I moaned and groaned about being jobless in this blog, but the truth is, I am being melodramatic. I recalled when I graduated and started my first job so many years ago. By the end of my studies, I was in debt for tens of thousands, having taken a student loan to pay for the school fees. During the first month of my working life, I was completely broke and had to ask my dad for cash to tide over, until I got my first pay check.
During the initial years of my working life, I was constantly low on savings, channelling every single dollar to paying the debt, rent, and living expenses. My entire life’s possessions could be cramped into a small van. I know that for a fact, because I changed address every few years.
In the back of my mind, I knew the recent downturn is transitory. The fact is, I am still much better off today than I was back then. Eventually, I would pick up the pieces and rebuild again. But it takes time to really appreciate this fact, and shrugged of the gloom and doom.
An incident a few weeks ago vividly demonstrated the fallacy of the misfortunes I went through last year.
I was sitting in the neighbourhood food court. While waiting for my order, I observed two girls in front of a food stall. They appeared to be part of the food court cleaning crew on their meal break. As they stood there, they were happily discussing what to order, all smiles and laughter in each other company. While I couldn’t understand the language they were speaking, it was clear from their actions and mannerism that they were having a hard time choosing the cheapest food items. Yet beside all that, the two girls appeared to be the two happiest people in the world.
This is not about feeling good because there are others in this world who are worst off. This is about gaining a true perspective on life, and what is most important.
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