Purpose & Destiny
Sometimes Life Teaches Me To Bite The Humble Pie
judge not so that you will not be judged by the same measure you judged others…
Disclaimer: Names* have been changed to protect the identity of the people I love. Focus on the story, please. Thank you. Any resemblance is by pure coincidence.
You may be surprised at my title. What I will be writing is about humility versus ego. And also, about judging others.
I am learning what humility is from Jesus (peace be upon him). I am learning what service to others is from Muhammed (peace be upon him). I am always learning to bite the humble pie in life.
When I am on board back to the kitchen in a classy restaurant, I have to vacuum, mop, fold napkins, polish the cutleries, and wipe the plates and kitchenware.
The confusing part begins when I pick up litter in the public carpark. Brown dried leaves are everywhere till the time I am writing this. It is Spring, but it looks like Summer.
The back garden that used to be the wedding reception requires quite a maintenance. I sweep while basking in the morning sunlight over a few days.
“Sister, do you have to sweep this place?…” asked Garcia*
I have no idea. But whatever I can do, I do it. I am unsure what my role is. I sweep whatever I can into the black trash bag. It is a good warm-up, although the weather is hot. And, yet not as hot as Yemen.
“I don’t know. I used to sweep when I trained as a warden…” I spoke.
Yes, it doesn’t make sense.
The trees will shed their leaves naturally by the wind blowing. As a warden and anti-riot trooper in the past, we did it regardless of it did not make any sense.
Hidden in these roles are a few lessons.
- The time you train your ego.
- The time you train not to enrage over what hurts you in life.
- The time you train yourself a level of discipline and obedience.
- The time you will know part of who your real-self is.
The general manager bought a new toy to use. If you have watched the Smurf in Blue Moon movie, you will know the blower equipment, which Gargamel used to absorb the Smurfs. I do not know how to use that toy.
My Restaurant Manager, Diyogen*, uses the blower.
I have been watching him carrying it like a ghostbuster movie. He is a humble man who doesn’t count on the job role. He changes his smart business outfit into a casual weekend attire. And he goes out basking into the hot sun, too.
May the Lord bless him with goodness. Amin. Amen?
“That was then…but now it is different, sis…there is another way to do these…” said Garcia.
He is another friendly and approachable man who came from a neighboring country. I like to socialize with friendly yet safe people. Garcia is like a brother to me.
“Sis…you are a smart person…but, why do you do these?…” he asked me.
Sweeping leaves, washing cups, mopping the restaurant floor, vacuuming, and ec cetera.
- I know that these are as good as a job scope for uneducated or less educated people.
- I know these are roles for those who are retired.
- I know perhaps I should be a manager by now in the eyes of other people.
But, life does not always go according to your plans. Life does not always give you what you want all the time. Sometimes, life gives you lemons when you want honey. So, you got to find ways to be creative and get that sugar to make yourself a nice glass of lemonade!
“My dad is very sick…” I said.
Honestly, I feel disheartened. I feel down, but I have no time to spare to entertain those emotions. Life has to go on.
As I shared the story a bit, Garcia apologized. He shared his story too, that he lost his dad when he was just 1 and half months working in the restaurant. Garcia did not get to travel back due to the VTL matter. He did not get to see his dad.
“As a son, I do feel something about it…Because I am a son…” he said.
At least, after he shared his story, I do feel better. At least, I believe he understands how I feel.
“My mom wonders about my career path…but, how do I handle when someone needs to cater for my dad’s caregiving?… Like the hospital sudden calls for radiotherapy and so on…” I said approximately that.
“Family comes first, sis…” said Garcia.
Sometimes, we do not know where our calling is. But, the Path will open up and show its way as long as we keep moving.
“I just don’t want to see you feeling unhappy about doing these…” said Garcia.
Yup. True.
What if one day I suddenly had enough and decided to give up? What if I feel life has no meaning daily sweeping and caring about cleanliness around the restaurant? What am I supposed to be working?
Am I supposed to be hoping that somewhere light shines in and say…Hey, Lissa…this is your next calling…serve!
“Auntie…this room also requires sweeping and cleaning…” said Joel*
Ah hah…Aunty…right. Okay. Cool. It is fine. Aunty. We all grow old one day. Right?
I learned.
- If you do unglamorous jobs, you are perceived as low educated.
- When you sweep the leaves, pick up litter, wash the plates, and wear like next-door-girl, you will not sit with people of higher rank or class.
- If you do a cleaning role, people will think you are uneducated, retired, stupid, or lack intelligence.
- It may be okay because you did it before in your past job, but it is never the same in the future. So, there are roles you have to learn to do it differently.
- We judged others by our job titles. We forget our origins so easy.
Life has to move on for me, at least.
As I said, Jesus taught me the way we judge others, we will be judged too in the same way. Muhammed taught me that a valuable life serves others with a heart that have love.
These 2-compassionate prophets taught me what humility and being humble mean.
I remember a Muslim guy once told me when he was serving in the mandatory enlistment for national service (NS).
“Sis, NS life may suck a big deal. But! Fuck it! Life still has to move on!”
I hope you enjoy this story. Thank you if you have read this far.
Good night.
N.A.🌹
