The Root of All Evil

My name is Sid, and I am a corporate lawyer at one of the largest firms in New York. Some may say I am successful, but I never understand why. Yes, I have money, but I lack a certain level of happiness that I just didn’t possess. My life involves constant meetings, phone conferences, and driving to and from work. For some reason, this morning would be different. I had finally had enough…

Beep, beep, beep! The alarm seemed like it was angry with me this morning. As I rolled over, I saw the time: 5:45 AM. I sat up in total exhaustion and mentally prepared for the long day ahead of me. I thought of all the meetings I had scheduled today and my mood worsened. I let my mind wander to a fantasy of me sitting on the beach with a cold beer in my hand and no worries of work.

It all of a sudden hit me. Why am I here in New York? Why do I constantly have to have my phone with me? Why do I have to work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week? These thoughts overwhelmed me and I thought of a solution: an extended vacation.

I quickly got my phone out and called my infallible and overly demanding boss. “Hey, Sullivan, I am not going to make it in today or, as a matter of fact, the rest of the week. I am going to the Cayman Islands and do not know when I am coming back.” With every word, the weight of work lifted off my chest.

“Sid, I never told you that you could take off! We have a huge case coming up so you better get your tail up here immediately. If not, you can kiss your job goodbye!”

As I listened to his words, a quick smirk came over me and I did something no employee should ever do. I pressed that red button and hung up on him. I quickly booked the next flight out, and was on my way to paradise.

The following morning I awoke to the blazing sun above me. I walked out of my ground-level condo and touched the warm sand with my feet. The sounds of the waves crashing into the sand had such a soothing effect. I quickly found a spot to sit down. It was under a large palm tree that provided just enough shade to avoid the beaming sun. 

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I sat down and meditated about life in this crazy modern world. In my deep thoughts I asked myself, “What is the cause of my deep unhappiness? There is unhappiness because of exhaustion. What is the cause of exhaustion? There is exhaustion because of demands. What is the cause of demands? There are demands because of authority. What is the cause of authority? There is authority because of structure. What is the cause of structure? There is structure in order to provide work. What is the cause of a need for work? There is a need for work because of the desire for riches. Extreme wealth and money was the answer. All of this work and exhaustion was for this monetary item.” Without the need for these, I would avoid all of the above issues. I quickly got on the phone and called my boss.

“Sullivan, you don’t have to fire me. I quit!” I hung up without him even responding. I walked straight to the front office of the condo complex and asked the manager if they needed a landscaper. With a quick yes, I had my new laidback job.

I walked back to my palm tree, cracked open another beer, and scooted out from under the tree. I got real comfortable because this place would be my home now. All was happy in the world.

Author’s Note: I wrote this story based off of the events from the book The Life of Buddha. I changed the original story in that this story took place in the modern world of New York and Cayman. I felt that having the story be told in a modern world would allow the reader to relate more to the story. The main character Sid, was supposed to be Siddhartha from the original story. He was a rich man who decided that there was more to life than monetary value and success. He eventually left his home just like Siddhartha did to explore what life really was about. The palm tree that Sid was sitting under was a direct comparison to the Knowledge Tree that Siddhartha sat under when he discovered the truths of the world. I wanted the story to feel a little more laid back than that of the original. Finally, the paragraph about the causes and effects of certain things is the same format that The Life of Buddha used. Here is a link to the original story so you can see how the Life of Buddha was written. The passage was a connection of feelings and events that ultimately went back to ignorance of man just like in the original story. I chose to have the root of all evil to be a hungry desire for wealth and success since that is what I feel today’s world is all about.

Bibliography: The Life of Buddha. Written by Andre Ferdinand Herold. 1922.