Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Is it Wrong to Want More?


One of my wife's favorite rants at me is that I am never really happy with anything I have! This came up again recently when I was going through another low patch. I mulled over it a bit and realized that she was right--which is the usual conclusion when I mull over my wife's rantings! I am, in fact, hardly ever truly happy with what I have. I guess this trait materialized when I first became aware of "wants", and then just stayed with me! So, I am and always have been a "craver" and will probably never be a "make do-er"!

But am I that different from everyone else? And is wanting more really that bad? A few days ago, I glanced at the front page of the Pune Times--"glancing" at the news is all I have been able to muster these days--and caught a headline about Jeniffer Aniston. The headline said something to the effect of "Jeniffer Aniston wants hotter body!" Now, one would think that if you're good looking enough to be on television, be a significant part of one of the most popular TV shows in television history, and have a budding career in movies...you're set for life, right? You really shouldn't feel the need for anything more! And yet, Ms Aniston obviously thinks differently!

But I'm not going to judge her because I can totally see the sense in her wanting a "hotter body"!Just because most people in the world would look at her photos and go "She is goddamn pretty!" doesn't mean Ms Aniston isn't entitled to silicone implants and an even tauter belly! The reason I don't judge her is because I came to understand the following quite some time back: as human beings, we will always want more! We cannot help ourselves! Even those of us that look like we've never wanted a dime more than what we have...actually want that dime! And that includes my wife!

The trick is to not be too vocal about your wants...too often! That's right! If you can get what you want easily, it's okay for you to want more, even if you're being a glutton. If you're in the habit of getting what you want easily, you won't need to crib about the next thing you want. And if people don't hear you cribbing, they'll always think you're a gem of a human being who's happy with his or her lot! But if you don't always get what you want, you really have no other option but to crib about it or to at least look like SUperman with a bad case of Kryptonite poisoning!

So, if you ask me, I say want and crave as much as you like, but tone the bellyaching down a notch or two!