Enlightenment via Email

To be very honest, I hate receiving chain letters on email, especially the ones that tell you to pass them on ("Pass this on to 20 people before midnight and find out who has a crush on you!" or "If you love Jesus, pass this to 15 people." I don't need to know who has a crush on me unless I have a crush on him too and I'll love Jesus regardless of those 15 people.)

So, ever since my first email account in grade 6 (funmail_ca@yahoo.com), I've received loads of chain letters. Some of them are quite dumb, some are disturbing, some are hilarious, some try to be inspiring but I usually roll my eyes at those and occasionally I do come across the one that I find immensely inspiring. But for those of you who know me and my horrible memory, it won't come as a surprise that, yes, after a decade of receiving chain letters, I barely remember any of them.

Except this particular one that has always been stuck in my head. Of course, with the quality of my memory cells, I only remembered one line (the line about spare change) but just now I tried to find the email again on Google and have (!!!!) located it:

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace...you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married...you are very rare, even in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful...you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder...you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

Alright, alright, I know it's somewhat cheesy and of course we should all doubt the reliability of the numbers that the author decided to throw into this email (where are his in-text citations?!) but this email does put some things into perspective, at least for me whenever I want to complain about the things I don't have or want desperately to have but can never seem to fully get/achieve. Who are we to complain and sulk about our lives when we (at least according to this email) are already so much better off than the vast majority of people out there?

Just something I was chewing on tonight as I was doing course readings on development.

Currently listening: 昨遲人 - 林志美 (我覺得好像比許志安好聽)