The dichotomy between time and money

Money. money, money,

must be funny

in the rich man's world

Money, money, money,

always sunny

in the rich man's world.

Abba had these thoughts to express through their hit song Money, money, money way back in 1976. However, in a world today full of growing competition and hectic lifestyles, I couldn't agree more to this line of thought put forth by them. Decreasing levels of patience, increasing extravagance in living and a lot of disposable income: all of them spell trouble. A recent conversation with one of my friends from undergrads is the trigger for this post.

I find it really queer that a piece of paper in your pocket should hold so much value in one's life, just because it buys quite a lot of things but Not everything. Sure, you could buy all the fancy materialistic stuff with all that money but have you ever wondered the cost that you have actually paid to get your hands on that next item. The actual cost is not always apparent to the eyes but is usually implicit in nature. Probe a little further and you realize that in the pursuit of money, you have lost out an even more valuable,no, priceless commodity: time. 

For money,

people kill, people lie,

people cheat, people scam,

people pursue degrees they hardly need

people give up relations,

people become wanderers,

people forget the human side to their nature,

money,

all for money.

The basic problem behind all this lies in our complacency. We are just too complacent regarding our dreams, our desires, our passions and our lives. People think that if only they could pursue their passion, their true calling, life would be so much better. If only the government was functioning properly, if only everything would be running smoothly and all went well. We tend to forget that every now and then, things do go bad in life and they require rectification. We dream, speak, debate and fantasize about all such facets of our lives, about the only thing we don't do is act upon it. When Monday strikes, all our fantasies vanish into thin air and we return to the grind of the pursuit of earning money and generating wealth. The lure of money blinds us all and we just keep chasing it endlessly .We casually shrug and say 'I can't do that, I need to earn money'. Sure, you have to but not in the ways everyone is doing it. There are millions of ways of earning money and yet all that we do is talk and keep on talking about it. Keep in mind a simple truth, that you will not carry all that money packed in suitcases along with you once you die. All that money will just get left behind. 

You have that special talent, that ability inside you, which needs to be brought out. Everybody in this world has their own purpose, their own roles to play in the larger picture of life. Imagine, back in the 1940's or the period before that as well, if the people of that generation would not have taken action, India would not have gained independence and 15th August as well as 26th January would have been just some dates on the calendar. Those were the people who believed in action and that time was of more essence than money. If they would have just talked and discussed about independence, would they have obtained it? 

In our modern age, the situation demands that we look at things from a different and creative perspective. If the money is creating the problem, then remove it altogether. Abolish the monetary system as we know it. Replace money with Time as the currency. This concept and idea was explored by director Andrew Niccol in his film  IN TIME. The film just goes to show us that time is truly more valuable than any form of asset we could think of. Aware of the fact that hundreds before me have said the same things over and over again, I would still like to emphasize Steve Jobs here. 

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other people's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Consider the following situation:

You are lying on your deathbed and just few minutes away from your death. An angel appears in front of you in shimmering white light. The Angel tells you that it will grant you a choice of life but there are two options to choose from:

Which? & Why?