FRIVOLITY vs NECESSITY

Mai Shamwari,

I am excited coming your way again today after some weeks break. I have been on recess but I am not depressed. Life has different folds of challenges and I hope we are on top of all the pebbles thrown at us. I am saying ‘My People’ in Shona language of Zimbabwe.

There is a story of a young professional who is excelling in his career. He had a lot of people who report to him ranging from drivers to his colleagues. He had luxurious cars; high quality phones and travel out of the country at will. Oddly, he had a need to change his apartment; he scouted for another apartment; he got another one apartment; he paid and the final process was that he should meet the landlord of the house. On the day of visiting the landlord, the person that can out to his amazement was his driver in the office. Let’s think together, at what point are our acquisition frivolities or necessities?

Frivolity is something that one can live without but it is not a bad idea if one owns one. Our lives is largely dependent on the choices we make; the type of company we keep; also do. I will use an interesting example now that guys too have transited from wearing strictly black and brown shoes to wearing other colours. It is all frivolities.

If one desires to learn about necessities, I will advise the person to learn from low-income earners who understand the value for money. They are could also be extremists because they might not prioritize the education of their children like the middle-class or the elites but they would ensure that they get the necessities such as a small car, a small roof to cover their head and others which is in the Maslow hierarchy of needs.

We do not have mortgages that helps us to acquire a property as such, we strain ourselves to build; car loans are rarely available and if it is, it is for the upper class. We have to prioritize our lives if we really want to make our lives comfortable now and in the nearest future. There is no need to invest heavily in frivolities while necessities suffer.

The need to create a hassle free future begins by classifying frivolities from necessities. If we desist from craving for frivolities, we would not run ourselves into different 'traumatic' attitudes and behaviours.

Cheers!

Olutayo