As we age, we forget many things. However, some things we never forget; when we remember them, we get emotional. You might even smile or start crying.
We used to say in Bangladesh, if you are born with a golden spoon in your mouth, you are different or even less emotional. You do not feel for the poor.
However, Lord Buddha was an exception. He was a prince, who left the palace at 29 to live for a while begging for alms in the street. He became a completely transformed human being through deep meditation. “Contentment is the greatest wealth,” he once said.
Lord Jesus also said, “Be content with whatever you have.” In fact, the poor around the world are often content with a minimum means to live on.
Living and growing up in a poor country, I have seen first-hand the contentment of poor people. In the village, we used to hire handyman with a contract of two full meals in addition to some daily allowance. The meal plan was a top priority for the handyman. I can still see his face as he was eating. Not a single grain of rice was left on his plate.
When I used to ride a rickshaw in Bangladesh, sometimes, I paid five to 10 times their expectation just to see their contented face. “May God bless you, Sir,” they would say with a smile. I can imagine, the rickshaw puller told his wife, “I had the kindest man as a passenger today; he made my day.”
During the Christmas season, we see generous giving in different ways. Remember a few years ago, the unidentified man who gave a $100-dollar bill to needy families on Christmas eve?
Most of the poor people around the world become very content if they get two complete meals daily. They don’t think of TV at home or having a bicycle to go a distant place. They are the people, who based on their faith go to church, temple or mosque. They are the people who remind us there is God.
In 80s while I was a graduate student in a Canadian University, a couple of friends and I drove out in the country farmer’s house to get goat meat. We were offered fruit juice and cookies. I saw a picture-calendar hanging, and to my surprise, they were all Bangladeshi pictures. How come this calendar was there?
This is the first Mennonite family I met in North America. They donated money to a poor family in Bangladesh, and that’s how they received the calendar. The two teenage girls of the family did not go to school. They studied at home. There was no TV in the house. They didn’t have a car. This was their religious culture, but I found them very content, indeed.
Later on, I watched a Harrison Ford’s thriller movie, “Witness.” I was fascinated seeing the culture of Amish community in the U.S. It seemed to me the whole community was content.
Contentment in life is the best medicine for good health. I can’t afford to travel first class in the plane, but I will reach my destination, too.
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