I came to visit my sister in Kolkata two days back. Doing things different from what I got used to do in my one year at Hyderabad.
I visited places like Victoria memorial, Howrah Bridge, Park Street. We took a long walk on Howrah Bridge; people were carrying giant bags and baskets on their shoulders and walking fast. I can feel that rush in their feet, caused due to the pain on shoulder. Their hands were properly toned. When did I last feel that pain? Did I ever feel? I sit in that air conditioned office with less work and expect to earn what these people earn in whole year, in just one month. I go to gym to burn my fat, to tone my body, while these people work so hard to fill their stomach and get toned. World is really cheating everyone!
I guess Christopher Ryan’s book changed my perspective towards people. When a driver drives fast, when he thinks of competing with the other guy, I think of the chapter he mentions about ‘jealousy’. Everything started with this one word. Whole human destruction!
" The jealous know nothing, suspect much, and fear everything"
-Curt Goetz
-Curt Goetz
Sadly we think, convince, and satisfy ourselves saying that our current lifestyle is much better than our past civilisations. May be we are totally wrong in our thought system. They were much happier those days. I am convinced! Remember last time you saw an old movie and thought how sweet those days were, how innocent those girls looked, how marvellous those song lyrics were…Yes! We all like old things and we do like modern things, because we think modern life brings us happiness in more easy and shortest route.
I have been doing this from some time. I observe people much carefully to find what the common aspects that people are jealous on were. Not many things came into light in my understanding. It has been a quite a good number sample analysis from my side, which includes huge set of my colleagues, some of the close friends and people I get to meet every day (shopkeeper, dhobi, auto drivers, workers in office, receptionists). I was noticing them and trying to see if they are jealous of something in their life. If yes, then what was it? Why was it so important to be jealous? Are we humans bound to that particular thing so much, that we have to be jealous?
I got a courier one day in office and the receptionist begged me to open the cover in front of him. It was not compulsory but he was curious. I asked him that stupid question that minute. If he also wanted to get some courier one day? He kept quite. By the time I opened and he saw that there was a book in it, his face shown lack of interest. I asked him what he was expecting to be in the courier. He was smiling and said may be some card and chocolate kind of gifts. My god, I was shocked. If there were something really like that I would not even think of opening it in front of him. He missed that common sense, but gave me good info. People are jealous on other’s happiness. Most of them are living with the same issue. Happiness in terms of luxury, love, and other benefits. They end up sad and start up with jealousy.
Shopkeeper in front of my house hates most of the people who walk into that shop. I promised myself many times not to go to his shop. But my laziness forces me to go to nearby shop. However never talk anything more than what u want in his shop. Not even any expression. One day he shown me a Bru coffee sachet and said some price for it. I said “what!!! This is small packet; it must be less than that price”. He just took it so seriously, he was yelling at me ‘if you want buy..buy..otherwise go, this is my price, my shop’ and what not…he said so many. I felt very upset, thought of not reacting anymore. I asked him, why he was so upset, while paying money. He still was upset. He said ‘my shop is not like 9 to 6 job, I have to work from early morning to late night, and I have to handle people like you so many. I cannot explain the Bru rate so many times.’ He was jealous that my life was easy. May be I thought he too want to be lazy like me. People are jealous on laziness. Remember people saying ‘Man you are so lucky...you got rich dad’, ‘How nice you don’t have work in office...this is life’, ‘You stay with your parents….how lucky you get to eat home food’…People are lazy! They envy whoever is lazy than them. They try to do something to satisfy that ego point. That something is the root cause for destruction.
I don’t know the best way to lead life. But I surely know jealousy will lead us nowhere. We end up as ‘progressing incapable total justifiers of The Great Human Destruction’.
I have been arguing on various topics every day after reading this evolution book. It is taking me to extremes of human and I get worried my mere existence might be questionable one day. Knowing humans and their emotions better will make us lead much peaceful life by being more open to their extreme and normal behaviours. Frustration, jealousy, anger...these kind of sequential words would not trouble you more if we consider other person as other person. He or she is just other person. Never yours/ you are never anyone’s. This is that simple. Accept it or not. Life is complex only when you cross this level. Sadly we all push into this phase early or late with the word called ‘Marriage’. I don’t know, I might also end up doing this, but the principle remains constant. You only owe your life. Getting happiness out of it is your sole decision.
Right books can change your life..
