Participants are from Myanmar, China, HongKong, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, India, UK, and the Philippines.
HongKong, as we all know, is a shopper's paradise. There are just too many whatchamacallits that seduce, “Take me.” Well, I am keeping my eyes off them.
When I was packing my bag two days ago, Tony was handing me two $100 bills. “You might need these."
The urge to grab the greenbacks came and went too briefly. “Thank you, but if I take those, I will be tempted to shop and spend them all.”
He readily put the tempters back in his wallet.
“Economics of the poor—in cash, not in spirit,” I told him. “You have nothing to spend, you don't spend.” For the first time in my life I budgeted only $100 as pocket money for a six-day stay in HK.
He argued no further.
In the old days, when I was in the corporate world, HK was a weekend destination on a whim with friends, or an all-expense-paid conference site for the company.
“Simplify,” has been my credo since I left that place where I was paid handsomely and given generous fringe benefits for traveling in style.
Today, I try to singly focus on writing and activities that support it. It's a no-frills job, which I love and enjoy, and I can't let old habits and excesses distract me.
By no means am I living a monastic life. I rather call it basic lifestyle. With basic needs daily given by grace, one should be at peace.
A Rolex and a Seiko, I discovered, tell the same accurate time. A bag bought from a designer boutique and a bag bought from a roadside booth, can carry the same things one needs while on the road.
Do I miss the frills of old?
No. What I miss is the thrill of accepting an extra $200 to spend as I please.
Could it be age?
My friend M, who is six years my senior, has a roomful of bling-bling, and the thrill of buying the next one is palpable a mile away. She once told me, “Items in HK are so cheap! After I had bought all I wanted, I still had $500 left!”
“You can entrust your $500 to me and I will give it to MAI.”
She slapped my arm and tittered, “Grace, you're so funny!”
2 comments:
I was watching a news program just now featuring a house with all things Christmas- Santa, Christmas houses and all the frills and glitter of Christmas. Sad, because they'll just be destined for the dustbin in a few years time. You've opted for what's eternal Grace, that's why with $100 or without, you are as happy!
HK gets cool, like Baguio, in the late afternoons. Other than that, the weather is like February in the Philippines, warmed by the fellowship of friends from other Asian countries--all fellow students of God's Word.
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