Mae, my inspiration!

It was Thursday, an ordinary day. My Indonesian helper Mae who has been living with my family for the past four years, wanted to go to the bank to settle her final transactions and send money to Indonesia.

I was getting restless as it meant the day when she would be going on a home leave for 6 weeks to celebrate Hari Raya with her family was finally nearing. The day she has been waiting for. Backup plans on how to deal with household chores, my full time job, writing, and my daughter’s arrival from America started whirling in my head like a tornado.

Little did I know that I had become totally reliant and spoilt to the extent that I was paralyzed without the aid of my helper. 20 years ago, when I did not have a helper, I managed a toddler, completed my last semester of the Master’s in Computing by doing part time, and juggled a full time job. Where did that superhuman disappear?

Do I blame Singapore , the country that I call home, for the comforts that it has given me ? Do I blame my husband and family for pampering me and giving me so much space that I have started spending every bit of time on myself? Do I blame my helper for being so forthcoming and taking the initiative to lighten my workload and free up time for my exploits? Do I blame the Lord for giving me all of the above?

While all this drama and self-talk was going on in my head, it was already 7pm and my helper returned home. There was a different face to her. She looked so happy. So happy that every cell of her was speaking Happiness. I did not ask her anything. But she just came to me and said, ‘Madam, thank you very much. I sent money in millions and I don’t know what to do with so much money. May be it will help me in my children’s education’.

In the past four years that Mae has lived with us, I have personally gone through several ups and downs. I have been attending spiritual discourses, reading scriptures, and writing about happiness. However, the lessons are still in the level of understanding and not been put in practice.

In these years, never once have I see Mae even slightly unhappy or sad. Moreover, to beat all that she comes home with happiness and thanks me for Nothing, literally Nothing that I have done for her. I felt totally humbled. I held her hands and said, ‘you please give me your nature!’

Then I went up to my husband, Shiv and said rather mockingly, ‘Should we settle in Indonesia to have a happy living? The conversion factor does seem to matter.’ To which he replied, ‘it’s not the money conversion that matters, it is the mind conversion, the transformation that matters. Once that happens we can be happy anywhere, everywhere… ‘