Today our lives are supported by machines to make them easy. We have machines for washing, cleaning, manufacturing products, etc.

 

The purpose behind creating machines and automation is to reduce our efforts and create more time for us.

 

So, when these machines started coming along, we were happy because we had more time on our hands.

 

But the fact remains, as mechanization increased, stress also increased in our lives!

 

Think of the times when people did most of their work without machines or technology, surely the stress levels were lower. Mental diseases were not rampant!

 

Then what happened?

 

Why are we in such a state today?

 

It is simply that as more things became available to us, our greed increased. We began to associate happiness with our possessions.

 

We started chasing different things, money, being the most predominant one, to be happy. And, over time this chase converted us into machines!

 

We now lead lives just like an assembly line in a factory where we complete one task after another according to rigid timeframes.

 

We have a whole list of activities planned for the day that leaves us drained at the end of the day.

 

And, then we get stressed and convince ourselves that “Stress is Normal!”

 

We believe in this wild chase for possessions and money because we believe that when we acquire all these things we will be happy!

 

We are so focused on our chase that we miss what is happening around us!

 

In simple words, we miss life!

 

We do not have the time to appreciate the simple pleasures of life!

 

We do not have the time to watch a sunrise or sunset from our window, something that happens around us each day!

 

But we plan to save money and invest in holidays where we can visit “Sunrise/Sunset Points!”

 

We are not interested in cultivating a garden in our home, but we take time out to visit gardens where we can take pictures to post on social media.

 

We are so obsessed with our chase for happiness that we become oblivious to everything around us!

 

We have shifted from living to surviving!

 

Today buying things has become easy because we have enough money to buy them and we can buy them by just clicking on our smartphones!

 

We pass on these beliefs of associating happiness with possessions to the next generation effortlessly. We buy expensive toys and games for our kids because we believe that it will make them happy.

 

Over a period of time, their minds get conditioned to this belief.

 

And, we have an entire generation of people across the globe who believe in mindless consumerism.

 

Unfortunately, this mindless chase for possessions is endless!

 

Because as we acquire things, we are only temporarily happy with them. Then we want more! We keep wanting and making our lives stressful because of these wants.

 

Isn’t it time that we paused and thought if our material possessions really made us happy?

 

Is life only about accumulating things from everywhere?

 

If this were so, then why is it that today we have so many people suffering mental health issues despite owning so many things?

 

It is time to think about what we are missing in our lives?

 

It is time that we made our lives simpler! We invested more time in things that mattered like building relationships or spending time with ourselves, etc.

 

It is time that we shifted our focus from our destination to our journey! It is only when we savor every moment in life that our life becomes beautiful!

 

Why not make your life enjoyable by just living each moment instead of stressing over what you must have in the future to become happy?