Is Wealth Worth It?

Working as an intern (though an unofficial one) in a construction site basically exposes me to a group of Bangladeshi who are required to be on site constructing the building as instructed by civil engineers.

Civil engineers, at this stage, chiefly supervise, and ensure materials do come as scheduled, and pressed the suppliers should they fail to come.

Walking at site allow me to see a lot of things. While I can be there to watch how they actually construct a building, I too get to see how these group of people get along with each other.

I am a strong observant. In group interactions I am at most time an observant and listener than a participant. I observe how people interact, I like to read their body languages, eye contacts and I oddly take the effort to interpret from their sentences how they actually feel about their lives.

I'm a weirdo, as I mentioned earlier, I admit it.

This time being surrounded by Bangladeshi, I can't help but watch how their lives are. Sure, their lives are harsh, quite brutal actually, as they are constantly exposed to the merciless sun that could at times so scorching it actually burns your skin.

They have to carry loads so heavy their bones would most likely fail and deteriorate over time. They are exposed to such dirty environment I highly doubt their health is still in the pink. They operate machines that are so dangerous their lives are literally at stakes.

Their lives are harsh. They risk losing their lives.

But then, they get along with each other. In the process of constructing a building, they talk, they make joke with each other, they are actually enjoying each other's companionship. Their friendship bond, or the bonds between colleagues, appear robust.

Their conversations sound so cheerful I sometimes wonder whether I am indeed at a construction site.

They live without technologies and electronics. All they are capable of buying is a handphone that is now obsolete. They don't need great clothes - and they don't ask for one.

And I will tell you their salaries are almost twice higher than most of us. Believe me when I say these Bangladeshi earn a lot - up to possibly 4k a month. Yes, they are quite rich, though it's true they go through hurdles to earn them.

Simplicity sometimes is the key to happiness. I have seen people who are rich, but then they are not happy. With great things and great possessions come greater desire and thus greater demands. People become greedy and they want more.

If you have little, you learn to be satisfied and get by with what you have. If you have money to spend, you will crave for more, and you will most likely not be satisfied and you know you have the capabilities to get better.

I like simplicity. I like it. Wealth comes at the expense of happiness. With increasing wealth there goes happiness. It's bad. Unless you know how to control your money flow but life tells me majority of people go crazy with money. They have no self control to restrain themselves from abusing what they have.

Being simple is how I wanna live my life. Believe me when I say salary is not the utmost importance I will be seeking when I search for job. Sure - a decent one is needed to survive, but if the salary is sufficient to cover my cost of living, I won't become greedy to search for a higher one.

Believe me when I say so, I mean it. I want a simple life - away from materialism, close to sentimentalism.