No I am not dedicating a post to this amazing song by Metallica... but actually to share something that happened in my office 2 days ago, which made me realize that what was worrying about the last week or more just isn't worth it...
An old Yemeni man stepped into my office, he looked tired and his clothes were dirty and torn... At first I thought he was going to ask for charity, especially when he handed me a piece of paper which I thought was going to contain some medical condition or plead... He gently asked me if I can dial the number that was written on this small piece of paper... I asked him to have a seat and dialed the number and entered the extension... once, twice, three times, no one was picking up... I told him we will give it one more try, and then the other party picked up the phone and I handed it back to the old man...
I turned away to my PC screen and left him to take his time talking... But my ear couldn't help but hear what he was saying as he was just a few steps away... It seems he called a secretary for a prince or maybe a high society VIP man... he was asking him for the rest of the money which the VIP had promised to help him with... It appears this man's daughter was in the hospital and suffering from kidney failure... she had an operation which cost around US$ 8000 and still needs another operation which will cost US$ 5000.... and to make matters worst, it seems this man and his family will be evicted soon from their home because he is late in paying his rent...
The man was close to tears as he was telling all this to the man on the other side of the phone line... I myself felt myself close to tears as I imagined myself in his shoes... You flesh and blood lying in the hospital in need of care, you are about to be sleeping in the streets cause you don't have rent money... At this point I felt all my problems and all my worries are just a grain of sand compared to what this guy is going through...
I felt I don't care about my problems at work (at least I have work, and it pays well) , I felt I don't care if some people misjudge me or don't accept me (at least I have a family and friends to care for me in time of troubles), I felt it doesn't matter if I don't have enough money to buy something I want or go out (at least I have a roof over my head and a warm bed to lay in), I felt I don't care if the medication I was taking for the past 6 months didn't give the proper results and I may not have children of my own (at least I am in perfect health and can enjoy life) ...
We always seem to get wrapped up in our own world, and forget to actually look at what we have, and just focus on what we don't have... If we just take a moment to remember those who are less fortunate, I think everyone will not feel depressed or down... We have a saying in Arabic, which roughly translates to: "He who sees the problems of others will feel that his problem is bearable"... That is so true...
An old Yemeni man stepped into my office, he looked tired and his clothes were dirty and torn... At first I thought he was going to ask for charity, especially when he handed me a piece of paper which I thought was going to contain some medical condition or plead... He gently asked me if I can dial the number that was written on this small piece of paper... I asked him to have a seat and dialed the number and entered the extension... once, twice, three times, no one was picking up... I told him we will give it one more try, and then the other party picked up the phone and I handed it back to the old man...
I turned away to my PC screen and left him to take his time talking... But my ear couldn't help but hear what he was saying as he was just a few steps away... It seems he called a secretary for a prince or maybe a high society VIP man... he was asking him for the rest of the money which the VIP had promised to help him with... It appears this man's daughter was in the hospital and suffering from kidney failure... she had an operation which cost around US$ 8000 and still needs another operation which will cost US$ 5000.... and to make matters worst, it seems this man and his family will be evicted soon from their home because he is late in paying his rent...
The man was close to tears as he was telling all this to the man on the other side of the phone line... I myself felt myself close to tears as I imagined myself in his shoes... You flesh and blood lying in the hospital in need of care, you are about to be sleeping in the streets cause you don't have rent money... At this point I felt all my problems and all my worries are just a grain of sand compared to what this guy is going through...
I felt I don't care about my problems at work (at least I have work, and it pays well) , I felt I don't care if some people misjudge me or don't accept me (at least I have a family and friends to care for me in time of troubles), I felt it doesn't matter if I don't have enough money to buy something I want or go out (at least I have a roof over my head and a warm bed to lay in), I felt I don't care if the medication I was taking for the past 6 months didn't give the proper results and I may not have children of my own (at least I am in perfect health and can enjoy life) ...
We always seem to get wrapped up in our own world, and forget to actually look at what we have, and just focus on what we don't have... If we just take a moment to remember those who are less fortunate, I think everyone will not feel depressed or down... We have a saying in Arabic, which roughly translates to: "He who sees the problems of others will feel that his problem is bearable"... That is so true...
7 comments:
oh my god you reminded me of this song,i love it!actually your rite..when my brother passed away i felt so stupid for being mad over a break up or a dress i wanted and such stupid trivial stuff..i mean there's so much more to life that we dont actually see because we r too self-centered!!
I am sorry about your brother...
very VERY moving post.. We all drift away in earthly matters, and if we just open our eyes a bit wider we will see that we are very ungreatful!!
I think it would do me some good to compile a list of all the things that I'm blessed with.. If I look at it everyday in the morning I would be much more appreciative throughout the day!
Thx viva for the eye-opener!
thank u G, I am glad my post was an inspiration for people :-)
So there something else you have in common with my husband! He also likes Metallica...
And about the old man... what happened then, he just left? Didn't ask for anything??
btw, I really liked this post...
yes he just left and thanked me for my help... Glad u enjoyed it Nuri, its really written to inspire and I am glad it did :-)
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