Each Day is a Miracle
The Hindu religious leader, Mohandas K. Gandhi said, "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." This is an important quotation because it has a great meaning in it. This quote suggests to act upon what we say because this is the only way to be truly free.
The experience that comes to my mind when I think about this quote is when I used to always complain to my mother how small our house was or how few clothes I had. I never thought about the struggles my parents faced, I was selfish and I was only concerned of my well-being without considering the sacrifices they were making to make my life comfortable. I had an unforgettable experience when I was very little with my family where we lost almost everything in the fire.
My mom used to own a water refilling station and a laundry shop and that was where we used to eat, sleep, and take showers. One afternoon, there was a fire in the salon next to where we lived. The firefighters came to the rescue. They told everyone in the salon to get out because they needed to put the fire out. For everybody's safety, they also wanted the people in our shops go outside because the walls were closed to the salon. The employees got their bags and ran outside. My Mom grabbed our hands and led us outside. We just ran outside leaving everything in the house. When they had put out the fire, our belongings were still there intact but they were all wet. The electrical circuits especially in the ceilings were all drenched in water and would take more than a month to dry completely before we can use them to run our machines safely. My mom needed to close down her business and we had to find a new place to live.
I felt affected watching everything for this to happen to our family. I felt worried about so many things. I was worried about my mom's feelings because she had put a lot of time but everything just ended up getting destroyed. I was thinking if we could still continue going to school or stop for a while to meet our family's more urgent needs.
I began to understand what Gandhi meant. This experience made my thoughts and words into one. I learned that I should not just think about myself because there are other people who are having a harder time than I do. I also learned to be grateful for all the blessings I have in my life and that I should live it with a positive attitude.
I feel sorry for knowing the hardship you underwent. It's really traumatic to experience incidents like yours... because I've seen my friend who lost his house due to fire.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the idea that happiness is a subjective value and can differ greatly.... and I also empathize with the type of happiness you believe in; don't be selfish and be considerate to others. Without proper consideration, it wold be nearly impossible to look after other people and so won't other people look after you.
I am impressed with your frank attitude cause it's really hard to tell your family's hardships publicly. Thanks for you hard work and sharing :)
Kim Keunho/summer session/
Hi, Hana Lee!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience. You must have become very strong after such a tragic event in your life.
Example that you gave is impressive, however, I don't really see relation with Ghandi's words. I think you should explain it more in the 2nd paragraph. Also, you probably should use another descriptive adjective instead of "an unforgettable experience", as you refer to something bad.
Good luck!