Is This Really Worth It ?

I have been home last 3 days with a severe back ache ( spasm of sorts )thanks to my negligence and ignoring the same last 1 month on the pretext that I don’t have the time… which has made me wonder if this rut called corporate life really worth it ?

We work hard …very hard, day & nights, ignoring ourselves, our health, our own life or loved ones.

What do we earn in return? Oh yes, lots of recognition, a fancy promotion, a title of some sorts (“Ms 24x7” I received from my clients which made me realize the pity state of my life- personal to be precise ), added responsibility for the well displayed commitment to the job and you set an example for others.

What more … a depleting personal life, disconnect with loved ones, their needs, time for our self, deter rating health, introduction to emotions like anxiety, irritation, anger, dissatisfaction, loosing sight of little pleasures of life that truly make us happy and much much more. Is all this really worth it ?

My ex colleague all of 33 yrs collapsed at a clients party due to a stroke and had to be rushed in for a by pass surgery, yet another college friend all of 29 yrs married just for a year was found dead from a stroke at hotel room on his biz trip, another colleague highly diabetic but working 24x 7 meeting client deadlines, not talking a break for him self for 2 yrs and more collapses with a stroke the 1st day of his vacation with his family. Another colleague all of 26 yrs …one of those Mr 24x 7 finds himself prescribed to 3 weeks bed rest and a threat if not followed to lead to a slip disc, another biz associate cum good friend ( all of 31 yrs …and single )who dazed me at a long scheduled shoot pumping 7 painkiller tablets due to no time to rest and post the shoot finding herself all alone in a PG appt , away from family fighting cervical spondalites and malaria attack …and nobody, mind you nobody to even know her state, until she managed to find the strength to pick the phone and ask a biz associate like me for desperate help. No seriously I ask again, is this really worth it ?

It just gets better …what do we do when we hear this? Thank our stars that it WASN’T US !! , make a sympathy call to the family of our colleague and then just forget the person as we get busy in our so called work life , We tell our self and people around that one must work hard but not take each task personally else we too will be victim of ill health , or add humor and say see that’s why we don’t grant long leave. And eventually get going in the same rut till some other eventuality occurs …I ask yet again is this really really worth it ?

What more …we fool ourselves by saying it’s a competitive world out there, we are part of the rut not out of choice but out of compulsion, for a moment just think of the sorry state we have reached …the moment we see some one satisfied and leading a normal life where he earns just about the money to satisfy his needs but enjoys a life beyond work we begin to question his ‘Fire’ in life and smirk back at him thinking what a looser he is … I ask yet again is this really really worth it ?

We have no time for anything that really provides us pleasure …little moments with our self, may be a walk by the beach enjoying the waves, enjoying every morsel of the meal cooked by our loved one with unconditional love, enjoying the giggles, innocent actionas and loving words of our little children in their wonderful growing up years, the pleasure of just sitting with our spouse holding hands and just enjoying each others presence in our lives. Or being with our parents and enjoying their warmth and love till they are with us.

I had read in a book that when we say that we can’t spare time for our self it is like saying …I have to get some where really important but I don’t have time to fill the gas in my car. Somewhere along the journey way the gas is sure to run out and then you will have to break down.

IS THIS ‘RUT’ REALLY WORTH IT ? Think about it …just as I am and its high time we realize where and how to the draw the line …