Good times and bad times, times of prosperity and times of difficulty, times when the future looks secure and times when we did not know where our tomorrow would come from………..in one way or another, life has been a roller-coaster ride for each and everyone of us. There isn’t a single individual who does not have their own basket of experiences. Yes, its true. Some are gifted with more attractive baskets with a better assortment of goodies.
Beyond all the abundance and beyond all the deprivation, finally all that mainly remains is the memory of experiences.
We may, at times, remember the total cost of our education, but for a lifetime will recall and relive the memories of school and college. We may or may not remember the amount we paid for hospitalization of a loved one, but will always cherish the memory of having played a role in saving their life in time. Some years down the road, we may or may not remember our salary, our perks, our position, but will always cherish the memories of our workplace, the experiences, the trials and tribulations, and the friendships created.
Money has no memory. Experience has.
Beyond all the abundance, and beyond all the scrounging. Sometimes the wallet was full…………sometimes the pocket was empty. There were phases when there was enough, and all we did was grumble. Then there were phases when there wasn’t enough, and we still had reasons to smile.
Today, many of us can look back with tears of gratitude for all the times we had laughed together, and also look back with a smile at the times when we cried alone. All in all, life has filled us, and will continue to fill each of us with experiences to create a history of our own, and it is only each of us who can individually remember in detail their own experiences.
The first time we balanced ourselves on a bicycle, without support…….
The first time we saved and took our spouse, or parents, on a holiday………..
The first cry………..the first words…………..the first steps………of our child……..
The first gift we bought for our spouse, or parents, or siblings…….
The first award……..the first public appreciation…….
The first promotion………
The list can go on endlessly………….all of experiences, with cherished memories…………the good ones and the not so good ones………. which can be timeless.
There is absolutely no denying the fact that money and wealth are essential, and can upgrade all that we wish to do. Yet, eventually, it is always the memory of the experience that remains, not necessarily the cost of the experience.
So what if there is an economic recession, or a pandemic? There need not be a recession to the quality of one’s life, no matter what level it is being lived at. One can still do a zoom call with close family. One can still play with kids, if not on an international holiday, then at least in a local park. Super time to re-skill employees, create leadership availability for strategy brainstorming, and gear up for wonderful times when they will arrive. Aspects like health, knowledge development, emotional and spiritual growth are not economy dependent. Yet, if one notices, all that is being talked about is the quality and quantity of experiences.
Time passes. For all. Economies go into a downturn, and then revive. Currencies move up and then down. Good cycles can make one gain money. Low cycles can make one lose out on money. Let it not make us lose out on experiences. Let us also train ourselves to be better experiences for those around us.
Let us make a statement with the way we live. For ourselves, and for those around us.
How we feel and behave should not have anything to do with how much we possess.