What can you not live without ?

knot2share · Mar 14, 2010

Dear TL Lakshmi

WOW! what a post from you again. The style and language and flow is just awesome. Just like your mental red pencil, even your keyboard strokes keep on going without faltering. And the promotion to an exalted guide status??? You are being too kind here with me. This is like comparing apples and oranges. Kamalji is the real guide and I am just an apprentice trying to learn the ropes. I am happy to be here with all of you. I can only dream of writing something even half as skilled as you do. Loved the post as always. You can spin a literary web with just about anything. You are more a guide to me in that aspect.

Coming to the things that I can't live without - I wonder why we are all breaking our heads trying to figure out if something is a "want" or a "need". What are we all trying to show or achieve here? What is wrong with hoarding things? What is wrong if I want something? I love it and if something makes me happy and if I am currently able to afford it, I buy it. I am not yet ready to give up anything in life to lead a saint's life. There could be many items in my house that are really not necessary but at the moment I love being driven by the constant need for things. When I feel like letting go, I will do so then. I want and want and want - call it Greed .

Tubelight · Mar 14, 2010

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CHome%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><style>  </style> Hi Friends
First of all, a big THANK YOU to each and every one of you for your continuing shower of Love and appreciation. Reading your comments was like a lovely breath of the freshest air.

I confess that I continue to live happily with all the things I decided I can live without and have not (yet) taken to the snowy mountains in an orange kaftan. Yesterday’s exercise was only an internal jogging that helped to put some semblance of a balance into my life that was threatening to run wild with acquisitive frenzy. I take Sri Ashtavakra for alibi, since he said, ‘go ahead , kiddos, have everything, but don’t get attached’ ! So there’s a world of stuff I can live without, but will live with, all the same.

Dear Radhika : It is too much to expect the BBMP to clear the air over namma ooru , but the good news is that masks are now freely available ! :thankyou2:

Dear Mindi : Like I said, it’d be a wonderful idea to have a “No Thought Day”; lets poke Hallmark or Archies , and before the year is out, it’ll become official !
Ofcourse, Laughter is the best medicine, even when you are hale and hearty and filled with love ! “Love is : watching ‘Friends’ with Hubby !” :thankyou2:

Dear Viji : It makes no difference whether you gave the first FB or the last. Bas, tum aagaye ho, noor aa <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">gaya</st1:city></st1lace> hai !
True, Family is the epicenter of our lives. And Family = Love, no ?
Computer and IL are like extensions of ourselves now. Yet, they are just habits . If we really want to ,we can do without them too ! But we don’t want to, do we ?:thankyou2:

Tubelight · Mar 14, 2010

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CHome%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><style>  </style> Dear Srama : Its wonderful to know that I st.- grade kids are being taught to tell apart Need and Want ! Most adults in this materialistic world would struggle to see the difference !
True, what’s life worth without Sunshine and a Smile ! however, I would add, both are aspects of Cosmic Love !:thankyou2:

Dear Kamalji : Your 20 Volume Set must be a treasure trove, a kind of parallel history of the world ! It would be wonderful if you could share snippets taken from them.
Re:. <st1lace w:st="on">Indus</st1lace> : It’s a newly acquired habit. Like cigarettes, perhaps hard to kick off, but can do !

Mobile : I’m not addicted to it. Its just useful for Hubby to keep track of me when I go out, like those radio collars they put on wild animals !
:thankyou2:

Dear Soldier : True, we have to thank <st1lace w:st="on">Indus</st1lace> for giving us so many Friends . Not a dull moment in life, ever since I registered here !
Agree with you, Google is truly The Genie of The Lamp !Love you too Dear !

:thankyou2:

Tubelight · Mar 14, 2010

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CHome%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><style>  </style> Dear Cheeniya : Really, Sirji, you have blasted me off to Cloud 9 and beyond with your answer to my title-question.
Great list of people and their life-lines ! Chitvish can’t do without visitors from <st1lace w:st="on">Indus</st1lace> ? Wow. In that case, I’m not going to wait for an invitation, but just walk in there someday !
Hahaha ! Every second person we see is a kavacha-kundalaed Karna these days !

I just found one more item I can entirely do without : A car ride chauffeured by your “DreamBoat”!
Loved your definition of Free Advice ! Lets be happy that in this selfish world, there’s at least one department where there is absolutely no stinginess and everyone is a philanthropist.
:thankyou2:

Dear Padmini : No wonder Cheeniya calls you Doctor Pads ! That was a thorough job of FB writing !. Its true that for many people Faith is the pivot of their life . Adoration of God is also LOVE. ( see ? the word LOVE is a hold-all covering a whole world of meanings. !!!)
[FONT=&quot]My MIL used to be addicted to coffee too, to such an extent that we’d threaten to put her in rehab. ! But know what, when she went to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Gaya</st1lace></st1:city>, she “renounced” coffee ( I think you know about this ritual some orthodox people do, we call it “ tyajita” ) and has not touched a drop since her return ! So you see, habits can be overcome , and we can live without them! If we want to ,ofcourse !
I loved the way you described your cosmetics shopping ! No harm is boosting self confidence now and then ! ( but psst : tell me if your mascara really defies gravity ? I bought Revlon and it ran !)
Sense of humour is a must, else its difficult to survive in one piece in this world
:thankyou2:
[/FONT]

Tubelight · Mar 14, 2010

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CHome%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><style>  </style> Dear Oj-Da :
What have you done ! There I was ,croaking a Humpty Dumpty ditty for public entertainment and you sneak up to bombard me with The Complete Works of Samuel Johnson ! Just what on earth am I going to say in acknowledgement that can even begin to do some justice to this unexpected, rich gift !

You can’t know how I am quaking in my slippers right now, biting my nails off in trepidation, wondering what to say in response. This is exactly the very state I was in years ago when , just 2 weeks into my marriage, my dear MIL invited her brother’s family to dinner telling them what a great cook I was. She meant well of course; being The Elder, she saw it as her duty to be kind to me and to encourage me with lavish praises . But only I, and the Good Lord, knew the limitations of my talent and capabilities. I could manage to rustle up a dal-chawal or a presentable omelette, but certainly not a cordon bleu feast for fine dining ! That day, I could only cry. That’s what I have to do today too, unable to face the burden of high expectations.

Before that, I want to pick up a little fight with you. Whats with this Guru, Drona and stuff. Not done. Just not done.:notthatway:

Its deeply embarrassing .

I hadn’t really given any thought to where “Love” may be domiciled within the human body. It was very amusing to read the chain- linking of feature upon feature needed for that single emotion to be complete, culminating in “Everything” ! Yeah, we do need everything, isn’t it ,and that was why <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Providence</st1lace></st1:city> provided Everything in the first place. What a rich repast , garnished with Helen Keller, Braille, J.Basu/ his pickled brain, Nut Cracking Zubin., Lodha...!:bowdown

( no, i've never seen a lovelorn look on the face of an ICU occupant !:biggrin2: )

Was reminded of the old parable of a man renouncing everything to become an ascetic, then adopting a cat to clear his hut of vermin, then taking on a servant to look after the cat, then a wife to manage the servant, cattle to feed everyone , a house to shelter everything; so finally turning into a full blown householder. Everything ! The Endless Cellars of Life !

Thank you so very much, dear Oj-Da. Much beholden to you for the unstinting encouragement and abundant kindness.
:thankyou2:

Tubelight · Mar 14, 2010

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CHome%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><style>  </style> Dear Greedy Knots !

Lets do away with questions of who is whose apprentice. We’ll occuppy the same back bench, copy from each other, share stuff and giggle away the day. Deal ?

Apples. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Oranges</st1lace></st1:city>. Pears. Everything is needed for a Fruit salad. Else, where’s the fun!

Nothing wrong with hoarding , dear. World Economy is driven by Wants. Lets do our bit to beat recession and keep Wanting. If everyone decides to do without everything, Civilization and History can go hibernate underground, while we revert to Hunter- Gatherer Bliss.
So, yeah, lets acquire and hoard. It paves the way to Higher Realisation. For, if we don’t Have, what can we Renounce ? We have to know Utility before understanding Futility. As they say, One has to be in Maya first , in order to attain Moksha.

:thankyou2:

Kamla · Mar 15, 2010

""Anyone who tells you , you can't live on Love and Fresh Air is either an Insurance Agent or a new age Swamiji. ""

Verrry wrong TL, that is a wrong observation, especially considering you wrote it in the month where the swamiji 'revealed' that he cannot live without love!!! :rotfl

Yess sweetheart, try living Only on love and fresh air and you will be sprinting like Asafa Powell no less towards idlis served on a fresh banana leaf adorning a good dining table in a cozy home which has been kept warm by all the modern amenities as the PC blinks in a corner and TV shows your favorite movie, I Bet!!!!!

Nice one TL. Hope I am wrong and you are right!

L, Kamla

susri · Mar 15, 2010

Dear Lakshmi,
Nice to know, what you consider as important in your life.. is love and fresh air.

Love, freedom, fresh air, family, adequate money and God are those which I can’t live without.

Love -- It’s better to die if we can’t give or get love

Fresh Air -- Without air …… Earth would be another planet where no living being can dwell. :drowning

Family – Even in dream I can’t live without my family

Freedom -- What is the use even if we live in Heaven without freedom? :notthatway:

Money -- To be frank, according to me, adequate money for basic needs means, it includes Net connected PC and Cell phone apart from food, shelter and cloth.

I know I am not born with a silver spoon, but what to do; some luxury things have become my habitual now, like and

Last , but not the least...... God.... I belive in God. :bowdown

What I can live without :idea --- Gold, Make-up, Airplane, 5 star hotel, Stock market, IL, Servant maid, books, friends, festival, Gift, etc. ( Am I really able to live without these things ?.....:hide: )

Deaf woman · Mar 15, 2010

Dear Lakshmi,
your question made me introspect a lot and here i am with my honest answer.
I am neither greedy as K2S nor simple as you.My needs are always average.Let me list out before i forget.
1.Wants to top the Forbes richest people list always.
2.Have jewelry rivalling miandad's daughter's.
3.Winning FP of the month for a year in IL .
4.Of course i need love ,fresh air too.
5.Noble prize now and then is welcome too.
Now don't think i hoard it all .I do give away torn and used clothes to charity sometimes .Often i give out rupee coins to street beggars too.See how good i am.If i come up with any more needs ,will surely update here.
P.S . I am sure i don't need to tell you how good your post is.Keep them coming.
with best wishes,

Meenupanicker · Mar 15, 2010

Dear Lakshmi

Another wonderful writeup from our master writer in IL.Enjoyed your discussion.
Its toatally funny to observe the wide range of "can't live without".Your snippet forced me to think about my answer.Myself also reached the ultimate answer biologically fresh air,emotionally Love and care.Thanks for the snippet