LIFE - WHAT REALLY MATTERS...

I read this saying in the Sacred Space of Times of India this morning. It made a lot of sense.

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you,
as by the attitude you bring to life;
not so much by what happens to you,
as by the way your mind looks at what happens. -----------Kahlil Gibran

As I opened my email, I found this forward......... call it what you may, but they both give the same message. Read on ...... if you may.

Money has no memory. Experience has. we will never know what the total
cost of our education was, but for a lifetime we will recall and relive
the memories of schools and colleges. Few years from now, we will forget
the amount we paid to settle the hospitalization bill, but will ever
cherish having saved our mother's life or the life you get to live with
the just born. We won't remember the cost of our honeymoon, but to the
last breath remember the experiences of the bliss of togetherness.

Money has no memory. Experience has.

Good times and bad times, times of prosperity and times of poverty, times
when the future looked so secure and times when you didn't know from where
the tomorrow will come... life has been in one way or the other a
roller-coaster ride for everyone. Beyond all that abundance and beyond all
that deprivation, what remains is the memory of experiences. Sometimes the
wallet was full... sometimes even the pocket was empty. There was enough
and you still had reasons to frown. There wasn't enough and you still had
reasons to smile. Today, you can look back with tears of gratitude for all
the times you had laughed together, and also look back with a smile at all
the times you cried alone. All in all, life filled you with experiences to
create a history of your own self, and you alone can remember them all.

The first time you balanced yourself on your cycle without support... The
first time she said 'yes' and it was two years since you proposed... The
first cry... the first steps... the first word... the first kiss... all of
your child...
The first gift you bought for your parents and the first gift your
daughter gave you...
The first award... the first public appreciation... the first stage
performance...
And the list is endless... Experiences, with timeless memory...

No denying that anything that's material cost money, but the fact remains
the cost of the experience will be forgotten, but the experience never.

So, what if it's economic recession? Let it be, but let there not be a
recession to the quality of our life. we can still take our parents, if
not on a pilgrimage, at least to the local temple. You can still play with
your children, if not on an international holiday, at least in the local
park. It doesn't cost money to lie down or to take a loved one onto our
lap. Nice time to train the employees, create leadership availability and
be ready for the wonderful times when they arrive. Hey! Aspects like your
health, knowledge development and spiritual growth are not economy
dependent.

Time will pass... economy will revive... currency will soon be in
current... and in all this, lets don't look back and realize that we did
nothing but stayed in gloom. Recession can make us lose out on money. Let
it not make us lose out on experiences... If we are not happy with what we
have, no matter how much more we have, we will still not be happy.

We can make a statement with the way we live our life: How I feel has
nothing to do with how much I have.

Cheers !!!...I have life's Experiences, who needs money....!!?

Comments

BK Chowla, said…
Yes, I too received a similar mail some time back.
But I tend to agree with msg, though
How do we know said…
u know.. i had my mouth gaping open after reading this.. because the first thing i tell parents i work with is this: Your child wont give a damn how much money you spent on him. But the memories you make for him/her, will last them a lifetime.. be very careful about the memories your child is making.. especially the ones that have you in them.

And for Ishaan.. the only thing i wish for, after health and Saraswati, is that we may be able to create some great memories for him..some traditions that he can take to his children... the childhood we give them, will determine the childhood their kids get...

But this is the first time that someone has said sth similar.. thats why mah mouth was agape... Thank you for sharing.
J P Joshi said…
BK CHOWLA: Thank you. Some of these forwards, like this one, contain great words of wisdom. I enjoy reading them.

HDWK: You are way ahead, and on the right track, I believe. Generally it is too late by the time we realise that memories are probably the only things that we never forget - both good and bad.

My daughter can still vividly remember the times when I would take her, along with her friend, for catching butterflies in the forest, in Hasimara - she was one when we reached Hasimara and four when we left - and she is a mother herself now.

Agree with you whole heartedly, "that we may be able to create some great memories for him..some traditions that he can take to his children... the childhood we give them, will determine the childhood their kids get..."
Usha Pisharody said…
This is so reviving! There are times when the thought of money and where its going to come from and how we are going to get it, consumes us...

And at those times, these words of wisdom, gently yet convincing, should see one thru'!

Indeed money, we need, perhaps, but memories, if we dont have them will make even the most of money seem worthless!!

Thanks so much, JP Sir!
Am sharing this on FB, Sir, in anticipation of your permission :) :) Couldn't not!
J P Joshi said…
Usha Pisharody: Thank you for your comment, its been a long time since I saw you in the blog world...I too have been visiting off and on.

I found this very interesting and close to my experience of life and thus thought of putting it up. Money is important BUT it is way too overrated. Agree with you that, "indeed money, we need, perhaps, but memories, if we dont have them will make even the most of money seem worthless!!"

You are most welcome. This is for sharing....my friends shared it with me.
You are so right we never forget experiences. Isnt it amazing that we all have these experiences we remember...rich, poor, it doesnt matter, we all have them.
J P Joshi said…
LVS: Yes, I actually found this forward to contain a lot of wisdom and thus thought of saving it for posterity on my blog.