Starbucks with Cecilia #2: A Millionaire Affair

Popular Affair by ~charlie45

Read the pilot episode here

Cecilia and I continued the topic about having affairs as she took out another menthol cigarette from the twelve-pack. She thought it was a problem specific to a certain group of people, but I told her that isn’t the case. This problem hits all layers of society from all backgrounds of educations; from the ordinary factory worker to the multi-platinum best-selling Hollywood blond.

I told her the story of a friend of mine who works as a shift manager in a garment factory. He told me at one time one of his subordinates jokingly asked him why he didn’t have an affair with one of the lady workers. Of course, this made my friend tickled to the bone from the sheer silliness of the question, but it was an honest suggestion from his coworker.

Cecilia looked slightly surprised when I told her even the simple people have domestic problems, including cheating wives or husbands. For the uninitiated, that may come as a surprise. But the truth is this: the problems remain the same throughout all layers – the difference is merely in the style and exposure it gets.

The next best thing

There is a happiness mentality that starts with the sentence, “If only I had …”. But anybody who has ever worked towards that blank sentence finds out what they sought for in the beginning didn’t bring them the happiness they expected. It’s an endless rat race as we chase down the next high, constantly searching for that sense of fulfillment but only achieving a fleeting moment of success.

Humans are very hard to satisfy, using external objects. The simple folk dream of city life, the city folk dream of luxury living, and the high rollers dream of riding the wave of the next big hit. What’s on the mind of the simple folk, is also on the mind of the privileged individuals. If a humble cab driver can have an affair, so can a millionaire have an affair.

Which raises the question: what is the real reason behind an affair? If it’s money, then the millionaires should be living happy marriages. Instead we may even see more cases of infidelity in the upper class.

Independent inside

There is no guarantee from anything that comes outside of yourself. The next big thing we think we’ll be the answer to all our problems is not. Instead, it may just be the source of our next set of problems.

I told Cecilia how she needed to be independent inside if she is ever to reach the happiness and clarity she so much desires. As long as we still rely on external objects, we will never achieve a permanent state of intrinsic security and will always be on the run. As long as we never love from the inside, affairs will always be an open option as a place to run away to.

Sometimes people prefer the drama and romance. But the happiness isn’t there. The happiness lies in the domain where we take full responsibility of our relationships, our wealth, and our character.

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And the next song: #4 of 26 – “Hey Shorty” (Read the story here)

Hey Shorty by Endy Daniyanto