Most people go through life lamenting their plight rather than appreciating their experience. So with that mindset, their whole life becomes one long suffering rather than one blissful existence on Earth. If you don’t get your mindset right, it is very difficult to break out of a hellish existence. Here are a few experiences I have to share with you that can hopefully transform a suffering mindset into a blissful one.
One thing I remember being a spirit in my past life… was that my family was poor. We lived in a rural village in Singapore in the old days. We ran out of money for food. So what my uncle did, was borrow rice from the neighbour, and he would fry the white rice with oil and salt. And that’s what we enjoyed.
Even with little, we still managed to cherish and savour good rice. So when you get to eat your delicious mixed vegetables rice meal, remember that people had nothing to eat in the past. So you should appreciate every grain and vegetable on your plate. Cherish your good food.
Secondly, thank people when they do things for you. The chef at the food court had to train for many years to get art of cooking right. The mechanic at your car workshop has to wrench hard to unscrew the bolts of your tyres. The toilet cleaner bears the stench of all kinds of human faeces to give you a sparkling clean toilet. So thank them for their effort. Their grace is what gives you such a comfortable life.
Thirdly, you should always clean up after yourself. After your family dinner, wash the plates for your mum. After your meal at the food court, pick up all the leftover bones you spat onto the table and wipe it clean with a wet tissue. If you soil the toilet bowl, flush it clean. Use the bidet spray to jet-wash away any shit stuck to the toilet bowl. In other words, be conscientiously clean and hygienic; tidy and meticulous. Always make your bed in the morning when you wake up. Your mother takes a look at your room all the time. She knows whether you are making your room into a dumpster or a residence. Is that a raccoon or a person living in there?
Fourthly, I recently contracted COVID-19 Omicron. Thank God I had the money to buy medicine. The sickness is so frustrating – the headache and body pain, in addition to the sinus congestion and sore throat. Many people don’t have money to buy medicine. They try to tough out the disease thinking it’s just flu. COVID-19 has killed millions of people. COVID-19 is not influenza virus (flu); it is coronavirus (SARS – Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). It is very possible to die if you don’t have the money for medicine. Appreciate that many medicines are subsidised and have been made affordable – you just need that small sum of money for good medicine that can cure your illness.
Fifthly, regarding treasuring literacy and knowledge… you should read your books with cherishing and appreciation for the written word. Teenagers throw away their books after graduation, thinking they are finally rid of their study frustrations. They don’t know that the working world will call upon their school knowledge when it comes to handling real work. You need to refer to those tertiary education books! Don’t throw them away thinking you’ve finally graduated – now you are going to strip off all your diving equipment (dump your books) and jump naked into the sea (working world)!
Every book is a person’s lifetime of knowledge. Read and treasure every word. Think of yourself as a poor child living in the Andes mountains who only owns two books. You have no reading lamp and no armchair. You read on a bright morning sitting under the shade of a tree. You read carefully and cherish every word of your two books. Reading each chapter multiple times, trying to memorise the ideas and concepts you learn. When you have finished reading the two books, you use your saved up pocket money to buy a new book.
Nowadays, people flash read and fast-flip through people’s books like it’s trash. Trying to see if there is any useful knowledge in this word trash. But that is basically not appreciating the author’s hard work. Each book can take years to write, you know? People flip it like they are raking through garbage. Actually, the key to reading is to respect the author’s teachings – their hard work; their precision and labouring over every single word choice and concept taught.
Finally, appreciate both the hard times and the beautiful moments of life. You can go from hard times to great success and so you should treasure the progress – your experience of succeeding. The pain of trying to survive all the way to the joy of succeeding – you are to know the whole gamut of life’s experience.
God wants to give you a great experience of being alive on this fantastic journey through life. Even in your suffering or elation, know that God is with you; your spiritual family is guiding you… and if you do good, your karma (fate) will drive you to success.
Shalom,
Angel Reader Halabuth
