The Best Things in Life are Free

Talk about fashion styles from Vogue, ready-to-wear apparel from Versace, perfume by YSL, shoes by Gucci, timepiece by Chanel, turquoise earrings from Jude Frances, a picnic basket bag by Burberry, or a set of cosmetics from Bobbi Brown.

With my current earnings, a single purchase or acquisition of such valuables would mean probably my how-many-months salary (and I am working in the Philippines with scanty resources). It is self-fulfillment though to be able to acquire those signature labeled material things. It is like feeling you belong to the elite group of people – the can-afford. It drives a person irrational, too, to feel that they are being appreciated, admired, gazed at, pauper-leered-and-envied or to sum it up, to feel he or she is among the best.

But for me, the best things in life are free. The sweet smell of green grass sprawling on a backdrop of a house is not equivalent to the heady scent of Hugo Boss perfume. The picturesque flora and fauna is not even parallel to the green matched emerald earrings from Fantasia de Serio. The bright warm rays of the sun peeking on a sun rise is not comparable to the orange colored pair of sandals by Salvatorre Ferragamo, and the clear tiny drops of dew on the surface of foliage do not correspond to the crystal clear diamond by Jude Frances.

Hypocrisy aside, I am not pronouncing that those valuables are worthless considering that they are invaluable possessions. It is just that I am aware that I cannot buy true happiness which could only be found from the confines of the heart, or the sound sleep I get with my better half beside, or the good health I get from the simple but nourishing menus we partake. And I am just being practical that I would think first of what should come number one in my shopping list. They say, spend less when you earn less and spend more when you earn more.

If I win in a lottery (which is not possible because I don’t bet unless forced), I would give seconds thoughts buying those valuables. I would prefer buying a house in the outskirts of the city and do some projects that would benefit mankind. Versace, Gucci, Channel, etc. could not expect me as one potential patronizer.