F is for
Furniture
You must be
amused why I chose this starkly material, unimpressive and bland word to
seriously deliberate upon. Oh yes, there
is a reason to it. In fact, it just happened without any effort on my part. I was mulling over some words to kindle the
creative fires for the next intellectual exercise to begin shortly. Something weird
happened and that chose the word for me. Well, that also became the starting point of
an inner debate. The resultant thought process took the shape of musings about human relationships.
It was actually an ad on the TV about furniture. It concerned
“Urban ladder” a company selling furniture. I’ve even forgotten
the channel where it was shown, otherwise I’d have captured it. At that time, it did not occur to me that it
might become the subject of my post. However, it did lead to the awareness of
an unpleasant conclusion. How consumerism is belittling our most tender
emotional states. How blatantly and
casually it targets the intensity of our
emotions, regarding our sacrosanct ties.
The
advertisement shows a passive looking young woman with pursed lips, a strange
sadness enveloping her countenance, moving away from the kitchen counter stirring a
mug of tea/coffee and perches on the sofa. Her husband /partner enters with a bag in his hand, or
perhaps he is already there. While in the act of zipping the bag he says, “Does
it mean that we can’t even talk?” suggests that they are parting ways and the
man has come to collect some essentials. The woman says, “Take away the sofa as
you brought/bought it. His answer is, “You liked it,” while sitting on the sofa
and inching towards her. The message: sofa becomes a point of reconciliation.
This projection of the stability of human ties, needing the crutches of material possessions, raise some pertinent questions. Have human relationships degenerated into abysmal fickleness that a piece of furniture could make or mar a bond? Folks, where are we heading? How foolish the claims that one’s spouse/partner is one’s soul-mate? How frustrating it is to believe that phrases like understanding, love and care are just so many words and don’t reflect reality. What about the vows we utter sanctimoniously when we forge a union. How come, we behave childishly, throw tantrum, and indulge in prestige fights soon after. The pillars of trust and love evaporate like soap bubbles and no efforts are undertaken to retrieve the lost ground. We turn into imbecile, selfish wimps and raise our hands at the slightest discomfiture to our ego.
In the conflict of personalities, we tend
to forget that to sustain a relationship, there is a good measure of give and
take and above all, tons of patience. The option of second or third try at it does
not guarantee stability, peace or loyalty. The second option need to be exercised only
when the bond can’t be retrieved at any cost.
Furthermore,
in the short journey of ours, we as thinking beings are supposed to enrich others
and our lives with clear-cut goals. How can we do that if we spend our valuable
time in squabbles, which ultimately solve nothing and only increase the chasm and hatred?
Imagine the impact on the overall family structure!
I could not
agree more with the words of ANTHONY ROBBINS when he says:
“Most people
get into relationship in order to get something. However, the only way a relationship
will last is, if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and
not to take.”
We must
understand that experience and observation have proved that life is not about
only song and dance, eating out and splurging on unnecessary travel. It is a
holy voyage of self-discovery meant to contribute and give back to society,
which has blessed us with opportunities to achieve something every day. Isn't it that every morning is a new day waiting to be explored?
