A Broken House
To quote from a movie I once saw, “it is okay to come from a broken family than living in one. Everyone has their background. Their own stories and their own lives. If a family that is sounds and looks perfect, then look deeper. Perfect families are those I seen in Desperate Housewives. Superficially perfect. How about the underlying under current?
I had the pleasure to meet many people. Different people and from all walk of life. They carry along their stories. I love to listen to their stories. It allows me to understand them better.
Once I had a long lunch with a very customer of mine. He came from tough time. Tough place. Growing up in a ulu place, he know very well the words “tough time”. I listened to his experience living in a shared community. There are public toilets known as Sei Kap Pan which loosely translated to four pieces of wood.
The design of the toilet in a communal area was covered with just ply woods. Toilet bowls does not exist at that time. Only the toilet stool collecting the excretes. By midnight there will be the designated person collecting it to use as fertilisers. Well, that was just a part of his story.
Whenever I dropping by to this place, where the broken family is. It ached me to see how it turns out to be. Whether it was the fate or their destiny? I always believe we reaped what we sow.
They said charity begins at home. The is very true. The family values are what that defines us. How we grow up to be. Many times we leave it to the school or the education system. Have we ever thought doing the deed as the family members? When I looked at them two, I feel sad for them. Their kids grown up to become someone I don’t recognize anymore.
Later that evening, the daughter called me. Asked me to watch over them. Her brothers are useless, she said. What choice do I have? The entire house is broken. To borrow from Confucius:-
Broken House
Things being investigated, knowledge became complete.
物格而後知至
Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere.
知至而後意誠
Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified.
意誠而後心正
Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated.
心正而後身修
Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated.
身修而後家齊
Their families being regulated, their States were rightly governed.
家齊而後國治
Their States being rightly governed, the entire world was at peace.
國治而後天下平
One don’t come back anymore. He considering that staying out will do better when the old ones are struggling to keep their heads above the water. The other just plain slacking away. Giving up to strive for betterment of the family. The young ones live in a broken house now.
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