This was in my old blog, and I decided to re-post it up on here.
Not too long ago, when I was back in Malaysia for my summer break, I went on a family vacation to Redang Island, Terengganu. I have always enjoyed travelling because I enjoy exploring new places and learning new things. But I guess in the end, the best part about travelling is the humility it teaches.
Pak Uda borrowed a van from one of the villagers and drove us around the village...yes on that one humble road. I was so surprised when Pak Uda told us that that one road was the only main road on the island. The questions that came up to my mind were along these lines - "Is this all the island has got to offer? No shopping malls? Only small convenience stores? What do the people here do during their free time really? How can they survive?"
When I was in Redang Island, my family and I were always attended by this one particular bell person of the resort we stayed at. I don't know his real name, but everyone, including my family and I, called him Pak Uda. Based on my observation (read: flawed judgement), he was probably in his late 30s or early 40s. He was not tall, but not short either. He always wore his smile. He always looked....content. Sincerely content, if I may add. The kind of content that is contagious. I wish Pak Uda knew how much he had taught me about life within my five days stay in Redang Island.
You see, Redang Island is isolated away from the mainland. The villagers there have to go on an almost 2-hours ferry trip to get to the mainland (Terengganu). The village itself only has one road from the jetty, and the resort I stayed at is located at the end of this one road. I did not know Redang Island was this isolated and small, until Pak Uda offered to show us around the village.
Pak Uda borrowed a van from one of the villagers and drove us around the village...yes on that one humble road. I was so surprised when Pak Uda told us that that one road was the only main road on the island. The questions that came up to my mind were along these lines - "Is this all the island has got to offer? No shopping malls? Only small convenience stores? What do the people here do during their free time really? How can they survive?"
But then I realised something. Along the way when Pak Uda was driving us around, we passed by the villagers at the jetty and at the stalls, I realised how content they all looked. Some young folks were fishing by the jetty. Some of the villagers were hanging out outside of their houses with their neighbours, chatting with one another. The old folks were sipping coffee and laughing. The kids were running around happily. All of them looked genuinely...happy. They looked so content with what they had that it made me feel like they did not have any problems in their lives, at all. Then I looked at Pak Uda, and I realised how proud he was when he was showing us around his village. I can still remember him telling us happily while smiling, "Ha, macam ni lah kehidupan orang kampung kat sini hari hari, memang tak ada apa apa sangat". When Pak Uda said that, it just hit me. I don't think he had any idea how much he had taught me about life just by saying that, I wish he knew.
I have learned that these people are content with their lives, with what they have and what they do not have. There I was, foolishly thinking they had so little. I couldn't imagine how they could survive on the island. Little did I know that they have more, so much more than what I could measure with my eyes and my hasty, flawed judgement. It made me realise how much of a slave I am to the material world, forever wanting more, one after another, never enough, that it made me question myself, to what end? Ashamed of myself to be honest, for sometimes forgetting to be grateful and for being greedy.
I decided to write this down because I know there will come days where I may feel like things are not going right, especially when things are not going the way I want them to, and when those days come, I would like to read this post again and remind myself that I can still be content even when I don't get the things that I want. I want this post to be my personal reminder that it is when I have less that I get to appreciate more. I want this post to remind me that I can have all the things in the world and do not feel content with them because happiness is never in how much we have, it has always been in how we make the most out of what we have, no matter how little they are.
Till then.
Love,
Filzah R.
