Life is Simple

A chat with a friend about the simple joys of life
sometimes instead of bringing a smile to my face
can get me melancholic.
I found myself choking up as I had my last chat on the matter.
As I recounted the things we give up to achieve 'things'.
I remembered the starting scene from the 1980 South African comedy movie,
'The God's Must Be Crazy'
I managed to locate the transcript online

  " Only miles to the south,  there's a vast city.
     And here you find civilized man.
     Civilized man refused  to adapt himself to his environment.
     Instead he adapted his environment  to suit him.
     So he built cities, roads,  vehicles, machinery.
     And he put up power lines to run his labour-saving devices.
     But he didn't know when to stop.
     The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier...
    ...the more complicated he made it.
     Now his children are sentenced to years of school, to learn...
   ...how to survive in this complex  and hazardous habitat.
      And civilized man, who refused  to adapt to his surroundings...
    ...now finds he has to adapt  and re-adapt...
    ...every hour of the day  to his self-created environment."

The gains that we make sacrifices for ...are they worth it?
We work long hours to give our children a better life
losing out on the joys of spending time with them
we occasionally don't realise they have grown
We leave the green gardens in our backyards
to live in concrete jungles
in the hope of earning enough
for a holiday to the similar green surroundings
There is no time for friends and family
because we are busy working.
Funny part is its generally for the family.
The true joys are there to be had not in a roller coaster ride
but in the twirling your little one in the air.
Its such a joy to have my daughter run and hug my leg
when i return from work
I wish I could come home earlier for more of such warm welcomes.

A passing thought : In the process of 'becoming something' we lose ourselves