Living life KING SIZE
I have come across many persons who have expressed through orkut their wish to live life KING SIZE (or QUEEN SIZE. Henceforth, the mention of one implies that the other is included). Since I have never had any such wish, I can’t exactly understand what they mean by this. Or perhaps, the converse is true. Whatever. The basic point is that I don’t understand what on earth this means, especially because there are so few kings around, and I am sure, none of these people have seen any of the kings.
Since I don’t know what this means, the next best thing I could do is to make a guess as to what this means. Looking at the orkut profiles of all these people, the common trait I seem to find is that they all want to enjoy life to the fullest, and have the greatest fun throughout. So, I suppose, that’s what living life KING SIZE means. To live happily, joyously, have fun, no matter how nastily life treats them. Quite a good attitude towards life, I would say. For that, all of them deserve a pat on their back.
Some of the features that make the life KING SIZE all involve quite a bit of strain on one’s purse. They go out with friends to CCD, movies, beach, go all over the place, do paragliding, bungee jump, speed through the main road on their bikes, party all night, etc. I don’t mean to say that everyone does all these, but all of them do some of these, and obviously, some other activities which are not mentioned here. Now, the focus should not be on the specifics of these activities, but the common factors in these activities. All of them, as I have said earlier, require the expenditure of money. Also, all of them give some kind of a pleasure, or thrill in one’s life. This is undoubtedly living life like a king. Kings obviously are rich, and indulge themselves in a variety of pleasure-oriented activities.
The flip side to this is that such people also seem to have an air of arrogance around them, and for no reason. This is just my suspicion, and obviously, there is no hard fact to support it. Again, a king is bound to have some arrogance. So, even that’s fine.
But, these things raise two questions. Is a KING SIZE life possible only for the rich? Is it something to do with one’s fate which determines whether you are born with a silver spoon or wooden spoon in your mouth? Can a poor man not live such a life? This is the first question. I will come to the second question later.
According to me, a poor man can live a kingly life too. It only depends on his attitude. A king enjoys surplus of everything. If a poor man, with little money, can manage his resources such that he can create a bit of surplus, he is most certainly living like a king. Given the high inflations in the economy, this may not be possible. However, if he can mend his life in such a way that there is peace, love and happiness in his home, with his family, in his relationships, then, he is also having a surplus of these intangible, but most invaluable assets. But the problem is that, as I see, most poor people are tremendously bogged down by the material poverty which affects their state of mind as well. As a result, they remain deep in misery, without having any clue of how to change things around. The only way they see of living the life of a king is to earn a lot of money.
However, this is not true. No doubt one needs a minimum amount of money to live in this world. But, our happiness is in no way a function of the sum total of all our material assets. If life is lived on spiritual principles, it can be made joyous. One can enjoy a surplus of almost everything. The modern society seems to have neglected the spiritual principles about which many ancient texts in India have spoken. When we bring in spirituality into our life, irrespective of what one has or doesn’t have, and irrespective of what one does or doesn’t do. You don’t need to go around the world in a balloon, nor do all sorts of things to your body in the name of fashion, and yet, life can be filled with happiness. Hence, you can live KING SIZE even if you are poor, and can’t afford expensive tours to the exotic locales of the world.
The second question, of which I said I would deal with later, is this. Is a KING SIZE life all about doing what you want, saying what you want, going where you want, being the way you want, all for your joy, and pleasure? Is it all about meeting one’s own selfish interest?
Remember, the primary duty of a king is to take care of his people. We all expect our politicians to be honest, sincere and sacrificing. We expect them to work for the people, to protect them, and to aid in the improvement of the lives of people. Also, note that the great kings of yore are the ones who demonstrated exemplary qualities by which their kingdoms and empires grew, and flourished. History tells us that such kings had razor sharp intellect with which they put in place an excellent administration. Most of their time was spent in thinking, planning, and executing great deeds. As the popular saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Every king who was instrumental in establishing a great empire lived a great public life in which we see sacrifice, courage, and a grand vision. No doubt, all of them also did this so that their names became immortal in history. It was in one way a selfish motive. But, that selfishness was all-encompassing. Thereby, their deeds led to greatness.
Also, note that all great empires have fallen because the job of ruling the empire fell into wrong hands. Some of the descendents of such great kings almost invariably demonstrated qualities of frivolousness, purposelessness, indulgence in material pleasures, extravagance etc. All of them simply squandered the wealth of the treasury, leaving the dependents (citizens) of the country impoverished. All these kings led a life where the sole purpose was to enjoy the smaller pleasures, and have fun all the time.
Such a comparison between great kings and useless kings is valid in the context of this essay, because we are talking about living a KING SIZE life. There is an obvious lesson to be learnt from history. The question one must ask oneself is whether one wants to live like a good king or a bad king. I guess, such a thought process with oneself can determine if one’s life has a meaning and purpose or not. One hopefully understands that life becomes truly KING SIZE if it is lived in simplicity, with a purpose that benefits many others.
Disclaimer: This is purely based on my presumptions and assumptions. I realize all of this need not be valid. So, excuse me if there are any aberrations from facts.
Since I don’t know what this means, the next best thing I could do is to make a guess as to what this means. Looking at the orkut profiles of all these people, the common trait I seem to find is that they all want to enjoy life to the fullest, and have the greatest fun throughout. So, I suppose, that’s what living life KING SIZE means. To live happily, joyously, have fun, no matter how nastily life treats them. Quite a good attitude towards life, I would say. For that, all of them deserve a pat on their back.
Some of the features that make the life KING SIZE all involve quite a bit of strain on one’s purse. They go out with friends to CCD, movies, beach, go all over the place, do paragliding, bungee jump, speed through the main road on their bikes, party all night, etc. I don’t mean to say that everyone does all these, but all of them do some of these, and obviously, some other activities which are not mentioned here. Now, the focus should not be on the specifics of these activities, but the common factors in these activities. All of them, as I have said earlier, require the expenditure of money. Also, all of them give some kind of a pleasure, or thrill in one’s life. This is undoubtedly living life like a king. Kings obviously are rich, and indulge themselves in a variety of pleasure-oriented activities.
The flip side to this is that such people also seem to have an air of arrogance around them, and for no reason. This is just my suspicion, and obviously, there is no hard fact to support it. Again, a king is bound to have some arrogance. So, even that’s fine.
But, these things raise two questions. Is a KING SIZE life possible only for the rich? Is it something to do with one’s fate which determines whether you are born with a silver spoon or wooden spoon in your mouth? Can a poor man not live such a life? This is the first question. I will come to the second question later.
According to me, a poor man can live a kingly life too. It only depends on his attitude. A king enjoys surplus of everything. If a poor man, with little money, can manage his resources such that he can create a bit of surplus, he is most certainly living like a king. Given the high inflations in the economy, this may not be possible. However, if he can mend his life in such a way that there is peace, love and happiness in his home, with his family, in his relationships, then, he is also having a surplus of these intangible, but most invaluable assets. But the problem is that, as I see, most poor people are tremendously bogged down by the material poverty which affects their state of mind as well. As a result, they remain deep in misery, without having any clue of how to change things around. The only way they see of living the life of a king is to earn a lot of money.
However, this is not true. No doubt one needs a minimum amount of money to live in this world. But, our happiness is in no way a function of the sum total of all our material assets. If life is lived on spiritual principles, it can be made joyous. One can enjoy a surplus of almost everything. The modern society seems to have neglected the spiritual principles about which many ancient texts in India have spoken. When we bring in spirituality into our life, irrespective of what one has or doesn’t have, and irrespective of what one does or doesn’t do. You don’t need to go around the world in a balloon, nor do all sorts of things to your body in the name of fashion, and yet, life can be filled with happiness. Hence, you can live KING SIZE even if you are poor, and can’t afford expensive tours to the exotic locales of the world.
The second question, of which I said I would deal with later, is this. Is a KING SIZE life all about doing what you want, saying what you want, going where you want, being the way you want, all for your joy, and pleasure? Is it all about meeting one’s own selfish interest?
Remember, the primary duty of a king is to take care of his people. We all expect our politicians to be honest, sincere and sacrificing. We expect them to work for the people, to protect them, and to aid in the improvement of the lives of people. Also, note that the great kings of yore are the ones who demonstrated exemplary qualities by which their kingdoms and empires grew, and flourished. History tells us that such kings had razor sharp intellect with which they put in place an excellent administration. Most of their time was spent in thinking, planning, and executing great deeds. As the popular saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Every king who was instrumental in establishing a great empire lived a great public life in which we see sacrifice, courage, and a grand vision. No doubt, all of them also did this so that their names became immortal in history. It was in one way a selfish motive. But, that selfishness was all-encompassing. Thereby, their deeds led to greatness.
Also, note that all great empires have fallen because the job of ruling the empire fell into wrong hands. Some of the descendents of such great kings almost invariably demonstrated qualities of frivolousness, purposelessness, indulgence in material pleasures, extravagance etc. All of them simply squandered the wealth of the treasury, leaving the dependents (citizens) of the country impoverished. All these kings led a life where the sole purpose was to enjoy the smaller pleasures, and have fun all the time.
Such a comparison between great kings and useless kings is valid in the context of this essay, because we are talking about living a KING SIZE life. There is an obvious lesson to be learnt from history. The question one must ask oneself is whether one wants to live like a good king or a bad king. I guess, such a thought process with oneself can determine if one’s life has a meaning and purpose or not. One hopefully understands that life becomes truly KING SIZE if it is lived in simplicity, with a purpose that benefits many others.
Disclaimer: This is purely based on my presumptions and assumptions. I realize all of this need not be valid. So, excuse me if there are any aberrations from facts.
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