Anything new is good...

All of us crave for new things most of the time. We like to have new clothes, new friends, new car, new house and et all. This habit develops as a child and continues possibly throughout our life time. While the saying goes "Old is gold" - new continues to enamour us. We may not have reasons to justify our behaviour all the time but we continue to crave for new things all the time in our lives.

Let us examine this behaviour from various angles. The first and foremost is the psychology of this behaviour. It may be due to boredom with existing things around us. It could be the belief that anything new would be better than the old we are used to. It may be due to our yearning for newer things in life. As the child grows up, we are fascinated by the changes in their behaviour. We clamour for a new word and new action every day and are overjoyed when it happens. I remember the first word my daughter uttered in her life. It was "Chidiya"(bird) and it was one of the most joyous moments in my life as a parent. She looked at a sparrow and named it as a bird the first time in her life.

Let us examine it from the lens of relationships. Most of us grow up in the secured environment of a family and get used to the relations around us. We look forward to establish new relationships when we go outside our homes in our quest for higher education or for jobs. We eagerly look forward to how every relationship will evolve. We put in our best efforts and look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship based on trust and mutual respect. This happens to us as individuals too. As bachelors or spinsters we lead a carefree life. Then we get married and look forward to a new relationship of equal intensity. We want to give our best and receive love in equal measure.

If we move to material things around us, the phenomenon is similar. We may have most the things we want in life. We still crave for new things on every possible occasion. We justify buying new things to changes in technology or our own needs. Sometimes, we want to upgrade our social status by buying more prestigious brands as we can afford them now. Every time we believe that anything new will be good for us. Our craving for new material things continues throughout our life journey. The only lesson one can learn is that if we can balance greed and need it may be helpful for us as human beings.

Now let us examine it from our own selves and how it adds joy to our lives. It can be different things may bring joy to different people. One may get joy buying a new pair of shoes although he has many pairs of shoes in his cupboard. It could be watches for some or handbags for others. I remember the first time I bought an expensive watch for myself, I felt guilty as I already had two watches. One of my colleagues also commented that all watches show the same time. This may be true but the joy of buying a new watch is not an experience which can be ignored. After all we need to live life that gives us joy every single day.

This craving for new things has to be within your affordable limits. We need to ensure that while we have every right to enjoy buying anything new in our lives it should not be at the expense of others or our own well being. Some of the ground rules I have been following in buying new things are - a. Never borrow and buy new things, b. Never sacrifice your well being to buy new things, c. Our craving for new things should not be at the expense of others d. Learn to donate old things when you buy new things so that your greed and needs are balanced.

As in the photo above, a new microscope is more fascinating for the kid than even ripe mangoes in front of him.

The joy of new things are to experienced to be believed. Joy for ourselves should not be at the cost of others.

What do you say ?

S Ramesh Shankar