Where are 'U'?

I smiled at an uncle on Sun.

My hubby and I decided to have breakfast at the market instead of buying back. The market was more crowded. Managed to find 2 seats in front of a stall selling fish noodles. I took the seat whilst my hubby went to queue for food.

Amongst the hustle & bustle, I went into a daze. Then, as I watched the hawker busy preparing the fish ball noodle, I wonder if he's tired doing it the whole day...for a year...all his life. He has to work for a living, or is he living to work? I don't feel good seeing people having to slog to make a living & used to wonder why life can be so unfair to these people.

But as I watched the hawker busy with the preparation, I began to wonder if he's happy doing it afterall. I often sympathize with the old folks having to pick cardboards, drink cans etc to make a living. Yet I also admire their resilience & perserverance. On the bright side, they could well be the rich Ah Gongs or Ah Mahs doing this as a leisure.

Read an article in ST saying that our happiness is like a 'U'. We start off our working life happy, then as we go on, we start to feel unhappy & discontented & eventually reach the bottom (equivalent to mid-life crisis I suppose). Then we pick up & eventually start to feel happier. Now, that's something to be happy about & look forward to.

So perhaps the hawker is happy being busy. It means good business for him. Perhaps the old folks are happy to be able to walk around collecting cardboards & tin cans & make their own living, not having to depend on others. They all have their goals & that makes life meaningful. While I'm still searching for my goal, I've the little 'fulfillable' goals such as making someone's day.

As I finished my plate of chee cheong fan & was about to leave the table, I saw an elderly man in a wheelchair. My reaction would usually be feeling a sense of symphathy & avoiding eye contact to avoid ackwardness. But this time, I smiled at him. It's a little gesture & I hope I've made his day. Of course he was surprised.

I believe that everyone is here for a reason -be it the villains or the philanthropists. The baddies make you stronger, the goodies make you appreciate what you have. Sometimes, I am the baddie, especially to smokers, litterbugs & the rude & inconsiderate human species. haha ;D