I dont care too much for money, money cant buy me SATISFACTION!

Yes I know the real line goes "I don't care too much for money, money cant buy me love". But I'm thinking in a more general view, cause not everyone is looking for love. Moreover the search for love is all about being happy and satisfied, so I choose to replace the word 'love' with satisfaction. I know happiness is the right word, but happiness is just a higher level of satisfaction and though most people dont know what makes them happy, they know what satisfies them. So lets stick with the more familiar feeling of satisfaction.

Of late I've been in quite a dilemma, well just the normal confusion of the "just out of college" individual on career decisions (you know, what do I do?, am I up to it? Will I screw up?). On one side I want to go into writing, now that's my heart speaking. But I have heard too many stories of the writer who could only afford to live in the godforsaken hut and died of starvation and the journalist who came home from a dangerous assignment of reporting from a war field only to find that his wife had left him because he was never at home, and the checks he sent wasn't good enough to keep the family alive.

On the other side I could be an engineer, thats my mind speaking. This not only would ensure a heavy purse, but would do justice to my four years of turmoil in a damn engineering college, that taught me to curse and lie more than anything else.

In the last few weeks, the world has been losing it over money with the recession, bankruptcy, stock market collapse and what not. Now I am ashamed to admit that I haven't been too keen in following the saga, because it doesn't directly effect me. In other words I haven't invested in any sorta shares, not because I wasn't interested, but because I never had the money for it. Anyways the whole episode made me realize that money does make the world go round and round.

So I was talking to my friends about their own career options and what would make them happy. 99% had one obvious answer and aim in life, MORE MONEY. Whether it be starting to work, changing jobs, switching careers, higher studies, going into business, in the end all had just one purpose to serve MORE MONEY. These are youngsters with no specific financial burden on their head of the age group 20-23 I'm talking about.

They have forgotten (or choose to ignore) their passion, for money is a passion too, isnt it?
and a passion that comes with other perks too. No I'm not trying to act like the sensible, 'not greedy' youth idol here, because somewhere along the line I become one of them.

On the other hand I met an artist yesterday. This was part of an assignment I got during my journalism internship with the Indian Express. Now this guy was a real artist, the kind you read of in books, with the really long graying beard (he could put Santa to shame) and the white kurta with the matching white dhoti. Now he is no MF hussain who gets millions for every piece of his. But he is one with great talent for art, and equally low desire for money.

His work is awesome, and he knows he could make quite a living if he went for the kill. Now his profession barely manages to pay his bills, but that isn't a much of a problem for him. The passion for the art which he claims is a 'madness' and the satisfaction he gets when he indulges in it, is incomparable to all the diamonds and fame in the world.

As I leave his studio in which his masterpieces are plastered all over his walls, I cannot but feel envious of him. Envious of his talent and his love for the profession. Envious of the happiness and satisfaction he gets from it. And most of all envious of the fact that I cannot think in his levels, I am incapable of resisting the materialistic pleasures of life.