To be rich and to be poor

I once lamented the poor souls carving out a living from begging at traffic lights, but was stopped in the track by a partner of mine making a rejoinder that if the then Liem Sioe Liong (one of the richest men in the world, and from Indonesia) were to see us, he would think us salaried employees poor souls too for having virtually sold our souls to our companies.

The news media never fails to measure individuals by the billions they own -- a disagreeable necessity I suppose -- and this inevitably influences people's minds, if somewhat unconsciously. Not that I am implying there is the question of morality, good or bad.

To be rich does not mean to be counted in money terms, but in a wider sense of being able to strike a proper balance which differs from one individual to another, based on his past experiences of time, work and family and personal pursuits.

Invariably, there is the other side of the same coin.

To be poor does not mean to be lacking or devoid of money, but to be in a state of imbalance.

Perhaps, neither of these would be rapturously embraced until one has gone through enough of life's experiences.

I cannot not see this more clearly than in the ordinary people in Indonesia who have gone through so many convolutions in past years, but yet they have never lost their conscience.

Kosasih, my driver for umpteen years, has a young family to support and one day turned up to say that he would like to leave for his home town in Central Java. My own urban training led to me to ask how he was going to support himself and his family. Not that he was intelligently weak or unable to understand the consequences of his actions. He was quite frank and forthright in saying that he missed the rural air, the simple lifestyle of waking up to the calls of birds and the first rays of the pristine morning sun and enjoying simple village food of fermented soya bean, fresh vegetables, steamed rice and chili paste.

Having lived a city life (in Singapore) all my life, I find that Indonesians have a lesson to teach urbanites, and certainly indolence has nothing to do with it.

As in the case of Kosasih, it prompted a moment of deep reflection. I gave my blessings and in turn received blessings in learning a life's lesson myself.

To live a life with a measured pace for everything and everything with a measured pace, be it work, entertainment, lifestyle and wherever life's path may lead.

Definitely a rich one, if not just rich enough.

S.K. TAN

Jakarta