Lifestyle and Conscience
By Shiva
@Shiva49 (26199)
Singapore
December 12, 2017 5:36am CST
Going by material possessions I may not be successful, but that does not matter to me at all.
I have taken care to see that my lifestyle rests easy on my conscience. That has ensured a smooth ride in my life. I know some who raise the bar in terms of material possessions and pull up their conscience to match them. Obviously over time they are in conflict, do not gel.
My view is we can aim high but there should be contentment at the same time. We should count the blessings along the way even when reaching for the stars. Hoarding way beyond our needs is disaster as it proves a Pyrrhic victory.
Though each has own yardsticks, my view is from my experience where I have seen at close quarters the lifestyle of the rich. What they accumulate as assets prove liabilities in the end.
Where we are headed for needs constant appraisal and when in doubt look at where others ended up before us. Agreed, it is not easy to be contented and too low a bar stifles our potential. But then we need the balance to experience life in all its variety. The fundamentals of life cannot change.
Your views on my above take appreciated
Image: Lifestyle from Wikimedia Images
9 people like this
9 responses
@LadyDuck (457967)
• Switzerland
12 Dec 17
We should do our best not to waste our capabilities, not only to make money, but to do something that can be useful in life and that we can appreciate. There is no reason to work only to accumulate money. The way we live our life is more important.
3 people like this
@Shiva49 (26199)
• Singapore
12 Dec 17
Yes, balance in life enriches it in every way.
Normally I get used to comfort zones but when I leave them I have never regretted the enforced change.
They add so much variety by way of experience and memory.
I was hesitant to visit Europe but seeing is believing and I was amazed by the work of Michelangelo on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel to recall just one. And to think Michelangelo was not a painter to start with but a sculptor and how he managed to do it with such perfection and finesse? siva
3 people like this
@FayeHazel (40248)
• United States
12 Dec 17
I agree. Physical wealth is not always the only measure of success. Being able to sleep well at night, not being tied down my belongings and responsibilities - these are forms of wealth, too
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (26199)
• Singapore
13 Dec 17
Your response makes me recall a remark by one who was clearing goods from customs in Indonesia.
He said his employer was hugely wealthy but cannot sleep at night due to his business activities while he sleeps in his vehicle waiting for the containers to be unloaded!
We should travel light in every way all through life as we carry no baggage when we leave; I include mental baggage too! siva
2 people like this
@FayeHazel (40248)
• United States
13 Dec 17
@Shiva49 I think that mental baggage is the heaviest baggage of all.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (21021)
• Australia
13 Dec 17
All life turns on a hairpin of itself, but if that hairpin is over-weighted with material possessions, you cannot change and move on, because it becomes unworkable for you to move past this spring point, until the excess weight is removed from it.
We need to travel light and realise that all is forever provided as needed, as much as we grow in the light of God, and do not stick around in the darkness of non-love.
Money might grow over time, but do you, when you over-focus only on money?
Picture: From Pixabay.com
@innertalks (21021)
• Australia
13 Dec 17
@Shiva49 Yes, that's true too.
Overindulgence, over focusing on just about anything will trip you up in the end. It becomes an obsessional pull for you dragging you off of the true path for you.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26199)
• Singapore
13 Dec 17
@innertalks Yes Steve, we should try to understand where others come from and for that we should take our eyes off our beaten track and observe others too. The famous saying of Cherokee tribe to develop empathy is meaningful “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes”.
We should not end up with a hollow ride without any takeaways from here! siva
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26199)
• Singapore
13 Dec 17
The point is well driven home, thanks Steve.
Overindulgence in anything is a recipe for disaster.
Learn to let go the Buddha said but that is tough for the wealthy especially as they cling to their possessions as if their lives themselves depend on them.
Spread love and be a co-creator and then the rewards are immeasurable.
Agreed we are human, but we should do what we can to find meaning and fulfillment.
Even if we shoo away our conscience it still pricks over time - siva
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (53679)
•
12 Dec 17
Well said. One should indeed be ambitious, but also take time to stop and smell the roses. Some rich people spend sleepless nights worrying about safeguarding their wealth and making more. When we die, we cannot take anything with us - all worldly possessions will be left behind. it would be good to also leave a good memory of our life on earth.
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (26199)
• Singapore
12 Dec 17
Thanks, I have seen some at the bottom of the pile happier than those at the top. That makes me wonder what for accumulating wealth for its own sake. I agree lack of money is a worry but then more than what we need is a burden.
We need balance and should take care not to get sucked into the one way street where all we do is try to catch up with those ahead till we are literally short of breath - siva
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
14 Dec 17
I agree with you and I've seen the same.
I have a very sensitive conscience and I'm happiest when I do good. I don't need a lot. The rest can be used to help others.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26199)
• Singapore
15 Dec 17
Thanks.
Though I have a balance mechanism for not getting perturbed by others take on what I do, I too had a sensitive conscience till I started analysing issues and came to the conclusion I should not be dancing to others' tunes at the cost of my principles.
I go by "less is more", then I will know what I have and need to avoid wastage, but then I have to compromise to please my family too - siva
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
13 Dec 17
I think that material things only measure one aspect of success, I am rich in family and friends and have everything I need. I don't think having more money would make me one bit happier or richer.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26199)
• Singapore
13 Dec 17
I have seen here in Asia people getting obsessed with wealth accumulation.
It was a breath of fresh air when Bill Gates took the initiative to encourage the rich everywhere to pledge a portion of their wealth to charity. The very wealthy veered around to that idea slowly. Earlier almost the whole of wealth was transmitted to their children and that proved a burden to most with family fights over inheritance.
Agreed, when we work hard we are entitled to enjoy the fruits of our labor but we should do our bit for society too. That way we set a worthy example. I know of charitable acts of wealthy have made a real difference in western countries, especially in the US - siva
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