Count Our Blessings

I remembered complaining about life last week (as usual) on how it was unfair, especially why good things only falls on someone else and not ourselves, on why bad people seems to be doing better and better... (Really, I couldn't understand. Somebody tell me why? )

Suddenly, a freak typhoon destoryed everything in its path in Myammar, including thousands of lives . An unexpected earthquake crumpled towns and villages in Sichuan, burying thousands and thousands people along with it. Horrific scenes flooded the news in recent weeks and there are a lot of people are suffering in countries around us.

Nearer to home, I heard several sad tales from my friend about her neighbours yesterday...

• Neighbour 1 could not afford proper food except white bread. She had told my friend's mum that she was sick of the plain white bread, thus bought a packet of salt so that she could flavour the bread with it. That neighbour was in such a pathetic mode that she would soon could not afford to buy bread even.
• Neighbour 2 was even poorer. He couldn't even afford bread and have to resort to taking fruits meants for prayers to eat.
• Neighbour 3 had stroke and had mobility problem. He would beg people who pass-by his flat for some packets of coffee powders and food.

I was quite sad when I heard those tales. Actually those 3 people are the typical poor old folks in Singapore and I am sure there are bound to be a lot more of such tales in other parts of Singapore too. Some live by from the monthly state welfare monies. Some of the lucky ones have children who does give them monthly allowences. However, their children didn't earn much as they were not educated, thus could not give them more allowences. The plight was made worse by the recent inflation of food prices... Pathetic isn't it?

Compared to the people above, we are very lucky. I feel that sometimes our "suffereing" seems petty and a lot of times self-inflicted. Like people above couldn't even afford proper food every day and yet there were some others who complaint about the wrong things on raising food costs, like how they could not afford branded bread, Haagen Das Ice Cream, Imported Biscults etc anymore. Those people have forgotten that those are wants and not needs.

We are lucky that we have a flat to live in at the very least, we still have a job and can buy whatever we want on a whim (I still fall short of that.), we still can afford to chose where to eat lunch, and for some, they troubled over whether it is more worth it to buy a Gucci or LV bag...

Before we complaint about life, stop and count our blessings, my friends. We already have a lot than most people...