I try to read the eighth chapter of the Richest Man in Babylon by Georgle S Clason.
In this episode, we meet Dabasir, the camel trader and Tarkad, a hungry citizen who owes the former money. Tarkad has no intention to repay his debt. All he wants is to satisfy his ailing stomach. He has barely eaten for two days.
Dabasir takes Tarkad to an inn, but does not give him food. Instead he narrates a tale of how he went from a slave in Syria, to a wealthy camel trader in Babylon.
After taking on debt, he could not repay, his wife left him. He left Babylon in search of fortunes. To satisfy his luxuries he joined a band of robbers. They were eventually caught and sold as slaves.
His master’s wife Sira notices that Dabasir was unlike the other slaves. She asked him ‘You don’t have a soul of a slave, you have a soul of a free man.’ She convinced him to go back to Babylon, repay his debts and bring back his wife. He was given the opportunity to escape by Sira, and he gladly took it.
After fighting hunger, thirst and hopelessness, he made his way from the desert of Syria to the fertile lands of Babylon. There he met all the creditors he had to repay and vowed to pay them back. Eventually, he found work as a camel trader.
Through his toiling to pay back the debt he asked himself one question - ‘Do I have the soul of a free man or a slave?’ Because when anything is taken on debt, you never own it. It is owned by the bank. You’re merely a temporary holder. But if you ask yourself this question, then no debt is too big to pay back.
The author ends with the following words you can use when staring at a mountain of debt,
“Where The Determination Is,
Thank you for listening in.
If I can improve in any way, please let me know. Also drop your recommendations in the comments!
Link to the book [English]: https://amzn.to/3A61vmr
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Link to the book [Hindi]: https://amzn.to/3hdw40O