This morning I read an article … the story of a person whom
I had the fortunate opportunity to meet and became friends back in 2015 at his
uniquely quaint picturesque resort called Lost Paradise in Penang … Dr Chew Yu Gee.
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| The Shieks, Dr Chew and Gem Chew |
This good doctor is a remarkable person … a guy who can roll
up his sleeves, grab a wok, start a fire and fry rice for you at his resort. More
significantly, he is also a down to earth, very kind soul who have helped many people.
A man true to the saying … “makes a living from what he gets and makes a life
from what he GIVES”.
I give my highest respect to this good doctor and his
beautiful wife, Melody.
You can read more about this great doctor at the link below
:-
Now … this brings me to what I am going talk about in this
writing … giving.
I have seen many people … some I know very well, who have
made it in life. They are quick to tell you how they make their living, how
they accumulate and what they get but very few and very rare I hear these people
tell me how much they give.
Let me borrow the words of the good Dr Chew … he said … “Kill
the ghost within. The ghost that constantly wants to attain more and more
material wealth. It’s not wrong to work towards wealth but it should not be the
sole motivation and everyone should delve deep into their hearts from time to
time to realise the love within, which can only accumulate when you give”.
The Chinese New Year is just around the corner … while many
of us are looking forward to welcome the festive holidays and most are
preparing to “balik kampung” … I would like to draw your attention to a bunch
of unfortunate people … those in the old folk’s homes, charity and welfare centres
and orphanages.
For the last several years … every year around this time of
the year, I will try to make time for some of the old folks at the homes that I
visit every now and then. I have heard their stories and I felt their sadness …
especially at this time of the year.
In these homes and centres … there are many of those who are
not able to “go home” during CNY. Some have no one to come take them, some have
nowhere to go to and a few can’t even remember what is really like to be at their
own home. And while the fortunate ones are surrounded by their loved ones in a
merry celebrative atmosphere … these unfortunate folks silently yearn for the
same, year by year.
Maybe we can spare a bit of our time to visit these folks … though
we cannot offer them the real essence of a family reunion but at the very
least, we can offer them some sort of attention, some feeling of being cared,
some words of comfort and last but not least someone to hold their hands, even
for just a while.
Of course, there are those who give generously … angpaos, festive
food and beverages and other living necessities … yes, good and thank you very
much. But really, it is not so much of the edibles and the useable items … more
importantly it is the presence, it is the time, it is the attention, it is the
touch, it is the words … that is a lot more meaningful than anything else.
So, in the spirit of CNY and in the spirit of giving … let’s
give … a bit of our time.
