JOURNAL | The Quality of Life

The Quality of Life

The story below made me realize that life is but simple. It only becomes too complicated because people want so many things in life when in fact our goal is to be happy. Well, happiness doesn't require much.

***

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village.

A tourist complimented the local fishermen

on the quality of their fish and asked

how long it took them to catch them.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/view?q=fisherman&uname=allanyasser.abdula&psc=G&filter=1#5207263432801428002

"Not very long." they answered in unison.

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"

The fishermen explained that their small catches were

sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.

"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children,

and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings,

we go into the village to see our friends, have a

few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.

We have a full life."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsf/2130475253/

The tourist interrupted,

"I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day.

You can then sell the extra fish you catch.

With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?", asked the fishermen.

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring,

you can buy a second one and a third one,

and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.

Instead of selling your fish to a middle man,

you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants

and maybe even open your own plant.

You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City ,

Los Angeles , or even New York City !

From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25091274@N08/2840135917/

"How long would that take?" asked the fishermen again.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

"And after that?", said the fishermen.

"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting,"

answered the tourist, laughing.

"When your business gets really big,

you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.

"After that you'll be able to retire,

live in a tiny village near the coast,

sleep late, play with your children,

catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife

and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

http://www.transitioning.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/happy-family-jogging-local1.jpg

And the moral of this story is:

........ Know where you're going in life.... you may already be there!