Buying Freedom and Happiness

I dropped my phone last month, and the screen shattered. I thought I could still make it work for a few months and see how it work. But last week, the touch stopped working around certain parts of the display, and I decided to buy last year’s version of the iPhone and almost went to the store and bought it.

I started rethinking the purchase at the store, and then I remembered my flatmate had told me about Cashify, where I could check the value of the shattered phone. I went to the Cashify store, which was just a few blocks away. They suggested replacing the screen, which they did in half an hour, and the phone felt like new after that.

I saved thousands of rupees and probably extended the life of my phone by a year. After that, I went for an evening run and started thinking about how my feet don't feel very comfortable in these shoes, so I thought I would buy the new shoes I was eying for some time for running. I bought it, and they made a difference.

The point is I could have bought the phone, and it probably would have made me happy for a day or two, but not more than that. A slightly better camera wouldn’t make much difference in my life. But running better, lets me improve for life, this is an activity that impacts my life the most, this is when I meditate, observe, and let the thought flow and ideas come in.

There was a time when I wanted to buy every latest gadget when I couldn’t afford it, and now when I probably can buy some of them, I decide not to. And this makes me very happy, knowing that I am learning to control external materialistic urges. And I believe that is what freedom is, freedom to be able to choose what makes you truly happy and add value to your life.

I am not saying I am very good at this, I have a lot to understand and learn. But being able to differentiate what is actually important to me and what makes me happy is something I strive to work on. Through that, I could save money on things that wouldn’t bring any happiness or growth in life, the money I can save to buy myself time, which is what freedom and happiness is truly about.