patience vs greed
November 5, 2011I’m having one of those moments when I’m having butterflies in my stomach for no reason. It’s not that anything exciting happened, or any good news were received.
It’s just one of those few minutes when you just feel a jolt of happiness.
It’s weird. I am smiling to the computer screen as I write this and risking having someone come in to the room and dubbing me crazy.
Seriously, I’m just thinking about how blessed my life is. How easy God has set life up till now for me. Who knows what the future holds and what tough challenges await me, but that I can worry about later. For now, I just need to do some reflection (muhasabah diri, as my mom calls it) and just really need to feel the ground. God has given me so much, especially in this past year with so many opportunities and I need to reflect and see what have I given to Him in return.
I went to Soup Kitchen (a voluntary organisation to give food to the homeless) for the first time last week and it really opened my eyes to the other world. One of poverty and without shelter. Imagine having to sit hungry in front of Nandos/KFC/McDonalds, and having people rub their tummy and lick their lips in front of you. All the while knowing you can never step in there because you can’t afford food. It must be such a horrible feeling.
The volunteers were lined up and everyone had a task. I was in charge of handing out dessert (one cekodok to each person) and as I handed it to the people, I was so so humbled by it all. If there weren’t people around, I would have probably cried. Some were carrying children, some had dark and wornout nails, some had tired looks in their eyes, some wanted an extra cekodok, some didn’t want any. There were all sorts of people but one thing they had in common; they were hungry and didn’t have enough money.
Then I started thinking about people who have too much money. 20 million, 100 million, 2 billion, what do they do with so much money?? How much can they eat? How many Birkins do they want in life? Someone told me that the challenge for the poor is patience (kesabaran) and the challenge for the rich is to avoid greed (tamak). It’s so true! When you get money, you’re happy, and you want more. And more. And more. There’s never going to be enough.
I’m all for being entrepreneurial and productive and God knows how much I want to be successful and make something out of myself. I want to live comfortably and I want to be able to reward myself and my family with whatever they please. Why else do I work 7 days a week? But people always say money changes people. So I really hope when I get there one day, I will keep myself in check, not let greed have the better of me and never forget the people who need, Insyaallah.
Seriously, whenever we think our problems are so big and we complain about it all the time, just remember that there are people dying everyday. The world doesn’t revolve around just me or you.
wow pd this is a really really nice post :’) i’m speechless.kudos to you!:)
p/s:am i the only one who still call you pd?:D
Deep
everyone should remember to keep their feet firmly on the ground. thanks for reminding us, Vivy π
If we only start to think about people who have too much money, we forget to some other people, we too have too much money. Hmm.
everytime i read your blog, i never failed to be impressed by how wise you are and how conscious and aware you are π it makes your blog a delight to read and i’m sure those who know you in real life are very lucky too! π
I’m already thinking even when haven’t finished reading yet..true true
we can start today. we don’t have to wait till when we are rich, coz when we are rich, we tend to forget these people. so vivy, is time to stop buying all the chanel bags ah????
I love reading these posts of yours. You are truly one of the better Malaysian bloggers who do not flaunt their riches or their beauty yet are still able to remain true to yourself in spite of everything.
I love your blog, please never stop writing π
true vivy, i selalu bila ade problem malu nk komplen sana sini sbb susah mcm mana i still have money to get fav satay at pasar malam while masa tu jugak i can see people tadah tangan smbil pegang anak.
apa2 pon syukur alhamdulillah to whatever rezeki yg kite dpt everyday.
This is why when we make du’as for rezeki, we should ask Allah to grant us rezeki that is coupled with contentment, rezeki that will make Him pleased with us. (Heard that in a tazkirah somewhere) This is because being human, material wealth poses a lot of challenges and tests to us.
May we all be guided rightly, Amin.
Thanx for the post. Love it! Alhamdulillah for all the things we have in this world. You know what? you should visit the rumah perlindungan and pemulihan akhlaq for muslim girls/women next. email me if u want to visit ya? it will be another humbling experience. trust me!
*hug* semoga kita semua menjadi hamba yang bersyukur..^^
kadang-kadang bila kita senang kita mesti lupa org yg ssh thanks for the remainder vivy.:)
that was very nice of you to help out. but was it just a place to feed people or homeless shelter ??
i’m a new blogger…please check out my blog . TQ
http://ntasneem.blogspot.com/
yeah vivy you keep posting things like these but u tu sama je lah. U spend so much on shoes, designer handbags, ‘designer’ clothes and the ONE time you go for things like Soup Kitchen, konon lah hang nak insaf kejap. Oh puhleeeeeeeeze.. such a hyprocritical post. NEXT!
Yes. One LV/Gucci bag can save many lives. This month is the month of World Food Program by UN. There are many children out there who’s in hunger and all it takes is RM3 to feed each children. Be grateful for what we have and always remember to give back to the society. Lets us fight against hunger.
Well, Mel, you can’t blame her for having a rich family and she herself is rich also, so that’s why she CAN afford all the designer handbags/shoes/dress (who else to promote her own business if not for herself?) ..at least dia ada kesedaran jugak lah nak pergi Soup Kitchen..maybe you can ask yourself Mel, have you ever done the same thing?
Being hypocrite or not, only Vivy knows…give her some credit..
I am interested to volunteer for Soup Kitchen too.Please let me know which organization you helped.Is it Kechara? If possible, maybe you could email me the contact details to be a part of it. Thank you!! π
hai dear vivy,
though I dont know you but reading your blog is my hobby now. u have written few entries that reflects how grateful you r to god giving you such a blessed life. truly dear, i am happy for you. some times it crossed my mind that i wish to be u. but that was just immature thoughts. but there’s something i wish to share with you. considering that u r a soft, funny, kind-hearted & grateful person i just thought that maybe you should consider bringing your business into full muslim style. it is like ‘syubhah – subahat’ when u r building up a business that provide improper clothing. if the business runs towards ‘jalan Allah’ insyaAllah it will be even more blessed. this is just me (nobody) sharing my humble thought. Im sorry.