Why do lovers come and go? Why do empires rise and fall?
I say, humans are wired for change. We cannot stay at one place indefinitely. We cannot do the same task without feeling restless. We cannot eat the same dish every day (well, except for Mala).
It’s basic economics. It’s the basis of our market economy; of consumerism. Humans will never be satisfied because of our ever-increasing wants.
Yet, in spite of our need for change, every human being, in one way or another, seeks for some sort of permanence. Be it in religion, which tells us that there is an eternity awaiting us, in family, which we believe is built upon an unbreakable bond that will withstand the turbulences of life, or in knowledge, which is something that once acquired, (in most cases) cannot be stolen.
The inevitable conclusion, then, is that we will never be fully contented in life; and hence the phrase “the grass is greener on the other side.” Where there is any semblance of permanence, we will seek for change. Where there is change, our insecurity compels us to seek for permanence. What follows is that we would probably be happier less depressed coming to terms with this and striving for 70 per cent (just an arbitrary figure for illustration sake) of life satisfaction instead of the full hundred per cent. I’m not saying that we should lose our fighting spirit and stop living an earnest life; but perhaps, what I mean is that we should learn to manage our expectations and not beat ourselves and the people around us up too much when things don’t go according to plan.
In short, in the words of our favourite Frozen character, Princess Anna from Arendelle, who is full of optimism and zest for life, “Do you want to build a snowman? It doesn’t have to be a snowman.”