A SIMPLE LIFE IS NOT THAT SIMPLE

“The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be

joyful, rich, and creative, it isn't simple.” 

-      Doris Janzen Longacre

This morning, I was teaching *Prateek in one of my batches. He, as usual, had turned up without doing his homework. The academic year is coming to an end, and I had failed to cause a change of heart in my Prateek, despite my blow-hot and blow-cold methods. So, he was there before me, this morning, as ‘chilled out’ as he could be. I decided neither to blow it hot nor blow it cold, today. Instead, I decided to play it with some mischief; rather, blow it with some fun…

“Wait, let your dad come back from Philippines,” I said to Prateek, “I will ask him to deport you there permanently.”

Well, I had the liberty to say that to Prateek, as his dad was my dear friend. So, Prateek knew I wasn’t serious about the deportment. He replied, “Yes Sir, to sell tender coconuts on the Philippine’s beaches.”

Before I could respond to what I had just heard, Prateek added – this time, on a serious note – “But Sir, I really want to live a simple life in a remote village.”

“Very nice my boy, I am proud of you,” my mischief continued. “But, before you go to live in a remote village, please give me your one-lakh worth mobile phone, your hi-tech ear-phones and Nike shoes.”

“Sure Sir,” Prateek committed, “Anything else?”

“Yes, ask dad to write your share of property in my name,” I made my wish known.

“Ha-ha,” Prateek reacted, “But, Sir, I will have to carry cash when I go to live in a village.”

“Achha,” I raised my eyebrows, “that means, a simple life is not that simple.”

“Everybody wants to go to heaven; but, nobody wants to die!” the old saying goes…

Whatever happened to the ‘homework’?

Two days ago, I had used this quote from Douglas Coupland: “People who advocate simplicity have money in the bank; the money came first, not the simplicity.”

While I grew up in my village as a school and college boy, I abhorred ‘simplicity’… if poverty and ignominy were what simplicity all about. I wanted to progress financially and make ‘my place’ under the Sun… Yes, I wanted to succeed, prosper, achieve fame and name and all that which went in the name of ‘Success’. So, my struggling and slogging started… I started burning my candle from both ends. Like everyone else around me did, I, too, chased success, wealth and fame

And now?

Yesterday, I was talking to another friend of mine, who is a real ‘achiever’ in the conventional sense… Yes, a rags-to-riches, self-made man! But, he is aware of the truth: how the blind ‘pursuit of success’ can take its toll on many things in life - family, relationships, health etc… He is aware of the truth: the stress does not spare anyone. But, my friend is a very voracious reader and a lot inspired by the lives of great thinkers, writers and social reformers like Ramana Maharshi, Mahatma Gandhi, Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Mother Teresa, Baba Amte, Chattampi Swamikal (Kerala) and many others. He has not let his constant ‘struggling and slogging’ take a toll on things he has chosen to cherish in his life – good health, good music, good reading,  long walks,  good sleep (early-to-bed and early-to-rise) and above all, freedom from alcohol, tobacco, even meat and fish…

My friend was describing to me, yesterday, the kind of diet plan he has been following of late… unbelievably simple and little!

But, that’s not the kind of meal my friend and I would have chosen to live by when we started off with our ‘success pursuits’. I remember often eating ‘little’ – or nothing - back in our village, out of necessity and life-situations… I remember my desire to run away from it… to be able to earn well, eat well, become ‘big’ etc., one day!

Today, as my young student, Prateek, wanted to run away from his homework, citing his desire to go to a remote village and live a simple life… yes, maybe, by selling tender coconuts on the beaches of Philippines… I remembered my own, his dad’s and my other friend’s desire to ‘run away’ from our own situations in life…

Ironically, every boy who sells tender coconuts to the guys who holiday on the exotic beaches, also, desires to be like his customer, one day!

So much for our desire to live a simple life!

 * Name changed

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.:aseanup.com