Uncertain Times

"No job. No food. No clothes"

Yours sincerely ( y s) came across this photograph in the net and since then it has been haunting him. Is the Global Financial Crisis that bad?! BBC, CNN and Aljaeera are full of news of retrenchments, layoffs, unemployment etc and the most scary ones are about the banks that went bust. Phooot, your deposit is gone with the wind, just like that? Never before in the history of banking has so much been owed by so few to so few and yet so many have to suffer! If I owe one million ringgits, then I am lost. If I owe fifty millions, the bankers are lost.

Should y s cash out the few hard sweat earned ringgits that he has saved and kept them under his pillow, or converted them to gold as some smart finanancial gurus preached?

Should the cash be converted into properties since the price is falling and property is aplenty, so says the property gurus?

Should y s cash out the few ringgits and go on a shopping spree with his better half? Shop and shop till we drop as advised by yet other financial gurus that liquid cash should be kept flowing to recover the global economy. The bank saving rates also say the same thing at 2.5 and dropping rate per annum.

Should y s go for a his new dream car, a Toyota Camry, 2.4 cc since the cost of petroleum has dropped drastically?

Should y s paint the town red, visiting night spots, to help activate the economy ?

We are living in troubled times. We are confused over what or who to trust in?

King David of the Book of psalms advises that at this troubled times, some trust in chariots and some in horses but the best is to trust in God. If you worry, you do not trust and if you trust, you do not worry.

The human race has pulled out of the Great Depression of the 40s and survived several other depressions and economic downturns, my faith in the human race is strong. We will be able to survive this one, too.

All sorts of people

Having survived several decades as a fellow earthling and now going on to the sunset years of life, yours sincerely ( y s) is looking hard at earthlings.

Someone observes that there are five types of people: those who make things happen; those who think they make things happen; those who watch things happen; those who wonder what happened; and those that did not know that anything has happened. It is like a herd of buffaloes in a stampede. Many do not even know what is going on. They are simply imbued with the herd and mob instinct to follow suit. This is common in certain countries where one can marshal a mob by just shouting out a few religious phrases or words, or inciting speeches. You can easily rope in bullish mob to stampede for you for whatever God knows reasons.

William J H Boetcker divides people into four classes: -

1) Those who always do less than they are told
2) Those who will do what they are told, but no more
3) Those who will do things without being told.
4) Those who will inspire others to do things.

Y s has to add one more class of those who stand around, do nothing but every ready to criticise those who do. This is particularly common in churches. The inbreeding of this category has given rise to uneasiness and apprehension among those who sincerely want to do. So, finally nothing much gets done for the fear of being criticized.

Buddha says that there are three kinds of people. The first are like letters carved in the rock: they easily give way to anger and retain their angry thoughts for a long time. The second are like letters written in the sand: they give way to anger also but their angry thoughts quietly pass away. The third are like letters written in running water: they do not retain their passing thoughts; they let abuse and uncomfortable gossip pass by unnoticed; their mind are always pure and undisturbed.

May we carve our letters in water.