My dear son,
When I was in my teens, the following story was told to me. If I tell the truth, I am not sure I intuited into the import of the story then.
The deep wisdom embedded in this story is well worth reflecting on, so that one is guided by it as one journey’s through life.
“Once a fisherman was sitting near a seashore, under the shadow of a tree relaxing and drinking some palm wine. Suddenly a rich businessman passing by approached him and enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree with a bottle of palm wine and not working. To this the poor fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes for the day.
Hearing this the rich man got angry and said: Why don’t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in shadow wasting your time?
Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more fishes?
Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could go fishing in deep waters and catch even more fishes and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could buy many boats and employ many people to work for you and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could become a rich businessman like me.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could then enjoy your life peacefully.
Fisherman: Isn’t that what I am doing now?”
My son is it not ironical that most people chase after so much material possessions with the expectation that once this is attained, they can now relax and enjoy themselves. The truth however is that you do not need to go through all that hassle and trouble to make time to relax and enjoy your life. You do not need to be very rich, or famous or powerful to enjoy your life. Life is at this moment, enjoy it fully.
“My riches consist not in extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants”