The measure of wealth is freedom.
The measure of health is lightness.
The measure of intellect is judgment.
The measure of wisdom is silence.
The measure of love is peace.
– Naval Ravikant
Chartered Accountants are in the profession of ‘recognition’ and ‘measurement’. Much of life, in its wider and deeper sense, needs measuring with each passing year, or in our context, at least at the end of the fiscal year.
What matters may not be in the line of sight. Contemporary wisdom measures and turns on a sharp spotlight on what matters. Wisdom articulates the reality of things with a purpose: to make us aware of the starkness of what matters, the urgency of action and the futility of much of what we believe to be important in the short term. ‘Non-recognition’ of this can be our stupidity, lethargy or even careless disregard. I have been following the writings of Naval for a while and thought of sharing them and leaving you with questions I ask myself.
The measure of wealth is freedom. We gather wealth but, for a long time, run short of freedom. Even on vacation, work chases us. How much freedom do we have on our time and actions? Wealth without freedom is futile. Freedom TO and Freedom FROM are two types of categories. While money gives us the freedom to overcome many life problems, how free do we become from other problems?
The measure of health is lightness. How much lightness do we feel in our bodies? How much space do our minds have to let ‘light’ occupy it rather than the clutter of million thoughts? Are we trading off health with time to our profession?
The measure of intellect is judgment. We often learn this over time. A lot of our work hones judgment. Naval writes: “…wisdom is knowing the long-term consequences of your actions. Wisdom applied to external problems is judgment. … knowing the long-term consequences of your actions and then making the right decision to capitalize on that.” How do I figure out the difference between direction and effort? Can I figure out what’s really stupid and then avoid it? Am I able to see beyond the immediate and look far into the future?
The measure of wisdom is silence. When wisdom is applied, the outcome is silence. The closer you are to the truth, the more silent you become inside. How much silence or evenness do we feel within? By being the way I am, am I becoming something that I would not want to?
You can reflect on the rest of Naval’s words. I wish to end this page with a conversation I had with my daughter. She told me about ellipsis. ‘…’ the three dots we sometimes use to end a sentence. I think the measure of life is an ellipsis, in the sense that it goes on, that there are no full stops. Its spirit is continuance. It is open-ended, uncertain and full of possibilities. The ellipsis holds hope in the unsaid. As we begin the new fiscal and come out of one patch of uncertain time, will it not be brave to accept the certainty of uncertainty?
Raman Jokhakar
Editor
