Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Someone strong yet gentle

Meeting one of my seamtresses has always been a thing that sent me to another level of thoughts.
N, a single mother with 5 kids to fend for. Her husband died of sickness a year ago, with no pension and little EPF. 2 of her kids have haemophilia. All are schooling, with one college goer, but luckily is under government subsidy.
(Forget about the racial status here, coz what she get from the government is definitely not enough to feed 5 kids. Forget about your questions about "Why having so many children when you cant feed them?" coz you cant really judge others base on your own perception. Just stay focus on her will of living.)
Despite all these, ever since i first met her till now, she has never showed any grouses on her situation, nor did she seek for sympathy from anyone.
She once told me that, "People dont have to give me money, better to give me skills, coz with skills i can take care of myself."
And indeed, she is constantly seeking for opportunity to increase her income, no matter how small the project is. Imagine working as a cleaning lady and at the same time taking up sewing projects. She says, "I tak pilih-pilih la. Apa saje saya buat."
(Can you do that? Not calculating on whether how much is the return. Coz that is out of the choice. )
And surprisingly, one lead to another. Most of the small projects are now leading to bigger projects.
But of course, big project here doesnt mean drawing few millions, or few thousands, or few hundreds. They are only "a little" more than the usuall stuffs. But do you think she mind that all? Most people will be thinking, "why should i do small small things? No return, or less return." Well, i think if that comes to your mind, that's because you still have some other choices (such as having the luxury of staying at home, doing nothing and can still put food to the table). We are talking about a woman with no other choices left, except for her own physical body and strong will.

When asked how was her sale in one of the exhibition, with her usuall smile she said "Kadang2 ade yang naik, ade yang turun. Biasala, kalau turun, mungkin saya ade buat kesilapan." And i knew the sales was not of those drawing alot due to the crowd.
Do you think of this way? She didnt even pull down her face and said "tak banyak la.like that la.no good lo." Most people i met do this all the time, and so even before they realy venture into anything, i would think, they are not going to make it.

But N is different. She has got the long sights on her future and ever willing to learn, to stand up by herself, to be always positive and most importantly never give up. Yet if you ever see her smile, you know she qualifies for an advertisement on "GENTLENESS".

By the way, once when her daughter was sick, she could even stay confidently that her daughter is getting better and i really believe this was the factor that make the little one healed faster. Can you stay that calm and empower your kids to get better when they are sick?

I see her as a giant. And I see her as a successfull woman already.

May N be blessed with the greatest joy and the utmost success!

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