Monsters of Greed and the Demons of Need

By Adeel Ahmad

Welcome to life little grasshopper, As this is your first day on earth let me whisper to you a story that has no beginning and has no end. A story that can not be told but lived, The story of Monsters of Greed and demons of Need.

Long ago before you and me and everything the light touches was born there was a sound. The first sound was a command that uttered “?? (Happen)” and so it did, and oh boy were we about to have the ride of a life time. Universes, galaxies upon galaxies, stars, planets, the very fabric of time and space all happened. That is not the story we for today little grasshopper but another day. Today i tell you the story of the greatest of all creations and the worst of all creations. Today I tell you the story of Monsters that live inside men and the demons that walk among us.

As it would happen, man evolved to be a social animal if using the word animal is the appropriate term here. The reason being, the only thing that separates us from animals is not the ability to think or deduct logic from experiences; no not that; but all the wants we don’t need and all the needs we don’t want. This separates us from the honorable animal kingdom and puts us in to a class of our own.

The story, little miracle of creation, is about the invention of greeds that don’t serve our needs. From the moment you will learn to process information, you will find a divine algorithm at work on the principal of uncertainty. Uncertainty ,chance, random occurrences in your environment will shape you in to the kind of person you will become when you grow up. Man and even The Divine creator himself has put methods and procedures into place to keep this uncertainty in check. They have different names for it. Some call it religion, some call it law, some call it the code of life, some call it a moral code. The truth little grasshopper is that whatever it is, it comes from inside of you and can not be influenced from the outside. The only way you can realise it is when your gut tells you if something is right or wrong; that right and wrong will be influenced by society and its laws and religion but ultimately you will be the judge of it.

Need is a unique thing a gift and a curse at times. It keeps one focused on to a perspective. It gives one a mission, a goal, a direction of sorts. Need is what makes you get out of bed and go about in to the unknown random event generator that is this world. Need will give you a sense of self preservation and be the catalyst to your cognitive thinking process. You will learn to prioritise. Need is a demon too, as it will keep you going like a tyrant master and will ride you till the day you draw your last breath my precious grasshopper .Needs if left un-catered for, can become a demon that will make you compromise on what your gut says and do what it commands of you if you are not careful. It will evolve in to its alter ego, and its a monster and it goes by the name Greed.

Greed unlike need is not unique at all. It isn’t even picky. It is everywhere and desires to engulf everything that is, like the darkness that falls at night greed engulfs everything in its path. Unlike need, there is no end to it. Greed like needs will try to govern your life, yet it will not be a tyrant master but a seductive mistress. Greed will leave you with nothing but will always make you want for more. Greed is when your needs take precedence over the needs of the many and you turn a blind eye towards their suffering. Greed is a more destructive force as coupled with the uncertainty principal, you in time will get the illusion that your greeds are actually your needs and that feeling in your gut will die.

I don’t want you to be scared of the needs and greeds little grasshopper. Fear not the demons that their needs make out of the poor; Fear the monsters that their greeds make out of the rich. I wonder, you will be wondering, what is rich and what is poor. Just a few minutes on earth and you have to face the reality of life. Rich my little grasshopper are the monsters who put their needs above all the needs of the many. Poor are the people who struggle to keep up with their needs because the rich have left not many resources and means for them to do so.

As i said before this story has no beginning and has no end for as long as men shall live monsters and demons of need and greed will walk among us. I am not asking you to be a saint or even if there is any such thing as one. The irony of life is that when you finally realise that all the futile wants you needed were not the needs you wanted; life ends . i am asking you my little grasshopper be the master of your needs and the shunner of your greeds and leave the earth when your time comes light as a feather . This my little grasshopper when and if you are born will be my will to you .