People are still suffering with floods and all that. In Orissa. In Bihar. I still haven’t switched on the AC, ever since I decided I didn’t want to use it. And as some of my readers have pointed out (by comments to that painfully long post about my life and all that), my not using AC, in no ‘fucking’ way, helps any of those out there who face fresh problems every day, fighting with life.
Most of us have this habit of defending ourselves. We do that especially when we are talking / discussing with friends. With friends, we are always aware that at some level, one is not superior to the other. Arguments. Disagreements. It’s such a routine part of life. But how many times, instead of defending, have we immediately replied back saying something like: ‘Yes, I think you are absolutely right. I think I was wrong’. Do you remember the last time you said something like that when your friend said ‘Dude, you are wrong’. Do you remember when was the last time you didn’t feel like defending yourself?
This is for those who don’t see a connection between my deciding to stop using AC and people suffering with floods (especially the poor junta out there): Yes I think you guys are absolutely right. I think I was wrong.
There might be no connection. But the fact remains that I don’t feel like getting used to a lifestyle that’s not necessary. This is all switching off the AC means to me. Trying to resist the temptaion to let my life style change. My parents don’t have AC at home. We never had. The only car that we have had is a Maruti Omni. I have never got myself any suit to wear so far. Let me just come to the point. Today, I find myself at that stage in my life, where I ‘can’ let money change my life-style. Tomorrow I might get used to it. Day after I will get so comfortable in my life-style, like thousands of others, who are living in AC houses and driving costly cars, that I might end up shutting my eyes from the real world. Just like everyone else.
Today, I see myself in a position, where I need to decide. Do I want more things for myself, get used to them, get bored with them, then wish for better things, an even higher lifestyle…
OR..
Do I want to stop making ‘my’ life any better than what it already is (its so much better off than millions of others who suffer and who die out of hunger, isn’t it?) and do something about those who didn’t get as much in life as I did. A little bit. My bit?
That night when I decided I didn’t need the AC, I knew I had made my decision.