it only once and the trend becomes irreversible.

This isn’t a gimmick. Visit a tshechu and we will discover that there are more women hawkers than men. Ask them about their family and we would notice that many of them are divorcees. Listen to their talks and it would only revolve around money and things associated with money. Figure out if they are financially independent, and some might say ‘yes’. Probe a little further and examine if they have made enough money to lead a happy life and the most likely answer we would get is ‘no’. Ask them if they are happy with their profession and we would get a resounding ‘no’. Inquire if their children are happy with their life style and the answer is predictably ‘no’. Ask them if they know why they are into the business and the probable answer is again a ‘no’. The truth is- money had destroyed their lives and their family’s lives.

Money had destroyed their children’s hopes and aspirations and with it, their lives as well. Nothing could have been more tragic. It is ironic that realization comes rather late. In our greed for money, we totally disregard the sacred conviction of faith. We stoop too low to business and shun our ears to the desperate cries of our children.

We fail to figure out whether ‘money manages our lives’ or ‘we manage money’. We forget that constant absence from home would most likely cause turbulence in the little time we spend with our families. Did the business help us in amassing more money? Yes, it did. Are we happy (now that we are rich)? No, we are not.
The bottom line is most of us religiously follow the rich merchant’s life elicited in the parable. In the hope of becoming rich, we ceaselessly remain poor. Ultimately, what matters to us is what we want in life- riches or happiness. It is up to us to choose whether to ‘transcend money’ or let ‘money transcend’ us. We need to make a wise decision here because studies have shown that we cannot have both at the same time.

By Dorji Wangchuk

One evening, a rich merchant came across a fisherman, who after the day’s work, was relaxing on the bank of the river. “Old man, why don’t you fish?” the merchant asked. “I already have,” the old man replied. “Why don’t you fish for some more?” he pressed on. The old man shook his head. “What am I going to do with more fish?” The merchant smiled at the old man’s naivety. “You can sell it and earn more money,” he suggested. “And what am I going to do with more money?” the old man asked again. “You can buy a bigger boat, catch more fish and make more money.” The old man still shook his head. “And then?” he inquired. “And then you can buy a motor boat and become rich.” The old man gave a knowing smile. “What do I do after I become rich?” he asked. “You can buy a ship which will catch fish by thousands and make millions of dollars.” The old man thought for a while. “And then?” he asked. “And then you no longer have to work but relax and enjoy your life,” the merchant noted. “What do you think I am doing now?” the old man asked.
The merchant thought for a while. He had no answer. This anecdote rings a familiar note. As materialism grips people’s hearts, they directly correlate money with happiness. That is to say that the more money they have, the happier they think they will become. It is amazing indeed how people undergo metamorphosis when they hoard more and more money. Of course, there are people who put money to a good use, but there are also others who use it otherwise. Lechery, deception, treachery, infidelity, snobbery, vanity and hypocrisy (to mention a few) are offshoots of money-making.
That is when people render themselves insensible to decency, honour, morality, truth and self-respect. History is full of that: from Adam and Eve to Caesar and Cleopatra; Agamemnon and Helen of Troy to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. People have gone to great lengths to get power and money. Did they get what they desired? Yes. Were they happy after they got what they desired? No.
Of course, like a fountain spring, it begins with something small and with good intentions. For instance, wife ventures into business because she wants to supplement her husband’s income. Husband agrees because he, like his wife, also dreams of a better tomorrow for their children. But what both of them don’t realise is that they have sown the seed of discord, which in time bears only divorce.
It always starts with something harmless- such as strangers becoming business friends, lending and seeking a helping hand, visiting a night club, going out for a dinner and then one thing leads to another. People do it only once and the trend becomes irreversible.
This isn’t a gimmick. Visit a tshechu and we will discover that there are more women hawkers than men. Ask them about their family and we would notice that many of them are divorcees. Listen to their talks and it would only revolve around money and things associated with money. Figure out if they are financially independent, and some might say ‘yes’. Probe a little further and examine if they have made enough money to lead a happy life and the most likely answer we would get is ‘no’. Ask them if they are happy with their profession and we would get a resounding ‘no’. Inquire if their children are happy with their life style and the answer is predictably ‘no’. Ask them if they know why they are into the business and the probable answer is again a ‘no’. The truth is- money had destroyed their lives and their family’s lives.
Money had destroyed their children’s hopes and aspirations and with it, their lives as well. Nothing could have been more tragic. It is ironic that realization comes rather late. In our greed for money, we totally disregard the sacred conviction of faith. We stoop too low to business and shun our ears to the desperate cries of our children.
We fail to figure out whether ‘money manages our lives’ or ‘we manage money’. We forget that constant absence from home would most likely cause turbulence in the little time we spend with our families. Did the business help us in amassing more money? Yes, it did. Are we happy (now that we are rich)? No, we are not.
The bottom line is most of us religiously follow the rich merchant’s life elicited in the parable. In the hope of becoming rich, we ceaselessly remain poor. Ultimately, what matters to us is what we want in life- riches or happiness. It is up to us to choose whether to ‘transcend money’ or let ‘money transcend’ us. We need to make a wise decision here because studies have shown that we cannot have both at the same time.
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Posted by Bhutan Observer · Filed Under Opinion 

Comments

One Response to “Business, Family and Happiness”

  1. David on November 23rd, 2009 8:30 am

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