year four
It was in 2005 when I posted in this blog about a visitation to an old lady's house. She was then eighty something, husband wheelchair-bound, living only with him. That was a terrace house, a little bit dilapidated on the outside, but turns out to be ok on the inside. She was collecting cans, masses of them, for a living. Each trash bag of empty cans sells for $10, and that's all she did to pay for her husband's medical bills.
Fours years later I passed by the same house, realizing that I visited that place before, I took steps back to take a look. I saw that same old lady's silhouette, as she was crossing the road, background are car lights. "Hey ma'am, ma'am -runs to her-" she is now at her gate "I visited you 4 years ago, do you remember me?" Of course I don't think she did.
Anyway, after that visitation, I continue walking the private estate, and this house stopped me in its tracks. It was of modern design, beautiful, not the most expensive, but still, potent. They are semi-Ds. One has an E-class, another is a Lexus. Ambient lights, fountains, incandescent lights, aircon, stone walls, marble floors.
So it occured to me: In life we may happen to run too fast to forget and not catch many things happening around us. We are too engrossed with our dreams, targets, aims and goals that we don't stop to look at people in need of a helping hand. It could have been our greatest aims to earn our first million, but there are people dropping by along the way whose babies can't make their first year, people who never know if they can see the sun rise again.
So slow down, slow down down down.
Labels: charity
