Tongkat Ali of Life

This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor. Often we hadn’t enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me her portion of rice. While she was transferring her rice into my bowl, she would say ‘Eat this rice, son! I’m not hungry.’ This was Mother’s First Lie.

As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a little bit more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught just two fish, she would make fish soup. While I was eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat what was still left on the bone of the fish I had eaten; my heart was touched when I saw it. Once I gave the other fish to her on my chopstick but she immediately refused it and said, ‘Eat this fish, son! I don’t really like fish. ‘This was Mother’s Second Lie.

 Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to a Match Factory to bring home some used matchboxes, which she filled with fresh matchsticks. This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One wintry night I awoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes by candlelight. So I said, ‘Mother, go to sleep; it’s late: you can continue working tomorrow morning. ‘Mother smiled and said ‘Go to sleep, son! I’m not tired.’ This was Mother’s Third Lie

 When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother accompanied me. After dawn, Mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When the bell rang, I ran to meet her…  Mother embraced me and poured me a glass of tea that she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not as strong as my Mother’s love, Seeing Mother covered with perspiration, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too Mother said ‘Drink, son! I’m not thirsty!’ This was Mother’s Fourth Lie.

 After Father’s death, Mother had to play the role of a single parent. She held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs alone. Our family’s life was more complicated. We suffered from starvation. Seeing our family’s condition worsening, my kind Uncle who lived near my house came to help us solve our problems big and small. Our other neighbors saw that we were poverty stricken so they often advised my mother to marry again. But Mother refused to remarry saying ‘I don’t need love.’ This was Mother’s Fifth Lie.

 After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for my old Mother to retire but she carried on going to the market every morning just to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her money but she was steadfast and even sent the money back to me. She said, ‘I have enough money.’ That was Mother’s Sixth Lie.

 I continued my part-time studies for my Master’s Degree. Funded by the American Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my studies. With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy life in America but Mother didn’t want to bother her son; she said to me ‘I’m not used to high living.’ That was Mother’s Seventh Lie

 In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit Mother who was bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile but I was heartbroken because she was so thin and feeble but Mother said, ‘Don’t cry, son!  I’m not in pain.’ That was Mother’s Eighth Lie.

 Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died.

 YES, MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL!

 M - O - T - H - E - R

 ‘M’        is for the Million things she gave me,

 ‘O’        means only that she’s growing old,

 ‘T’         is for the Tears she shed to save me,

 ‘H’        is for her Heart of gold,

 ‘E’        is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them,

 ‘R’        means Right, and right she’ll always be, Put them all together, they spell ‘MOTHER’ a word that means the world to me.

 For those of you who are lucky to be still blessed with your Mom’s presence on Earth, this story is beautiful. For those who aren’t so blessed, this is even more beautiful…

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and
the 2 glasses of wine theory…

A professor stood before his philosophy class with some
items on his desk in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly,
he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill
it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They
agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into
the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if
the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it
into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked
once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous
“YES.”

The professor then produced two glasses of wine from
under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar,
effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I
want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf
balls are the important things; your family, your children, your health,
your friends, and your favorite passions; things that if everything else
was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your
job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else; the small
stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first”, he continued,
“there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for
life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you
will never have room for the good things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. Do one more
run down the ski slope. There will always be time to clean the house and
fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first; the things that
really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and
inquired what the wine represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It
just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there’s always room for a couple of glasses of wine with a friend.”

At last, I have read the letter that I sent to my buddy in Australia in 1997. 

I, myself forget what it was like to write a letter & using snail mail. 

The ten years old letter reflex back what kind of a man I was and what kind of a man I am now. 

To fall in love with the same girl with my best friend. Betrayal from my best friend. 

Looking back in time and fast-forward it to now, I started to believe divine interventions has every reason to play a role in my life. 

Of course, the girl now is my best friend’s wife now. 

But looking both of them together, which I thank myself making the right choice; to let go. 

Knowing that sometime at that very moment you think that life have been unfair to you but life is actually trying to help you. 

You hurt someone else in the process, which now you tend to regret. 

Blaming others for not understand you. Isolate yourself in the real world. Crying over nothing. At the end, you just brush yourself up and walk again. 

I am happy man now. At least I know that I am happier than 10 years back. 

These 10 years learning process has it own toll to pay but it is worth it. 

Lesson #1: Help yourself first if you want to help others. 

Lesson #2: Don’t think that every friend is your friend. 

Lesson #3: Choose few good friends to keep. 

Lesson #4: Never hurt others if you don’t want to hurt yourself. 

And the rest of the world can kiss my a**! ~ Eminem 

Thank you my friend for the letter.