Bitterness is the new Sweetness!

I always like my coffee bitter, the bitter taste actually reminds me of the sweetness of life. Though I love them cakes and chocolates, whenever it comes to coffee; it has to be without sugar or sweeteners. I crave the aromatic smell of a freshly brewed coffee and cannot start my day without a cup of coffee.

Once someone asked me why I take them bitter coffee, the answer is simple. Life is so full of pitfalls, hurdles, barriers, problems and sickness that it is very easy to get lost in it and never find yourself again. You'll feel deflated, you'll be a defeatist and without you noticing you'll grumble more and more. Feeling agitated and questioning how life is being unfair and seems like trouble is a friend(picked up from Lenka's song) So, if a bitter cup of coffee can remind me of all the negativity of feeling bitter, then it is a good way to steer well clear of the hurdles.

Just the other day, yours sincerely was guilty of grumbling about how life's unfair and how some get all the rewards so easily while others have to break their back to earn a living. Or how one's nationality will affect one's pay and so on, even to the extend of questioning why my wiFi connection seems to be slower than others. I just have so much negativity and so much grumbling that it affected me bad. I became nonchalant at work, staring at life in a monochrome vision and was literally a walking dead. It has so much negative energy that I'm losing a lot of hairs.

Again, if you question God(whichever that you subscribe to) HE will answer you in a subtle but enlightening way. I met an old colleague a few days later. He was still unchange, 5 years on he was still the same. And we share a lot through my cup of bitter coffee. He was still earning 3k plus per month, still driving his crappy Proton(Proton is a national car for Malaysian albeit with old technology and sky high price), still live with his mum, still has no direction in life and still working in the same company although he has been unhappy for the past 5 years. And he grumbles so much that I almost puke listening to all his negativity.

Anyway, this chance encounter with him make me thinking; has life been unfair to ol'Jon so far? If God didn't gave me a chance, I would still be at the crappy old company. If God didn't gave me a chance, I would still be earning 3k plus per month, would probably buy and own a crappy Proton and most likely still live in my old folks place. God actually gave me a lot, caomparing with those with disabilities, health problems and poor education back ground, I'm considerably very very lucky. HE has been good with me all along. HE gave me a loving parent, HE gave me a healthy and able body, HE gave the opportunities and HE gave me his blessings! Although at this point, I need to point out, HE the mighty Lord does give us a lot of opportunities. However we need to grab it with our both our hands  if we were to enjoy the fruits. There is no Free Lunch in Life, remember that!

And suddenly after this soul searching, I felt good again. I'm young, able and lead a very healthy life. I have friends, I have my own house, I have a damn fine car(Fiat Coupe woo~), I have good caring friends, I have a loving family that make ppl envious and I have tasted fine living. So why am I still complaining, grumbling and spreading negativity around me?

The root cause? Envy! I'm envious of those who get it easy. I'm envious of those who need not break their back to make a living like me. I'm envious of those who are rich and famous. Envy is a poison that took control of me. And I was losing control of my envy!

The cure? Content, yes you are reading right. Content! We need to be content of what we have and be grateful of what we get to enjoy everyday. Once we understand the word content then life will be better. However there is a fine line between being Content and being Slack. Being Content means(for me anyway), doing your best, work your arse off, grit your teeth and face them challenges. And finally accept whatever reward that comes your way. If you feel short-change for your effort, use Courage to find other jobs, businesses or investments. Being slack is also part of being Content, but that will be another topic for another day.

Being Content, calms me down. It gives me renewed energy to face the world again. It gives me a peaceful zen like state of mind and it proves to be a virtue for happy people.

Always know that for all the people that you are envious with, there is much more 'unlucky' person behind your back.

Look at it this way, I might be envious of 2 billions people in this world with more money, more cars, more abilities, more chicks, more houses and more watches than me. But when I look back, there is still 4 billion people with less money, less cars, less abilities, less chicks, less houses and less watches than me.

So that should spur you on! Go ahead, try to be Content...life will suddenly feel so special again...you know that the only way! Oh, remember to take it with a cup of bitter coffee when you're reading this piece again and again in your lifetime~as I shall, anytime in the future I'm being envious, I will re-read this post!