As soon as I realized that my future life will be spent in USA, I started to imagine how my lifestyle would change; more importantly how my thought process would change. It didn’t take me much time to realize a horrendous side of this migration, though, like most of the immigrants, I was allured by the charms initially.
Belonging to the profession where humanity comes first (or at least that’s how it is supposed to be), a thought occurred to me today “If I have over $50,000 waiting to be spent on my leisure activities/desires, how will I spend that money?” If I had that money right now while I am still in Pakistan and haven’t put my foot even once on the Obama land, my answer, without having second thoughts would be that two kids suffering from AML (acute myelogenous leukemia) could get the entire expenses of their BMT (bone marrow transplant) from this money, get relieved of this fatal disease forever and have a healthy future; their parents could be saved from the torture of witnessing their young one’s death in front of their eyes; a young one who doesn’t yet understand what living is actually like and is already on his way to the eternal abode.
I tell this to my husband and he puts a challenging question in front of me “Will you think the same way after earning thousands of dollars and living in the best city of the world?” and I could not say a confident ‘yes’ as much as I was tempted to say it.
All humans are made up of the same flash and bones but even if monozygotic twins, who have exactly same DNA, are raised in two different parts of the world, especially one of them being in a 3rd world country, I believe you will see the difference in almost every major aspect of their life. Such is the power of one’s surrounding and adversities/luxuries that an individual is exposed to. But again, no two different random individuals exposed to exactly similar environment grow up or evolve into same persons (with respect to their personalities/ attitude/ opinion about life).
Also, living in a 3rd world country or facing adversities does, in no way, warrant that the individual would be any more humane than a person who was born with a golden spoon. So is there a set of rules that one can follow which affirm his compassion and benevolence especially when he is at the top of his career and financial success is all that he sees? I picture myself standing at the Broadway and with one swipe of my visa card; I can buy anything and everything that I can imagine. So, what is the strongest factor that would stop me from undertaking that shopping spree, not with a frown on my face but with pride in my heart and a warm smile?
I figured out a long lasting formula that does three things for me: helps me save money AND helps keeping my humanity alive AND I get to pay back what my country has given me. The idea is to keep visiting my homeland every now and then, be it physically or virtually over the internet, have a look into the lives of the common man, search for the medical illness that’s on the rise at that time and do whatever I can to relieve people of it or keep in touch with the heads of major hospitals of the country to be aware of the exact needs of my country’s health sector. And then every time I am tempted to spend thousands of dollars over a luxurious car, cruise trip, a world tour, diamond set etc, I’d channel my money towards a kid who desperately needs a BMT, or a bunch of well-equipped ambulances or buying chemotherapeutic medicine for someone who cannot afford it, or donating something for people stricken with natural disasters. Difficult? Very. Doable? Absolutely.
I believe this is the only way that makes saving money worthwhile and keeps one motivated always; if you firmly believe your money can make a difference of life and death in someone else’s life, some random person’s life with whom the only link you have is that of humanity; then you cannot buy a diamond set or a 75 inch flat screen TV with home theatre system, an SUV, or a place in Palm Jumeirah. I have experienced this and so I can vouch for it; helping someone selflessly is addictive, a time comes when this is the only way that makes you happy. I just figured out that more than making you happy, it actually is a great money saver, inculcates patience like no other, makes you earn the kind of respect no money can buy and most importantly when you leave the world, you’d be richer than anyone ever was on the Forbes list.
United States of America opens up a chain of successes for me; it gives me a huge opportunity to do wonders with my skills and my talent, I am in that phase of life where I can take my life wherever I want to. And this is exactly the time when I can lose the focus, get up high in the sky, stack up a pile of dollars and luxuries but fall terribly with regards to respect, honour, love and kindness.Getting 'Americanized' in all the right aspects ONLY is a challenge every immigrant faces and even though I am excited about my new habitat, yet I fear the possibility of collateral damage.
Belonging to the profession where humanity comes first (or at least that’s how it is supposed to be), a thought occurred to me today “If I have over $50,000 waiting to be spent on my leisure activities/desires, how will I spend that money?” If I had that money right now while I am still in Pakistan and haven’t put my foot even once on the Obama land, my answer, without having second thoughts would be that two kids suffering from AML (acute myelogenous leukemia) could get the entire expenses of their BMT (bone marrow transplant) from this money, get relieved of this fatal disease forever and have a healthy future; their parents could be saved from the torture of witnessing their young one’s death in front of their eyes; a young one who doesn’t yet understand what living is actually like and is already on his way to the eternal abode.
I tell this to my husband and he puts a challenging question in front of me “Will you think the same way after earning thousands of dollars and living in the best city of the world?” and I could not say a confident ‘yes’ as much as I was tempted to say it.
All humans are made up of the same flash and bones but even if monozygotic twins, who have exactly same DNA, are raised in two different parts of the world, especially one of them being in a 3rd world country, I believe you will see the difference in almost every major aspect of their life. Such is the power of one’s surrounding and adversities/luxuries that an individual is exposed to. But again, no two different random individuals exposed to exactly similar environment grow up or evolve into same persons (with respect to their personalities/ attitude/ opinion about life).
Also, living in a 3rd world country or facing adversities does, in no way, warrant that the individual would be any more humane than a person who was born with a golden spoon. So is there a set of rules that one can follow which affirm his compassion and benevolence especially when he is at the top of his career and financial success is all that he sees? I picture myself standing at the Broadway and with one swipe of my visa card; I can buy anything and everything that I can imagine. So, what is the strongest factor that would stop me from undertaking that shopping spree, not with a frown on my face but with pride in my heart and a warm smile?
I figured out a long lasting formula that does three things for me: helps me save money AND helps keeping my humanity alive AND I get to pay back what my country has given me. The idea is to keep visiting my homeland every now and then, be it physically or virtually over the internet, have a look into the lives of the common man, search for the medical illness that’s on the rise at that time and do whatever I can to relieve people of it or keep in touch with the heads of major hospitals of the country to be aware of the exact needs of my country’s health sector. And then every time I am tempted to spend thousands of dollars over a luxurious car, cruise trip, a world tour, diamond set etc, I’d channel my money towards a kid who desperately needs a BMT, or a bunch of well-equipped ambulances or buying chemotherapeutic medicine for someone who cannot afford it, or donating something for people stricken with natural disasters. Difficult? Very. Doable? Absolutely.
I believe this is the only way that makes saving money worthwhile and keeps one motivated always; if you firmly believe your money can make a difference of life and death in someone else’s life, some random person’s life with whom the only link you have is that of humanity; then you cannot buy a diamond set or a 75 inch flat screen TV with home theatre system, an SUV, or a place in Palm Jumeirah. I have experienced this and so I can vouch for it; helping someone selflessly is addictive, a time comes when this is the only way that makes you happy. I just figured out that more than making you happy, it actually is a great money saver, inculcates patience like no other, makes you earn the kind of respect no money can buy and most importantly when you leave the world, you’d be richer than anyone ever was on the Forbes list.
United States of America opens up a chain of successes for me; it gives me a huge opportunity to do wonders with my skills and my talent, I am in that phase of life where I can take my life wherever I want to. And this is exactly the time when I can lose the focus, get up high in the sky, stack up a pile of dollars and luxuries but fall terribly with regards to respect, honour, love and kindness.Getting 'Americanized' in all the right aspects ONLY is a challenge every immigrant faces and even though I am excited about my new habitat, yet I fear the possibility of collateral damage.
I wish you all the best for your new homeland.I pray, you be Americanized in all the right aspects to the extent where people feel pride being related to you. Simply, don't let the love of wealth make a room in your heart.
ReplyDeleteThink of this mortal life and world as immortal, as long as you have these qualities alive and breathing in your soul you are in good shape :)