Gratitude

Gratitude Have you ever reflected how much gratitude we owe to people in our lives? Every product that we used is the fruit of much perspiration and labour by many others. From this gratitude that we owe, we should have the attitude of humility and kindness towards all, as anyone around us may be the one who has benefitted us greatly in the past, are benefitting us now and may bring great benefit to us in the future. I was once on a bus without any money on me. This was a time when ezlink cards have not been introduced in Singapore. I was a student and I was very troubled and embarrassed at not being able to pay the fare. I was contemplating getting down the next stop and walking back home to get money. Without saying a word, a Bangladeshi worker who was close by put in the fare for me. To this day, nearly more than a decade later, I hold in my mind great respect and gratitude for this man. In Singapore, many people look down or have negative views of these foreign workers who help us to build our homes, offices and schools and take up the jobs that the proud Singaporeans decline to do. But I do not have the same view and I think we have a lot to learn from these people who earn their money with their blood and perspiration, scrimping and saving for their families back home. Where do you think our forefathers started from? They were the same and they built a great and safe nation which we are comfortably living in now. I remember as well participating in flag-raising days. Once, I walked to many places in the East where I stayed, asking for donations from the public for Children's Charity. Most people gave very little or nothing at all. I chanced by a narrow alley where there was a man who could have been a construction worker or painter who was very dirty. I did not however ignore him or treat him with indifference. I also asked him for a donation in the same way. But I was very surprised when he put ten dollars in the can. Even today, ten dollars is a lot to give for flag-raising. So much more valuable is the charity of someone who does not have much yet gives all he can to those who are in need. I am also very thankful to three taxi drivers who helped me in different times. When I was in JC, there was one night where I had stayed late at school and was hoping to catch the last bus back home. It was quite dark and I was alone at the bus stop. A taxi pulled to a stop where I was standing and I told the driver I did not intend to take a taxi, I did not have the cash. He however was genuinely worried for my safety and insisted that I took the cab. He then offered to drive me home for free. It really impressed me how very kind this man was. He really safely delivered me back home without accepting a single cent. In recent years, there was another driver who took the time to drive back and give me back my staff pass when my staff pass was accidentally left in his taxi. He could have just brought the item to the call centre and I would have had to go there to collect it. Even more recently, I got a bicycle as a free gift from a friend and took a cab to bring it back home. It was rather heavy and I got into a conversation with the driver about how inconvenient it was that my block did not have a lift. Without me asking him for help, he volunteered to carry this heavy bicycle all the way up four storeys. I would not have been able to manage by myself. Kindness does not differ due to nationality or locality. I was backpacking in France and asked a man which train I should be taking to Versailles. He told me that it should be a particular line. My friend who was with me however said that we should be taking another line and we boarded the train. This man went out of the way, very anxiously, to get on board and tell the conductor to let us get off as we were on the wrong train. We finally got to Versailles. We would have been in great panic if we really did get on the wrong train and end up far from our intended destination. When I was at Mattelhorn in Switzerland, I got lost and was anxiously looking for the train station to board the last train back. I was lucky to encounter an old Japanese couple who were so kind to walk me to the train station. I must admit my Japanese lessons were of great use though, or they would not have been able to understand me. For that, I am grateful to my Japanese teachers at NUS. There was just once that I got so sick from drinking alcohol that I vomitted and passed out at Chijmes, where there were many pubs and restaurants. When I was kneeling on the floor, a kind old Japanese man came out and showered me with concern. He got me a chair and a hot towel and a drink of hot water. He need not have bothered, it should have been a common sight for him and it was my own fault that I took so much alcohol. For the record, I have taken a vow not to drink alcohol anymore. I can recount even more great acts of kindness I have experienced and witnessed both at home and overseas. Such great kindness is a source of inspiration and brings hope in the troubled world of today.