TALKING LESS, LISTENING MORE

People should take the time to appreciate the flowers by the side and not trample them.
AT the blink of an eye, we are already a week into the new decade – 2010. How time flies these days. Time has flown by so fast that many of us have forgotten to stop and smell the roses by the side.
The next 300 and more days of this year will be a time of reckoning for most of us, especially for those who have made resolutions when the clock struck 12 a week ago.
What has 2009 brought you and what is 2010 going to be for you?
Over the last year, the phrase “when we complain of having no shoes to wear, have we thought of the man without legs?” keeps coming into my mind.
The realization probably came from the time and energy a few of us in Subang Jaya have put in to build and put the Subang Jaya-based Children’s Wish Society of Malaysia on a platform to help more children stricken with life-threatening or terminal illnesses across the country . Every wish we fulfill is a humbling experience and a flicker of light that sheds more truth to the fact that life is short.
With the funds raised mainly from Subang Jaya, CWS has managed to spread its work across the country. Fundraising is a continuous need for this society as in any charitable organizations.  We have come across very generous individuals while we have also come across people who walk pass you as if you were not there. And there are also those who will give you a thousand and one excuses not to help out even with just a small token sum.
The beauty of the smile that enlightens the child’s face upon receiving their wish is worth its weight in gold.  No words need to be uttered to show their happiness and appreciation. And that’s the beauty of it all.
I believe for the year 2010, people who call themselves community leaders should learn from this and talk less and listen more to what the people have to say. When we take on the responsibility to lead, we have to learn to talk less and listen more.
Having verbal diarrhea is probably a symptom of not wanting to let go of the misconceived idea of power they hold in their hands.  Early exposure to “power” can also make one’s ego bloat. Look at the example of a young man who sits in his neighborhood’s pro-tem committee.  He became rude and told of a senior citizen, a behavior which probably didn’t exist before he became the “A-team”.
For this year, it’s also a good time for community leaders who claim they have 90% of residents behind them on hot potato issues to ‘turun padang’ to check if they really have that support. Walk the talk, not just talk.
As we try to build a better community and a sense of neighborliness, we suddenly see reports of senior citizens dying in their homes. Worse still, one old lady died and wasn’t even noticed for months by her neighbors. On New Year’s Eve, a 78-year-old Japanese man was found dead in his apartment. His body was decomposed and police suspect he has been dead for a week.
No one noticed their absence strangely and even stranger is the fact that only a handful of people actually peeked through their windows to see what’s going on with all the police presence at the apartment.
Is Subang Jaya going to be different this year? Can we be what we ask others to be? Are we any different from the people we criticize and demand change from?
As one of our contributors always says “Have we looked in the mirror today? Do we like what we see?”
Happy New Year Subang Jaya. May the new decade bring new resolve and new found happiness in what we do….and may we talk less and do more…