I always wanted a pair of new shoes until I saw a picture of a man with no feet.
It was nearing the end of school holiday. My parents promised me, that if I finishes top in my class, they would reward me with new pair of shoes. I have been eyeing that particular pair of shoes since I was in standard four.
When the shoes were introduced to the Malaysian market in 1993, it became an instant hit among my friends. They would come to the playground with their new pair of shoes and proudly parading it to others. Determine not to lose to them, I rushed home and demanded my parents that they should get me a pair of it. Though I was screaming and kicking, adamantly trying to convince them, my outburst only falls on deaf ears and caused me dearly as my father grounded me for a week. No play station, no movies and no daily allowances. Seeking vengeance, I vowed that I would not eat, drink even talk to my parents unless they bought me the shoes. Though my parents tried to explain that the shoes were so expensive, it is under my prerogative to demand for it. A promise is still a promise.
Later that night, as I was lying in my bed facing the wall, sulking, I smelled my mother walked into my room and sat at the edge of my bed. I was certain that she wanted to knock some sense into me via mother-son conversation. Pretending to be asleep, I prayed for my mother to leave me alone and surprisingly she did, but not before leaving some things on my bedside table.
I was flabbergasted to see the two things she left for me which is a package of my favourite pizza for my dinner and a newspaper cutting depicting a man with no feet. I quickly read the newspaper cutting to figure out what had happened to that man. My mother highlighted some lines in the articles to point out that among the thing that this man missed most is to wear a pair of shoes.
Though dumbfounded by mother’s approach to instil some sense into me, the unflinching truth that one should not be selfish, really penetrated my ego. Such a profound message that has been conveyed shrewdly. I am fortunate to learn this through my mother’s wisdom and not through the hard way.
