"The Water Bottle"

Earlier this evening, my sister and I got to play this "Spin the wheel" kinda thing, organized by a shopping mall. All you need to do is make a purchase that worth RM50 in a single receipt, and you stand to win something. So we were at the spin counter, registering. I got to spin first, and then my sister. Considering the few results on the wheel, I can say we are quite lucky. We could go home with nothing. But we won something. A water bottle. I picked green and my sister picked blue. 

My sister was so upset. She kept saying that she should have won something better. She spent a lot of money just to be able to spin the wheel. She likes that kind of thrill and especially, a few days before, she saw some people won a lot of interesting stuff. But when it was her turn, she got only a water bottle. The same thing like what I got. 

The difference is, I AM HAPPY. 

I was smiling all the way home. It was such a fruitful day for me. I got to finish my work, went out early to find presents for my lil nephew and managed to find a few worthy stuff, and then I got to eat the meals I was craving since yesterday. And spinning the wheel is like an extra bonus for me. I could not help but be happier!! 

When I saw how upset my sister was, I kept telling her, "Many went home with nothing from spinning the wheel. That water bottle looks like a good one. It's even a BPA-free. It's safer than most of the bottles out there." But my sister kept saying that she was really not lucky because when other people spinned it, they got something nice, and all she got was a water bottle. Hahahaha.

Then I remember something. I didn't tell her how I won my water bottle. I told her, actually, the wheel pointer was exactly in the middle. It was either I won something or nothing. To be honest, the pointer was more to the side of the "no prize", but the assistant who monitored the wheel still told her colleague that I won a prize. I won my water bottle out of someone's kindness. Maybe she thought, she lost nothing from doing a favour. What she did was very kind and I was so thankful. That's how I got my water bottle. 

My sister was surprised to hear that. She got her water bottle by playing fair. In other words, her hand is much luckier than mine. I could pity myself for getting a prize out of mercy, or I could curse my hand for not doing a better job, and the list go on. But I didn't. I saw the good side of everything. Then I said this magic line, "Be grateful in everything." "Bersyukurlah dalam setiap perkara". I can't think of who is more at loss in every situation, other than the people who are hard to please. Who are hard to sense blessings in every little things. Happiness is not a material. You can't buy it. Or touch it. But you are free to feel it. It's an inside job. Gratefulness opens that sense to happiness. Jangan mau rugi dalam bahagia. Syaratnya sangat mudah. Bersyukurlah sentiasa. Orang yang bersyukur akan selalu bahagia :)

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