Affordability v/s excitement

I have been having this thought for some time and wanted to write it down and seek reactions

Growing up, we mostly grew up with constraints, our affordability for “nice to have” things was mostly not pursued. For example, we would buy clothes mostly twice a year and align them with a festival. Eating chicken was mostly a few times a year and it was a special occasion. Getting a gift from someone was generally a rare thing. Because of all these, every little thing in life was an excitement. We looked forward to that bandi habba( a rural festival where chickens and goats were offered to god and eaten by us ) to eat a chicken or Deepavali ( festival of light ) to buy a new dress or waiting for grandpa to give a rupee when we visited his house or that school tour once a year to eat outside snacks. There was so much excitement and experience, and my mind registered even the little things we had.

Thanks to globalization and the economy, many of us have an opportunity to work in international companies. The affordability all of a sudden increased. And with e-commerce, easy to pay. buying is just a few clicks away. Many times I felt in this era, that excitement I had when I wore my first jeans or bought my bike 20 years ago is not there anymore!

My wife and I had a similar upbringing, brought up in a rural setting, we talked many times about how excited we were eating that ice cream once in a blue moon and we wondered if our kids were as excited as we were when we were at their age! That makes me think, is affordability a boon or takes away the excitement/experience? It reminds me of the Kannada movie Lucia, where a village boy dreams of leading an actor life (a more affordable life). In the end, it is actually the reverse, where he becomes an actor and starts feeling to go back to the village. At times, I wondered, if that is what happening to me.

After going through 20 years of working, earning, and living in the metro and abroad, thoughts can be confusing at times but I think we both go back to our roots, what is the most exciting one? Buying/experiencing a nice-to-have thing or having those little nice things, more often than not, it is the latter that makes us happier! As people say, life is a full circle. 

Did you feel the same? Leave a comment!