contentment
contentment is not the fulfilment of what you want,
it is the realization of how much you already have
my mum forwarded this to me.
After a conversation with on eof my friends, he told despite taking 2 jobs, he brings back barely above 1K per month, he is happy as he is. Wonder how he can be as happy as he is considering he has to skimp his life with the low pay to support a pair of old parents, in-laws, a wife, 2 daugthers 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 touring India after a major setback. He said that right in front of his very eyes, he saw an Indian mother chop off her child's right hand with a chopper. the helplessness in the mothers eyes, the scream of pain! from the innocent 4year old child haunted him until today.
you may ask why did the mother do so, has the child been naughty? has the hand been infected??
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 did really, just in another paret of the world which i didnt see.
taken aback by the scene, he dropped a piece of bread he was eating half-way. and almost instantly, a flock of 5 or 6 children swamped towards this small piece of bread which was covered wtih sad, robbing bits from one another. the natural reaction of hnger.
Stricken by the happenings, he instructed his guide to drive him to the nearest bakery. he arrived at two bakeries and bought every single load of bread he found in the bakeries. the owner was dumbfounded but willingly sold everything. he spent less than $100 to obtain about 400 loaves of bread(less than 25cents per loaf) .
off he went in the truck full of bread into the streeets. as he distributed the bread and necessities to the children and a few adults, he received cheers and bows from these unfortunate.
For the first time in ihs life, he wondered 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. How fortunate he is to be able to have a complete body, have a job, have a family, have the chance to complain what food is nice and what isnt, 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, i should not feel bad at all, what abou tyou?
maybe the next time you think you are,
think about the child who lost one hand to beg on the streets.
'contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want,
it is the realization of how much you already have'
indeed.indeed.
and if i had wings; i would fly.