To those who know me this has been my pet subject for sometime now. I've spoken about it at length to anyone who would be interested to listen. Some of them unfortuately did not have a choice. :) I just rambled on and they listened out of courtesy. So let me ramble here as well and maybe someone will read it out of courtesy here too!
Do you remember the day you got your first cycle or your first bike? Or the day your family got its first refrigerator or the first colour TV or maybe the first VCR? Do you remember the elation and the joy of that device coming into your house? Do you remember your target job or organisation and the happiness and acquiring that? I do...........I remember the day I got my cycle and the proud feeling when I bought my bike with my own money. I remember how proud I felt the day I moved into my own house. In 'our days' those were some of the things we aspired for. The day we could get things on our own - the things that we didn't have as kids growing up or things that we saw our parents struggle to get and succeed. To some extent those aspirations drove us to accomplish what we did early in life.
My kids, on the other hand, are born with things that we considered luxury and we aspired for - a house, a sedan car, a phone - maybe two, a computer, a LCD TV, a home theater and many other such things. When I look at these things around me, I wonder what will my kids aspire for? What will they aim for? What will they dream to have and work towards? I bought my daughter a cycle a couple of years back and she accepted it and has hardly ridden it. I used to wash and polish my cycle every weekend and ride it proudly everywhere.
As we got successful we acquired a lot of things for our own benefit and enjoyment. By the age of 30 an average successful person would have their own house, own car, couple of TVs, few phones, definitely a laptop or desktop and all the other 'neccessities' of life like a microwave, refrigerator and washing machine. This is the kind of household that the kids arrive into. As the parents grow older the kids see more luxuries coming into their life - weekly restaurant visits, trips abroad at the drop of a hat, toys when they want and other such things. And this gets me wondering if we are spoiling the next generation. Are we giving them everything on a platter? What dreams will they have or goals will they set to achieve?
When I was in college my Dad could not afford to get me a bike or scooter. I made that as my aim and felt proud when I bought my own scooter with my own money. I remember restauramt visits were a coveted thing. We dressed in our best clothes and were told to be on our best behaviour. Today my daughter tells me every weekend that she 'wants to eat out'!!
This is one of the things that keeps me awake at night. What dreams or goals will our kids have as they grow up!!
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Zero Day
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I haven't read a lot of David Baldacci books and neither am I a huge reader
of mystery thrillers from the new fleet of writers as you may have gauged
from...
Nice post..you are clearly on your way to share your uncompromising and unbiased thoughts...I like the genuinity. Coming to the post, don't you think there's still room for parents like us to maintain the ethos, disciplene and culture that we have grown up with..to portray and make it work without being agnostic is a challenge for our generation. But,our parents and forefathers had different set of problems to deal with..guess,the circle of life (in forms best suited for generations) has to go on...
ReplyDeleteDifficult question.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Andaman & Nicobar islands last year, I chanced upon the Onge tribe. As of now only a 105 of them remain... Apparently, most of them don't know the concept of a country let alone a job or money.
What struck me the most however is that they don't even have the concept of possessions. "Mine" and "Yours" go out of the window. It has been difficult for me to decide who is more happy ever since.
@Shaj: I agree on the challenges bit. Every generation of kids and parents have different challenges. I am sure our kids will face newer challenges as they grow up that we never experienced as it'll be fun to deal with them as parents.
ReplyDelete@rubygem: That's such an amazing concept. Or maybe that's the concept that always existed. As we evolved, we engaged in the sins as well and that led to possessions and 'mine' v/s 'yours'. But I like the way you ended. I agree too....it would be difficult to guage who is more happy!