I’d rather fish with Dad than make a million — Cricketer Clarke sacrifices lucrative IPL for his ailing father

That was a little bottom-side news on a local news paper but enough to shock me: Australian cricketer Michael Clarke left a potential deal with IPL that may earn a million dollar or more for him. The major reason behind was that he wanted to give more time to his father who is suffering from cancer.

Thanks a million, son

Clarke ignores IPL to spend time with sick father — Crick Info

Clarke has captained Australian Twenty20 team and was among the highest profile Australian to leave the lucrative chance that might pay him $1.47million for 44 days’ work in India for April and May.  “Dad and I talked about it (IPL). I told him what it was – the money they were offering and things like that. But Lara, mum, dad, my sister and I had dinner and I told them then that I wasn’t going to go. They asked why, but they were very supportive of my decision,” Clarke was quoted as saying by ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ .

In this materialistic age when the money matters much more than the human feelings and relations, when sacrifice means to leave something to get another worldly thing, when we really love just our own material desires; a busy professional sacrifices a huge benefit just to care for his father. Oh my God! We may argue rudely that the pity cricketer had a more cheap and efficient solution of hiring a team of medical professionals to care for his father and should opt the deal to earn more money for his father and family. Come on! even one billion dollars would  not give more than this sacrifice and the ’silly’ fishing hours to his ailing father who melted his life for his kids and family.

Such sacrifices were common in East for centuries and, here, people used to give much higher priorities to human issues over materialistic gains BUTTTTT, alas, now the ‘fast moving’ life style (rather the fast-decaying life style) is going to swallow all these old-fashioned stuff. This is making the lives more and more difficult everyday — everyone is alone to face the hardships of life. We are running so fast behind money that we don’t have enough time for our families, our kids, our elders and even ourselves. My physician may be warning me to spare some time for my health and a work-life balance but I would rather prefer to have some multi vitamin pills and some easier cholesterol reduction treatment because the new life style and the sky-high targets that I have set for myself/family are pushing me hard.