Given the number of daily power outages here in Pakistan, one gets more chances to observe things that we didn't have time to observe before this affluent state of our country's energy resources.
On one of these interesting times that the power was out, my family and I were sitting in the lounge, almost silent after running out of topics to talk about. During this relatively peaceful time, I noticed a moth that was constantly trying to touch the flame of the candle we had lit to be able to see each other's gloomy faces. The moth would touch the flame and go away, at times getting burnt by the flame, other times hitting hard the glass on which the candle was standing. This went on for as long as I could remember (probably a little less than an hour).
The next day, I found the moth dead on the floor of the lounge. I thought to myself: This moth had spent its entire, albeit short, lifetime trying to get close to a light source (the type of light didn't really matter), and had died while trying to achieve this seemingly myopic, nonsensical goal.
But I also realized, that humans are not very different. Yes, we may live a life of 70-80 years (if we're lucky), as compared to the 2-3 week lifespan of the moth, but essentially we spend our entire lives trying to make money, and more money. And this obsession keeps us busy until we meet death. Reminds me of the following verses from the beautiful song from The Verve:
'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
For most of us, that really is the story. We spend our lives in search of money, and then we die. Anyone looking at humans from a distance would not find us very different from that moth.
TL;DR: Lying in my death bed, in retrospect, I would not want to see a life spent only on trying to earn money, and realizing that I had only one shot at life, and I wasted it. Nor would I want this for any of my friends or family. Money is only a means, not the end.
On one of these interesting times that the power was out, my family and I were sitting in the lounge, almost silent after running out of topics to talk about. During this relatively peaceful time, I noticed a moth that was constantly trying to touch the flame of the candle we had lit to be able to see each other's gloomy faces. The moth would touch the flame and go away, at times getting burnt by the flame, other times hitting hard the glass on which the candle was standing. This went on for as long as I could remember (probably a little less than an hour).
The next day, I found the moth dead on the floor of the lounge. I thought to myself: This moth had spent its entire, albeit short, lifetime trying to get close to a light source (the type of light didn't really matter), and had died while trying to achieve this seemingly myopic, nonsensical goal.
But I also realized, that humans are not very different. Yes, we may live a life of 70-80 years (if we're lucky), as compared to the 2-3 week lifespan of the moth, but essentially we spend our entire lives trying to make money, and more money. And this obsession keeps us busy until we meet death. Reminds me of the following verses from the beautiful song from The Verve:
'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Trying to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
For most of us, that really is the story. We spend our lives in search of money, and then we die. Anyone looking at humans from a distance would not find us very different from that moth.
TL;DR: Lying in my death bed, in retrospect, I would not want to see a life spent only on trying to earn money, and realizing that I had only one shot at life, and I wasted it. Nor would I want this for any of my friends or family. Money is only a means, not the end.
