One wish

Today was yet another good day in history. I doubt I'd forget it, despite my visits to the home becoming kind of normal for me already.

Salt visits SCHA (Singapore christian home for the aged) for cip annually. To our new sec ones, they seemed somewhat bewildered about being there, judging from all their cute and helpless "what do I do" faces. To seniors like me, this is probably our last year visiting the home during the festive period, but definitely not my last time. That's why I made today count.

Every time I go for cip, I tell myself to do a little soul searching and self-reflection. Or maybe in today's case, think about the issues concerning my love ones. There's always so many valuable lessons I pick up from voluntary work, be it 1 or 2 hours of help. Quantity vs quality - which matters more, a hundred cip hours for a puny discount in a college entrance OR what you do or say?

When I visit the home, I always keep the latter in mind. The visit was short, but the difference was made. Through seeing the good old folks smile during our entire visit, I instantly knew that they felt God's love through us. A smile was good enough to show me that, even though some of them were so sick or bedridden that they couldn't even move a finger. Although heartbreaking, it was comforting just being able to be there for them.

I prayed for two ah mas who could respond rather well to me, where I had to put my mandarin and hokkien skills to good use hehehe. Although I prayed in mandarin (which, of course, I'm not used to), I could tell that the two ah mas were touched by that little gesture of mine.

I then started chatting with one of the two ah mas in *gasp* hokkien with Shev and Adeline by my side. Our conversation went from lighthearted to sincere and solemn the moment I found out she couldn't see. She was blind and I couldn't tell. I probably wouldn't have ever noticed if the staff didn't tell me. She had such a positive energy within herself that it was almost impossible to tell that she had a disability.

I'll never forget what she told me in hokkien, "I can't see anything, everything is just all black. I want to ask Jesus to let me see again, but I don't know how." The earnest words that left her lips and the yearning look she had in her teary eyes just broke my heart.

I told her there and then that I would help her ask Jesus to fulfill this one wish of hers. And I will, definitely. Tonight, before I go to bed, I'm going to say a prayer.

Wealth - is it worth everything?

I believe this is a burning topic that most Singaporeans, except those filthy rich mansion hoggers, can relate to relatively well. Whether we're talking about Singaporeans from the 1900 period or the "more pampered" Singaporeans feeding shamelessly on the glittery Ion Orchard today, I think the issue of wealth is one thing they have in common. Actually, to the workforce of the world in general, wealth gives. Wealth is considered important and essential. Wealth is the soil fertiliser for any family. In Singapore, wealth (specifically more wealth) gets babies their Enfagrow niu nai, mommy her G2000 office blazer, daddy his Nike track shoes and ah boy and ah girl their Yang Tze Kiang school uniforms.

Now my question really is, is it worth everything?

What tempted to me write this up was my papa actually. We were having our lunch one day and somehow we got into property agent courses and the money behind it. There was also another thing, but that's too sensitive. The thing is, conversations, especially those about the economy, politics and life always get me thinking. I think so much to the extent where I get the fiery urge to start something. (Debate? Discussion? Whatever.) I think that's a characteristic of mine, but anyway, that's not the point.

My point is, why do Singaporeans treat money like a decision maker? Does money determine whether you're naughty or nice? Does money determine how often you're gonna donate to the poor flag day people? Does money determine whether the volcano inside you is dormant or active? Does money determine whether you're gonna be working late or accompanying your wife at home?

Does money determine who you are?

I know that being any old secondary student (Sec 4, omg) makes my main priority getting that A1 on paper. I haven't started working and participating in those rowdy and unnecessary office politics, so why should I care about what money makes people, right? Well, I have working parents. And well, this is a blog. Be thankful I don't tear blogger apart with vulgarities.

People might tell me I don't know the value of money and how important it is. Okay, then where did "priceless" come from? Every English word in the dictionary exists because each one has a meaning. You know what else has meaning? There's many things that don't have price tags attached to them, things like love, memories and quality time. I always believe that the most meaningful things are the ones that are priceless. Trust me when I say this, because if you look at things this way, true value becomes obvious.

In my humble opinion, it really irritates me when people cannot draw a clear line between money and the priceless things. Please do. Or this exploding girl behind the computer screen will smash her keyboard. Make an effort to make it back for dinner with the family when your office clock turns six, because the more you stay back in your office, the more you earn. The more you earn, the more your money fills the government's pockets. (Ah, kidding kidding.)

It's not that hard. All it takes is balance. (And a diary ^^)