When Everything Else is a Bonus

It's 'writhink' time again on a Saturday and I've chosen my Cyberjaya apartment as my place to roost and reflect for the afternoon. And what a stiflingly hot afternoon it is with temperature outside hitting 34 degrees Celcius. 

The heat and the languidly swaying leaves outside my window remind me of my childhood. We never complained about the heat. We played under the scorching sun all the time, and never did we have the cool-comforting refuge of air-conditioning, even at home. We were never annoyed by the heat; the weather was what it was, and we accepted it.

We humans get used to comfort easily. This is something which I'm constantly vary of. I do not like to be handicapped by too much comfort. I try not to demand a perfect environment before I could start working on anything. Give me a place to perch with a laptop and I will churn out work.

I carry the same philosophy when it comes to food. I know Malaysians make a big fuss about food; I try to do the opposite. I enjoy good food, but I don't get carried away with it. I express gratitude whenever I get to taste good food, but any food is fine too, as long as they are edible. 

I'll always remember my experience as a scout, when we were camping for the first time. We were making a fire and attempting to cook rice for everyone, which was no easy task using firewood. But still we were progressing well until it started to rain heavily--the kind of torrential rain that washed everything away. The cooking pit was completely soaked and the entire camping ground became soggy with mud. We had to take refuge inside our leaky tents and dinner that night was our half-cooked rice with some cold canned food. We were wet, cold and hungry but were grateful that we had at least something to eat.

Nowadays, every time someone complains about the food at a particular restaurant or hawker stall, I I would smile inside and remind myself that I would take it anytime over that half-cooked meal I had as a scout in the jungle. The food would have been a delicious feast for us.

One should be resilient when it comes to sleep too. I'm glad that I have the ability to sleep anywhere, in whatever circumstance. No bed is too hard for me. Having one is already a great blessing and no matter how much care or worry one has, one should always be able to unburden oneself during slumber time. Be like your laptop or smartphone---sleep the moment there's a period of inactivity!

When one does not have any issues with food or sleep, it's a state of existence called 'happiness'.  If you don't believe me, ask yourself: what are the symptoms of someone who is stressed? Loss of appetite and inability to sleep.  These are the most basic needs of any healthy animal. To be able to fulfil them easily is a great superpower to have. Then everything else in life becomes a bonus.