You and I are on a mysterious journey to a financial wilderness. This is not time travel. No ticking clocks or vanishing calendars. Neither the past lingers nor the future unfolds. Deep within this wilderness lies a cave wherein Master Time has imprisoned three strangers, while silently walking beside us all along.

Meet the three cave dwellers. First is Alien Aurum, who remains deeply baffled by man, money and the strange psychology binding them together. To him, money is merely a worthless artefact man endlessly accumulates on what he considers an unfamiliar planet. Another dweller is Man Midas, who turns many things into gold, yet grows increasingly bankrupt in happiness.

At the edge of the cave stands the third stranger, Monk Moneywise, a pragmatist who broke free from the consumer loop, mastered the math of “enough,” and who acts as a torch-bearer for those still trapped.

Let’s watch the play inside the cave. Every time Midas earns more money, he upgrades his life. His bullock cart becomes a horse cart, leaf-woven clothes turn into fine cotton, the walls of his cave glitter with teakwood, and the cow-dung-smeared floors transform into polished wooden flooring. He does all this hoping that he would be happy forever. Yet his joy vanishes into thin air like a bubble.

Deeply puzzled, Alien Aurum begins tracing the roots of this behaviour to a strange human ritual: spending enormous energy, and money, impressing people who are themselves exhausted by impressing others. Alien Aurum asks, “Mr. Moneywise, if humans become unhappy so quickly after getting whatever they wished for, why do they spend their entire lives wishing for more?”

Wearing a faint smile, Monk Moneywise says, “Humans often confuse upgrading their lifestyle with upgrading their lives, and that’s why they chase wealth constantly. What once felt luxurious gradually becomes mundane, and his desire starts chasing again. They are not just chasing money, Aurum, but society’s approvals and appreciations too. The cruel part: they rarely realise that every lifestyle upgrade resets the baseline for approval, pushing the line of “approval or success” even higher. The more the income, the more the society raises the baseline.”

Alien Aurum asks in bewilderment, “So humans keep running faster to feel more successful, only to discover that success itself keeps moving further away like a mirage?” Monk Moneywise clarifies, “What you are witnessing, Aurum, is what behavioural psychologists Philip Brickman and Donald T. Campbell called the “hedonic treadmill,” also called hedonic adaptation. Humans keep running harder and harder towards newer desires, yet emotionally remain in the same place, like a treadmill that never truly moves forward.”

Staring at Midas’ glittering cave, the monk continues, “Aurum, bigger caves demand bigger maintenance costs. Faster carts demand more feeding for horses, and the tragedy is that lifestyle inflation converts rising income into rising financial commitments. Instead of bringing comfort, higher income often ends up bringing only bigger expenses and shrinking financial breathing space. Soon, Midas is no longer working for financial freedom; but he is working harder just to maintain his lifestyle he once believed would set him free.”

Man Midas interrupts with visible anger. “It’s easy to judge humans from a distance. An alien does not understand planet Earth, human life or its complexities. And the monk walked away long ago from the responsibilities and burdens of life. Try raising a family in metropolitan cities where people measure your worth through income, clothes, possessions and overall richness. We have no choice but to run. If we stop, those running behind us will trample over us and move ahead. We are not merely buying comfort. Some are buying respect, identity, social acceptance, and at times, even survival itself.” All of a sudden, thunder roars across the wilderness. The cave falls silent. Somewhere in the darkness, Master Time has been carefully listening to all three without judgement. Time whispers into the ears of those chasing money: “I have watched humans for centuries. They mortgage their future selves heavily, trading tomorrow’s peace, health and freedom to decorate their present lives.

Next week, I shall tell you how humans eventually become prisoners of the lifestyle they once dreamt of.” Monk Moneywise says softly, “Not all lessons are learnt through wisdom, Aurum. The costliest ones are revealed only by Master Time. Let us wait to witness what Time has to unfold.” And the voice of Master Time echoes through the wilderness, “Monk Moneywise has mastered the art of ‘enough’ and so, it no longer fears the grip of Time.”

(The writer is an NISM & CRISIL-certified Wealth Manager and certified in NISM’s Research Analyst module)

Published on May 25, 2026