Inner Peace

A friend of mine who was a CEO of a big company told me the other day that he was leaving his job. I thought he must be becoming the CEO of another, bigger company, but he told me that was not why he was leaving it. I asked him why, and he told me that it was because he wanted inner peace.

“I am going to take classes for increasing my self-awareness and to re-establish my core being, so that it dwells in the present and leads to inner peace,” he said when he called me.

I was busy finding my peace in a chocolate sundae when his statement shook me up.

“I see, which classes are you going to join?” I asked him, assuming that he must have done his research and chalked out plans, given that he was CEO. I was right, but only partially.

“Well, I am evaluating a few options,” he said. “Based on their value proposition, I will decide the one that is the best strategic fitment to my long-term goals.”

I tried to delve a bit deeper on what his goals were, and he had an answer ready.

“Well, I have set aside a year of my life for this project,” he said. “The goal is to centre oneself for optimal productivity and performance. Once I figure this out, we will see where it leads.”

“I see, sounds good,” I said and quickly finished the last bit of my muffin. I felt like having another one but resisted the temptation.

A few weeks later he called me again. He told me that he had shortlisted four of the best available options in the global wellness market. He wasn’t able to decide between the alternatives.

It included one ten-day wellness retreat, another proposed a 4 AM class for a month, a third one had some meditation rounds, while the fourth one had everything bundled around mantra sessions.

“They are all quite hectic,” he said, and I agreed. The quest for inner peace shouldn’t lead to inconvenience. Life, after all, is short.

“I have set up meetings with all of them next week for a deeper dive,” he said.

“Really?” I wondered if that was actually true. “And have they agreed?” I asked.

“I have got confirmation from all of them,” he explained. “Join me for it, I will send you the details,” he added before hanging up.

On the day of the presentations, I felt that rather than formals, maybe I should wear a kurta pyjama for the meetings. When I turned up wearing those, my friend was happy that we were aligned.

“This is wonderful. With your inputs, we are going to decide today,” he said.

But each presentation that I sat through that day convinced me that every method was the best before the next one came up. My friend asked me for my views, and while I didn’t think I did much, he seemed happy with what he got. Maybe my past career as a consultant helped.

A few days back I got a message from him. It said that he had called off his one-year project for self-awareness and inner peace. He had taken up a job as CEO of another company. He has asked me to join him. But now, after getting that message, I have lost all my inner peace. I think I will take one of those classes to get it back.

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