A life of choice

Ram Dass, in his book “Be Here Now”, while discussing ideal family life, which would involve relying as little as possible on the mainstream economy, living close to nature and spending time together as a family says:

Can you afford to take a cut? Can you afford not to?

Money has become an important currency for humans, but it is not the only currency. Also, the amount of money you need depends a lot not just on your lifestyle, dreams and ambitions, but also on the stage of life you are in and where you (choose to) live.

I heard the interview of a lady who lives in a small, unknown village in the Himalayan foothills. She and her husband opted out of the maddening rat race in Delhi in the early nineties and moved there with their daughter. She said that they just decided they didn’t want to make the kind of money Delhi demanded. They chose a more ‘easy’ life, being together as a family and having time for their daughter as she grew up.

This, during the times when all other parents were herding their children to become doctors and engineers.

Imagine what freedom, what choice and sense of time the family has lived with. Imagine how fortunate the child was. What a wonderful starting point in life!

So, my question to you is: can you afford to take a cut? Can you afford not to?

Would you be willing to move to a more sane place?

Do you believe your children shouldn’t be bound by their degrees and certificates and routines that conflict with their basic body functions (meal times, sleeping hours)? Would you do something about it?

Do you believe that the forces running the modern world are not in congruence with the basic needs of the human being? Do you give preference to fulfilling your basic needs?

Are you willing to do something about it? For yourself? And your child?