These last few weeks have been very hectic for me. It seems as if I was running the biggest race of my live. No, I’m not taking part in any sporting event, although at the moment, the World Cup is on. I’m talking about the rat race. If you read my home page, you know that I’m working towards a saner life. You’ll also know that my wife M and I live in the big city of Kuala Lumpur. So getting off the rat race is not as simple as it sounds.
Lately, we have been getting up early, fight to set up appointments with potential customers, then meet them and present our product and service, come back to prepare proposals and by the time all these are done, its already time for bed. With bad traffic, delayed appointments, almost everybody is on the run, us and our potential customers. And as if that is not enough, to rub more salt into the wound, we even have convenience stores at gas stations with the tagline “On the Run†to remind us of that!
Besides all that and looking after existing customers, I was preparing to share a short session about the biblical worldview to the members of my home group. Besides that, there is the follow-through meeting after the strategic thinking session with my partners. This requires preparation before the meetings and implementation action after that. Talk about hectic. I coined this phrase lately. When the shit hits the fan, the shit hits the fan all at the same time.
It made me think about life in a big city. Will it always be running about? I used to think with better time management or task management, I can reduce all this. But sometimes, it is easier said than done. Demand from others keeps increasing.
We were discussing about how life would be much simpler if we lived in a smaller town. A smaller town will require less commuting. To get to the shopping area, it takes less than 10 minutes drive. No parking to worry about. Getting the kids to school and back will take 10 minutes. Food, housing, are much cheaper and affordable. Expectations are lower. Isn’t that a quality life?
City folks have a funny definition of a quality life. To some extent, it would be along these lines:-
1. Having a several luxury cars,
2. A huge house; that you do not enjoy much because you are out most of the time,
3. Eating out at fancy restaurants; then getting an unhealthy body due to rich foods,
4. Not enough time to savor what you have gotten. You will be running so fast, you would not have time to enjoy what you have.
I know a handful of friends who are wealthy financially. Live in one of the most expensive homes available. In order to maintain the home, he needs 3 full time maids. The funny thing is. I also see the maids sitting at the back of luxury cars being chauffeured around! No doubt they have to look after the kids and clean house but it makes me wonder, who is the boss? The maid need not worry about making car payments, home loans, home repairs, food or clothing. Most of the time, the boss isn’t around the house anyway, I think they enjoy the nice home most. Ironic isn’t it.
Perhaps a simpler life would be a higher quality life? What say you?
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