As the conversations with my elderly friend got more fluid and in depth, I realised there were some simpler questions I hadn’t asked him yet. Things like his favourite food and drinks had eluded my conversation with him, so naturally I asked him.
“Oh no nothing much, just a bit of roti (Flatbread) or thosa (Rice pancake originating from South India) with some curry, nothing special. Sometimes tea or coffee in the morning!”
He wasn’t completely fluent in English, and I thought he assumed I asked him about his daily food routines, so I rephrased the question and asked what kind of food and drinks he liked to eat as he was growing up.
“Ah, as a kid, I just like to eat ponni rice[1]. For drinks, just boil some water, let it cool and drink after!”
As a kid growing up eating copious amounts and varieties of food (as my dear grandma would have it no other way), I was genuinely surprised by his answers. I even asked him if not for the sake of eating healthily or prudently, would he eat anything else? His answer was still no! He was content with what he had and what he would get. Meanwhile here I am, ordering bubble tea a day in advance to get a taste of that liquid gold before they run out of stock. Many of our parents or older adults are quick to recite the rhetoric, “Kids these days are from the strawberry generation, they’re entitled, spoiled, selfish etc.” And in some regards I do agree that yes, many of us are ‘spoiled’, but simply because we have been dealt a better hand than our parents and earlier generations; the world has advanced and is becoming a better place to live in. But I would still venture to say that there is still truth to that statement. I believe that myself, along with many other fellow ‘strawberries’, are getting increasingly caught up in a life of indulgence and consumerism. We can be quick to jump at the newest fads, foods or electronics, and I believe it hurts us a lot when it comes to learning to be content with our lives. The rush from eating, drinking and shopping to our delights is something that is hard to replace, and I admit it is something I fall prey to often. Perhaps if we could all try our best to disentangle our needs and wants, we could get a better grasp at being content with our lives and what we have. I don’t condone living life to the fullest, in fact I fully embrace it! However, I do hope that myself and the people around me can learn that we can all afford to live with less, sometimes it’s not about the depth of the river, but the sweetness of the water.
[1] A hybrid variety widely cultivated in Tamil Nadu, a state in India. It has a low Glycaemic Index making it suitable by diabetics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponni_rice https://www.quora.com/Is-ponni-rice-healthy-What-is-it-called-in-Marathi
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