Sunday, February 17, 2013

Love actually is all around us by Soo Ewe Jin - The STAR


LET'S talk about love. Love is not a one-day commercialised event that deludes you into spending a tidy sum to prove your love for another person.

The reason a bunch of roses is more expensive on Feb 14 is pure economics. As long as there is a willing buyer, there will be a willing seller. And we all know that famous saying by P.T. Barnum, “There's a sucker born every minute”.

Actually, I love flowers. A bouquet of flowers given or received at the right time, for the right reason, is actually one of the joys of life.

And I follow the principle set by a dear friend who said: “Please send me flowers while I can still smell them, not when my body is in a coffin. For that, it's better to give the money to a worthy cause.”
You see, when we fall into the trap of expressing love only on a particular day, like the way hampers are delivered to people on festive occasions, it is no longer special.

It just gets lost in the maze of things and the only people who benefit are the suppliers.
So, let's talk about real love.

Every morning, my neighbour in an adjacent street takes her mother out for a walk. Her mother is in a wheelchair and she has to be particularly careful when she reaches my street as it is a main road. Her cheerful disposition is always welcome balm for a tired soul.

In the hospitals, especially the public ones, you see real people resting in the corridors, exhausted after taking care of their loved ones. Some travel great distances just to get medical attention.

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