Wisdom from an ignorant crowd.
It was a Tuesday evening, streets of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre was filled with sounds of vehicle honks symbolizing the hectic conditions on the road, and the loud and quick successive tap of high heels against the ground showed the frantic faces of working adults pacing from one end to another as they seek to get to their respective destinations, and of course the long queue in the underground train station as people were looking to get on board the Light Rail Transit (LRT) after office hours to return home to their loved ones.
It’s been a long day, no surprise people were rushing to get into the train cabin as they settle down on vacant seats and whip out their phones for the leisure time they finally deserve. However, I could not help but notice the priority seats — reserved for pregnant women or elderly were taken by some youngsters as they scroll through their social media feed, blatantly ignorant of the elderly man standing beside them. Now, with no intention of stereotyping, this man with grey strokes of hair around his scalp, was wearing a double flip glasses and holding on to the handle straps for dear life as the train jerked when it stopped at every station. It was obvious that someone more capable of bracing the force of inertia of the train should offer the elderly a seat. But that was not the case as people had their heads down as they seek for that dopamine hit through the screen of the phone.
I scooched my way over, excusing myself for the accidental collision with other bodies standing in front of me and made my way over to the elderly, tapped on his shoulders and asked how many stations left, he looked over, surprised he’s been invited for a conversation and then muttered out the words KJ-34. Coincidentally that was where I was going to stop as well. For some reason I knew it was fated that I approached him for a conversation, as we’re more than 10 stations away from reaching our destinations I thought it would be the best to have a conversation to keep him distracted from the gruelling thoughts of standing still holding firm to the straps for dear life.
I’ve got to learn that he’s currently 65 years of age, living with his wife all alone in a small 2 bedroom apartment, and for years his children only visited him during the annual Chinese New Year Celebration. He took up a job sorting out paperwork at an accounting firm in Ampang because he couldn’t stand staying at home all the time. ‘It was more like making extra pocket money for my wife and myself so we could go out on the weekends, the further away from home the better. I did it because I had too much time to spare and did not want to be reminded of how old I am lying down here rotting all day.’ Despite the humorous choice of words used, I can’t help but realize that deeply embedded in that sentence were thoughts of sadness and loneliness. Sensing a hint of guilt and empathy due to my lack of response, he added by assuring me he’s getting by well and his wife has friends that come by the apartment often, their kids send them money via wire transfer and he joked about how it took him months before he realized how to work the Automated Teller Machines in the bank near his place.
As we were halfway through on the conversation, a vacant seat opened up for him and I quickly gestured to the group of people looking anxiously at the seat that it was reserved, rightfully to the elderly. And then he sat down with a huge sigh of relief and continued sharing his story while I listened tentatively. He advised that it’s not the fault of the kids that did not possess empathy, it’s the way society has shaped the current generation to ‘mind their own business and everything would be fine so long as the trees in their own backyard are growing and fruits are bearing.’ Sense of empathy for those that had been through a lot, is so rare nowadays that people actually take to social media to share their good doings and get applauded for kind actions like giving a seat or donating to orphanage. Obviously, it is great to do so, but only if it’s for the right reasons and intentions. He then mentioned that ‘Most millennials’ nowadays set their sights on luxury items, big house and nice cars as a measure of success, while forgoing the simple pleasures of life — such as a fulfilling relationship, engaging conversations and slow walks in the park.’ It is as if they had to choose between one, and often the former that gets prioritized rather than the latter. The way to a happy life, he added would be to obtain a well weighted balance between both spectrums, chasing your dreams and goals but remembering the simple things in life.
By then, we just reached our station and it seemed like the end of the lesson. We walked out together, exchange handshakes and names, and I thanked him for his time and advice. Days like these leave me with so much to think about, and although I wished we could spend more time together, I know there’s a big world out there and the different people I meet in life would offer me a piece to the unfinished jigsaw puzzle of life. All I need to do, is go out and meet more people. What a day it has been. Mr.Lee, It’s been a pleasure.
I look forward to my next train ride to work now.
