Kaali Peeli Epiphany: Unveiling the Currency of Contentment

Lao Tzu once said: “The one who knows he has enough is rich.” This is an obvious realization for the father of Taoism, yet a very controversial insight for almost everyone else. Or let me rephrase this to avoid falling prey to the most basic logical fallacy: “Almost everyone else I know.” I have been in or around the financial services industry for the last 22 years, studying, working, consulting, training, and advising. And if there is anything I am sure of, it is that the overwhelming sentiment that surrounds such a life was so eloquently blurted by my friend / “Big Four”- consulting partner when I asked him about his “F-U” number on our way back to Dubai from Al Khobar: “More.”

Reflecting on my journey, I can’t shake the feeling that what I considered fuel to my professional and personal ascent could have led me in two opposite directions. Nevertheless, in a bizarre twist of fate, I ended up in a weird grey zone of contrasts, perpetually alternating between the edges of spiritual enlightenment and the shameless pursuit of wealth and hedonism.

Let me start at the beginning: I was born in Beirut in the last years of the civil war. And if anyone knows the region, they could easily guess that nothing embodies the perfect market dynamics of alternating peaks and troughs better than the life of a purebred Lebanese. In my relatively short (not really) life, I have ridden the craziest of rollercoasters: from full-fledged combat, to post-war euphoria, to reconstruction boom, to debt-fueled gluttony, to inevitable greed that comes with excess, to subsequent spillover into institutional corruption, to sectarian alienation to protect said corruption, to literal explosions (fascinatingly enough, spanning over several decades intermittently), all intertwined by short but intense bursts of ecstasy to celebrate survival and subsistence. I have seen myself, friends, family, & clients accumulate and lose actual “fortunes” (depending on who you ask, but this is a story for another day).

So, one might be forgiven for thinking that the lack of a social security net and the constant fear of losing everything at any point (including one's life) may lead to a YOLO (You Only Live Once) pleasure-seeking mentality. Live as if there is no tomorrow. Carpe Diem.

In contrast, the same conditions may lead to an alternative (yet logical) attitude of hoarding goods and assets as a hedge against future downturns.

The French poet “Jean de La Fontaine” embodied this conundrum perfectly in his fable “The Cicada and the Ant.”

My personal journey has had me alternating from one extreme to the other, with no clear definition of contentment. I have always identified as a happy spirit, but I have also always wondered if there is more to life than being a cicada or an ant.

However, the real epiphany happened during my last visit to Goa, India, when I profoundly realized the actual currency of contentment.

As I was traveling from Candolim back to my hotel in Anjuna after a whole night of sensory exploration, I used the services of a tuk-tuk driver commanding the iconic black and yellow motif, there known as Kaali Peeli. Coming from Dubai for that visit, I expected the usual hustle and bustle of city traffic. However, what I experienced was far from the lawless rush I was used to. With a peaceful expression, the taxi driver navigated through the winding unpaved roads of Goa with extreme ease, visibly unfazed by the external chaos.

As I conversed with him, I wanted to know what drove his contentment and noticeable internal peace. His response was simple yet profound. He spoke about his delight in enjoying small pleasures, the time spent with loved ones, the breathtaking beauty around him, and the satisfaction of doing an honest day’s work. And for him, that was enough.

What shook me is that although not considered wealthy in any conventional sense of the word, this person radiated an aura of satisfaction and contentment that many people continuously chasing after earthly riches and status displays seemed to elude for so long.

Although I have been ruminating on such a revelation for a while now, it still was an aha moment for me to experience firsthand, and in an undeniable fashion, the power of utter contentment in a real-life situation. It was not linked to wealth accumulation or external validation but rather to a sense of gratitude and appreciation of the present moment, gratefulness, mindfulness, and complete acceptance of what it is.

I ended up leaving this kaali peeli experience with much more than I had bargained for. It prompted a change in perspective regarding success and happiness, and the ultimate goal posts of my growth journey: “Tarek, your real focus should now be the richness of relationships, experiences, and living in the moment above everything else.”

As I am writing this from my office in Dubai Business Bay, I hear the all-so-familiar rumble of the Harley Davidson Fat Bob cruising by… A motorcycle that has been a dream upgrade for my biking experience for a while. And I found myself smiling, excited about getting it after my next bonus. OK, maybe I am not 100% there in my journey to spiritual enlightenment yet… or maybe getting it is part of that trip… There is only one way to find out.