Let me start by a story. There was once a king who had a beautiful bird, which sang so beautifully that the whole kingdom went into a trance. The king was really happy with the bird, but he never bothered to go and see the bird, to check whether she was fine and proper food was given to her or not. One day, someone left the cage of the bird open by mistake and she flew away. That evening, when the king enquired about the bird as he had not heard the bird’s song in the entire day and learnt that she had flown away, that was the first time he realized the value of the bird and its song. Hence the phrase – “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone”.
It might be an inbuilt human feature that we never value what we have. We only realize its importance before having it or after losing it. The five fingers of a hand aren’t equal and the same goes for people. Everyone is different and so there are people who realize the value of things when they have it but a lot of people don’t. There are a lot of things we get, without asking for them – a good family, good education, great friends and parents who try and fulfill all our needs. But then it was as if we were born with it or we always had it, so we never experienced the scenario of not having it, which makes it difficult for one to realize the importance of all of these things. But if we go and ask some kid from the slums about having all of this, it might be magic for him. A dream come true.
The real truth is, we know what we have, and we just don’t ever think that we’ll lose it. And one day, when we do, we realize how important it was in our lives.
Sometimes our routine becomes monotonous or repetitive and we want change. That change seems so refreshing that we completely forget our previous routine. But we forget all that we did to reach that level of repetitive routine – all the hard work and efforts. It is healthy to get a change once in a while and break out of the tedious routine, but it doesn’t mean the routine has to be completely replaced. We should learn to cherish what we have. Initially when we meet and talk and make new friends it feels nice to talk to new people. We grow close and comfortable to one of them and eventually they become a part of our routine. Initially it seems fine but after a while maybe it gets boring, but that doesn’t mean you replace the person. Instead you should feel happy that there is someone you are so close to and comfortable with.
We all want more. But sometimes we are so busy looking for more, that we fail to appreciate what we have. The grass is always greener on the other side. But is it really? Someone else is happier with less than what you have. Isn’t that enough reason to be content with what you have?
Very few of us can actually take decisions in the present which will relate and impact out future in better ways. Most of us are looking for that something better, something new, and something different that we forget the value of what we have had all along and that in fact was the most important thing. Most people make mistakes and leave the things they love most. And after that they regret those decisions – thus being always in a state of regret and unhappiness. But those who look within themselves and their surroundings, those who appreciate the small things in life and those who learn what they have is the best for them – they will always find happiness. Just like you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, you don’t know what’s missing until it arrives.
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