Money for nothing?

Ouch! – that’s the best description I can offer as I begin putting my money where my mouth is. See, of late, I’ve been mulling over paying for advertisement on the internet, well, facebook.com, to be precise to promote a portal that we’ve just launched called daypasses.com.

I guess this stems pretty much from my oriental upbringing where everything of value is only measurable by an equal part of material product. That is, we only place importance when we purchase something that’s tangible. Yes, we want every ounce and square inch for every cent.

So, when we bgin paying for stuff that we can’t touch like advertising and such, the very act send s a shock to our systems. But there’s where need seriously need to learn, especially from the like of the Americans.

For them, as formidable marketers, they are more thn willing to send perhaps a dollar or more to market something that’s sold for 20 or 30 cents. Now, I’m not just talking about the mega businesses that can afford to do so, but more in general terms even. See, they place equal amount of importance also to intrinsic value to material value wherelse in most parts of the east, we have a tendency to only pay for what we can touch and see.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking our eastern roots and all that, but have a look around and what do you see? American brands and products transcend borders, both their own and internationally, making them the most prolific and recognizable brands while the east gets known quite literally by the labels of “cheap and unrecognizable” products. Very often, they, as the middlemen, make more money than manufacturers by placing brands on manufactured products and marketing them aggresively with money for branding.

In a manner, it is very much like a Ying & Yang thingy isn’t it? Nothing and something in equal parts of importance. Hmm... it really is harder to practice what we preach. And yes, it still feels, well, OUCH!

Politics and heart

The extent of the need for political parties to hold absolute power over their parliamentarians sometimes amazes me. While I can certainly understand why the Party Whip is appointed to “maintain order” within one’s own household, it can get so stifling that it even borders on the ridiculous.

Honestly, we’re already living in the 21st century and maybe it’s time also to rethink how politics is run, especially since the advent of electronic media and the internet make it wholesome fun to watch parliamentarians battle it out on the arena. However, whether it is out of blissful ignorance or just holding a nose up to what’s happening, MPs continued business in the “old school” way is telling of how much their thought processes have remained stagnant, warped in time.

The constant need to crack the whip just to make sure no one utters anything close to an implication of dissention is ludicrous. Not only does it show that the party is one that’s hell bent on the authoritarian rule module, it also shows how much intelligence individual MPs are allowed.

One only does it to rule over animals in cages, not human beings. Likewise, when MPs are not allowed even to question their own party’s decisions and motives, it basically says one thing to me – MPs compromise the trust given to them on behalf of their represented constituents by refusing to even ask the necessary questions or give their views, much less trying to “toe” party lines.

Yes, there’s always the prepared questions and answers that make it look a little better, but hey, reality is we don’t really have well-groomed MPs and politicians that can hack it out like seasoned professionals and well, they just end up looking rather like stiffs reading out prepared scripts.

But you know what? Cameras can reveal much. And for once, I’d love to see an MP or two showing some real concern for the public that they represent. A little more heart and soul if you will, please.

Work is privilege

Many a times I begin to wonder when the time would come when my body gives way, that is, when I would no longer be able to do the things that I often take for granted, whether it be lifting heavy objects, straining every inch of my muscle or just pushing myself to exhaustion, both mentally and physically.

Already, I’m beginning to feel the effects of aging Wounds take a slight bit longer to heal, tiredness sets in earlier, the metabolic rate drops substantially and well, you know the drill.

Having said that, I’m thankful for the many opportunities that I get to slave or labour away at some form of physical work, albeit taking it slightly slower and more careful not to hurt my back in the process.

Yes, I am indeed aging. But I guess one of the benefits of being poor enough to have to do most things yourself is that you get to maintain yourself a little better than just another rich bloke who figures that life’s luxury means not having to lift a finger for anything.

What foolishness. Everyone knows that muscles not utilised will rot away, just like our minds. They all need some form of exercise. And believe me, there is no substitution whatsoever for the tried and tested remedy of sheer exercise. No amount of vitamin pills, diet or mind-bending astro physics is going to help. There is simply no escape.

So, do yourself a favour. Be thankful that you can still lift boxes and well, just about do all forms of “donkey work” because they really are blessings in disguise. Just think, would you rather indulge your body in laziness (AKA luxury living) and rot earlier or would you rather keep up the hardwork and keep your engine (body) in working order?

Riches or a rich life?

One cannot say enough of how important the journey is than the goal. I know that when we get to the grind of daily life, the goal seems to be the only justification for the journeys we take, for the hardships we put ourselves through just to make ends meet.

Having said that, we really ought to fight society, fight ourselves and each fibre that tells us otherwise. After all, when you really sit down to thinking about it, everything that we put ourselves through does not justify our end.

Yes, I know that there has to be some measure of justification in going through suffering in order to have a better future, or a better end.

Then again, it’s such a sad and sordid affair of being when at the end of it all, we either run out of time or out of enthusiasm even when we’ve achieved a certain amount of wealth by then. I’ve seen countless times how people become rich in material wealth, only to have lost their soul and hell, don’t even know how to enjoy a single ounce of the wealth that they’ve accumulated.

Yes, it all does sound like a gamble when we try and live for the moment, almost to the measure of “forsaking” our future. Now, this may sound somewhat strange to western thoughts, but it is rather a matter of life and death for many Orientals that place prime importance on the accumulation of wealth above all, yes, even above their own lives.

But you know what? I believe the westerners have it right time around.

See, while those in the west would prefer to rent properties and use the savings they have on holidays and such, we in the east give up our lives just to accumulate properties, hoping to make more money in doing so when property prices rise. But if you seriously think about it, the amount you pay for rental as opposed to having to repay bank loans... even that out over time and you’ll find that those in the west have much better quality of lives than those in the east.

After all, really... how much can we hope to bring with us to our graves? Not a single cent would matter then. So, why give up the precious commodity of living a life that’s full with one that has nothing to look forward to except the “end”? So, we really have to reset out thinking and figure out whether we want to value our lives more than money or the other way around.

Corporate America

So, corporate America stands at the platform of the world as the only super power left, the economic powerhouse that’s way above all other nations in the world. Self-styled and proud protector of the capitalist free world.

Sadly, it is within their own backyard that they have failed so miserably.

“I did not know that there were so many homeless and destitute people on America’s urban streets”, someone once told me after watching a charity aid programme.

Yes, while the lean and mean methods of corporate America has indeed propelled it as the leader in world economics and dominance, it has failed desperately in the field of its own social security and healthcare because these are not considered important as they hint of a socialist order for things… something that goes contrary to the methodologies of pure capitalism to which it is the de facto protector.

Its soup kitchens are bursting at the seams and food aid shelves fast becoming bare. Yes, true, that are a number of charity and aid organisations that do their utmost best in helping the destitute and homeless, but I remember the words of a politician who said that the countless number of aid porganisations would not be able to match what a government can do on a collective manner, simply because the measurement of resources differ enormously and that the latter is able to move a lot more at the fastest time.

So, yes, while America may be founded on the great principles of its founders, it has nonetheless, sold itself out for wealth. It has lost its soul and no matter what amount of prosperity, it will not be able to regain its past nobility because it has failed to realise that the one thing that’s held in the highest esteem (and even higher at many times than God!), money, is no substitute for one’s soul.

In fact, it has become its worst enemy. It has become the very thing it abhored and preached against. It has, in the Biblical words done exactly what it shouldn’t have : “For what does it profit a man if he gained the whole word but loses his soul? (Mark 8:36)

"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind." – words of Gordon Gecko in Wall Street.

Really? Try the words of Mohandas K. Gandhi instead:

"There is enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed."

So corporate America, perhaps it time to be a little kinder, a little more human… after all, its your own backyard that’s suffering the most. Time to love yourself despite the wealth.

Taking someone for granted

Now, I know this will sound a little lovey-dovey but hey, it’s the weekend and well, maybe its about time also to have something on the blog that’s not just all about inspiring ourselves to new and greater heights all the time.
This one’s simple.

I remember a line in a movie that went something like : “Love your beloved and don’t ever take him or her for granted. Because if you will not love him/her like you should, someone else will.”

Granted, it sounds very cliché but over the years, I know that it is a very true statement.

So what if you’re in a relationship, engaged or married. That does not give you any “artistic licence” to take the other person for granted. Whether you like it or not, a relationship is not just all about being in one, it is about maintenance and having to be constantly on guard against complacency or just laziness.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can’t kick back and rest a little at times. Everyone needs to put their feet up every now and then to take a breather. Just remember that a breather is a breather and not a permanent hang-up of your responsibility, nor a “prolonged temporary breather” (that’s just a term of reference that means basically the same thing).

Nobody likes to be taken for granted, no matter how much they may say they aren’t bothered.

God made us with our own pair of arms and legs, and basically, everyone ought to use their own initiative and strength to the best of their abilities, before, well, until they aren’t able to do so. But until then, we all have an obligation to ourselves, our partner and God. No amount of laziness can square out any excuses, regardless of our status and station in life.

Lastly, we must remember that everyone deserves to be loved as they should. Which means what was said before – “love him/her as you should. If not, someone else will”. And if that happens, it would have all been too late… a kinda spilled milk.