Wonder
if any of you ever had the feeling that life is bad, real bad…and you wish you
were in another situation. Do you find that life seems to make things difficult
for you, work sucks, life sucks, and everything seems to go wrong…
It
was not until yesterday that I totally changed my views about life; after a
conversation with one of my friends.
He
told me despite taking two jobs, and bringing back barely above 1K per month,
he is happy as he is. I wonder how he can be as happy as he is now, considering
that he has to skimp his life with the low pay to support a pair of old-age
parents, in-laws, wife, 2 daughters and the many bills of a household.
He
explained that it was through one incident that he saw in India
That
happened a few years ago when he was really feeling low and was touring India
No,
it was done for two simple words — to beg. The desperate mother deliberately
caused the child to be handicapped so that the child can go out to the streets
to beg. I cannot accept how this could happen, but it really did, just in
another part of the world which I don’t see.
Taken
aback by the scene, he dropped a small piece of bread he was eating half-way.
And almost instantly, flock of 5 or 6 children swamp towards this small piece
of bread which was then covered with sand, robbing of bits from one another.
The natural reaction of hunger. Stricken by the happenings, he instructed his
guide to drive him to the nearest bakery. He arrived at two bakeries and bought
every single loaf of bread he found in the bakeries.
The
owner is dumb folded, but willing sold everything. He spent less than $100 to
obtain about 400 loaf of bread (this is less than $0.25/per loaf) and spend
another $100 to get daily necessities. Off he went in the truck full of bread
into the streets. As he distributed the bread and necessities to the children
(mostly handicapped) and a few adults, he received cheers and bows from these
unfortunate. For the first time in life he wonders how people can give up their
dignity for a loaf of bread which cost less than $0.25. He began to ask himself
how fortunate he is as a Singaporean. How fortunate he to be able to have a
complete body, have a job, have a family, have the chance to complain what food
is nice what isn’t, have the chance to be clothed, have the many things that
these people in front of him are deprived of…..
Now
I begin to think and feel it, too. Was my life really that bad?
Perhaps….no,
it should not be bad at all….
What
about you? Maybe the next time you think you are, think about the child who
lost one hand to beg on the streets.
Awesome story. It reminded me of a story about a relative of mine who happens live in South Delhi and has a comfortable life.but always complains an=bout how much he does not have. I happen to be an Indian American working as a research scholar in a hospital in Delhi. where I am amazed to see how our Indian doctors treat masses of poor people.They really serve the poorest of the poor of our country while the richest of the richest are busy travelling the world to spend their black money which they could put to good use by setting up infrastructure to take care of pocr people. May be create jobs and pay them money. I said to my relative his needs and wants are for luxuries but out in the world people's needs are real bec they are for food, water and a place to sleep. After that he has never complained to me about what he does not have. Needs and wants areall very relative in life. I loved ur story.
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