Simplifying life

In the first half of a man’s life. It seems he is content to always take, take and take. At times he takes so much, he doesn’t even know what to do with it – wherever his eyes rest upon, it’s as thought, he must take it. When someone pays this man a compliment, he takes it all in like a thirsty giraffe, savoring ever drop and even comes back for more. When a girl smiles at him invitingly, he takes as well and even sometimes goes out of his way just to take more. Even when others flatter him and it’s not real – it seems he will also take it. Soon this man who seems to always take, take and take reaches a stage in life when he finds himself in a frightful warehouse filled to the bursting to the seams with useless stuff. Some of them are perched so precariously one on top of the others, it even threatens to fall down and break his head.

In the second half of a man’s life – you will find he is always throwing away stuff from this warehouse that is filled with useless things. It seems at times, he even throws out valuable and precious things that most people aspire to own – when someone offers him something new and perhaps, even if it’s better than what he already has…the chances are this man will say, ‘thank you, but I don’t really have a need for it.’ At times you will even find that he throws out offers of companionship and even prefers to be all alone by himself. And what is most curious about this man in the second half of his life – he even seems to throw out the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and much prefers to remain in the shadows as one of the many faceless.

It seems this man in the second half of his life has nothing of value in his simple life. Yet ironically he seems to have everything. While the man in the first half of life, seems to have everything, yet he has nothing.

How very strange……

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‘At some point in the second half of your life when you find yourself throwing away all the clutter that you have managed to accumulate like some Karang Guni man (junkyard merchant) – it’s conceivable – you will also throw out some relationships that you feel adds zero to your overall quality of life – you will be inclined to talk less and be less opinionated or even feel the need to defend your position vigorously…you want to win? OK lah….you win! – instead you will find yourself cultivating silence in all things that you choose to do and think – that may at first look like a form of withdrawal from all worldly affairs. But I don’t think that is so – if anything that state of mind is simply what you are left with after throwing out that which can give you no value in life.

At some point in life….it’s just conceivable, when you see something beautiful like a flower. You will not reach out greedily to pluck it in the name of mine one! Rather you will sit quietly beside this flower and simply feast your eyes on it’s beauty….it’s not longer about the act of possessing. Rather it is all about the art of appreciating without having to take…..the warehouse is very empty.’