Word Press Post A Day – We often capture strangers in photos we take in public. Open your photo library, and stop at the first picture that features a person you don’t know. Now tell the story of that person.
He was feeding stay kittens. There were 5 of them. We were in an old church in Malaysia. He drew these amazing pictures, both in pencil and it acrylic paint. I have never seen any that were so good. He didn’t even ask for much – only 10 ringgit for the pencil drawings and around 65-75 ringgit for the paintings. In American money – that is nothing! (ex. About $3.50 for the pencil drawings).
There were quite a few artists set up at this church, and a lot of them were actually quite good. He had many people buying from him though. What set him apart? He was feeding these poor, helpless, defenseless, little kittens. According to him – everyday he would bring them food and water. Not just any cat food, but canned cat food. The good stuff. He had food bowls for them, the food, and a bottle full of water to pour for them. He had named them and knew which was which. They seemed to really love him too (more than just because he had the food). They knew him and would play in his backpack, would cuddle with him, and purr around his leg.
He was a native of Malaysia. He grew up there his whole life. He hadn’t gone to school over grade school, and didn’t earn much money. This was his job – drawing. He knew he was good at it and wanting to make a living off of it. He didn’t earn much money, probably because he really didn’t charge much money. Honestly, I bet the tourists would have paid a lot more for his drawings. He even was giving discounts to those that bought multiple drawings – and people were buying a lot of them, including myself.
On this trip, I met a stranger. I stranger that showed love and care to those that couldn’t care for themselves. That isn’t a quality that you really see in today’s world. Not many people do possess that anymore. This world is about competiveness – at least in America from what I have experienced. From my earliest days in school it has been about getting the best grades, being the best student, participating in the most activities, being the best in the class, learning the most – all so you can get in the best college/university – which will get you the best job/career. This will ultimately make you the most money.
But he – he didn’t even care about this. He did what he was passionate about. He followed his passion and he took care of these defenseless animals. He didn’t make the most money. He was ok with his life.
I know that money does make life easier – it definitely does. You don’t struggle to pay bills, you can buy food much easier and pay for a house/apartment. You can pay for your doctors and medication. It definitely can make life much easier. But it can also make life a lot more complicated too. I know you need money to live off of. That is definitely a fact.
But I do think that our lives would be much better if we weren’t all about the competitiveness that we face today. When I met this stranger – I learned that. My mental health is in my genes, it is a chemical imbalance. But it was also affected by the environmental factors around me. Things in my life can help it or hurt it. Growing up in a competitive world where I was expected to be the best, hurt it. I had to hide that I was hurting because I had to be the best, I couldn’t show weakness.
This stranger showed me otherwise. You don’t have to be the best. You can just be yourself.
Living, Breathing, and Surviving, and Coping with Mental Illness 