Mind and Muscle

Hong Kong is the world’s tallest city. The iconic buildings that dot the skyline of this wonderful city are by no means second-fiddle to its natural beauty. Each one is unique and standing tall in reverence and saluting the mind and muscle and the caliber of the people who engineered it. This picture of perfection is achieved by the endless toil of thousands of invisible hands that are not content with the satisfactory. Suveera tells us about the life and times in Hong Kong, in the weekly column. A Different Truths exclusive.

Every day, when I leave my house in the wee hours of the morning the first person to greet me is the cleaning lady, responsible for the maintenance of our group of buildings. She is busy doing her job before the rest of the city rises. Always a pleasant face to start the day greets me with a smile and a “good morning”; one of the few English words that she has made the effort to learn. She labours from morning to night but the smile and pride of a job well done is a constant. I believe that is what drives her and makes an otherwise mundane and monotonous job perhaps nearly enjoyable. Her pursuit of excellence.

The same story repeats itself at the bus stop. The driver seems happy. Almost like he’s drugged.  He too greets me with a smile, picks up my luggage and puts it onto the bus. Has the Almighty blessed me today?

Not really. The work culture here in Hong Kong is phenomenal. Most people take pride in their job. I have just started the day and I am already happy. A person who is passionate about his job infects the people around with enthusiasm and pleasantness.

It is inspiring to see a job well done. Your work is almost like a character sketch of who you are. It is so important to leave an excellent signature. To aspire for a state of highest potentiality and self-reverence.

Hong Kong is the world’s tallest city. The iconic buildings that dot the skyline of this wonderful city are by no means second-fiddle to its natural beauty. Each one is unique and standing tall in reverence and saluting the mind and muscle and the caliber of the people who engineered it. It is encouraging to see the potential of human achievement. This picture of perfection is achieved by the endless toil of thousands of invisible hands that are not content with the satisfactory.

Marvels and proof of man’s ability are everywhere here. Hong Kong boasts of the best public transport system in the world. Its infrastructure has been ranked the best among 140 economies worldwide by the world economic forum. The central-midlevel escalator is the world’s largest outdoor covered escalator system. Nearly seventy-five percent of Hong Kong is country parks. The new and the old work hand in hand like a family, where on one side is the MTR system running like a network of nerves across the city, while on the other hand is the famous star ferry dating back to 1880.

It’s the best of mankind’s mind at work here. After all, affluence is a by-product of man’s unrestrained ability to reason and interpret.

This is a land of possibilities, a free land, where you do not feel bound by invisible chains.

It inspires me and many others to become a person of competence and independence. To kick start the spark of initiative, and light the fire of creativity. To create a life for ourselves that embodies excellence, a life of action and unrelenting pursuit of goals.

Let us not sit nestled in our comfort zones, like in a room full of thieves guilty of a common plunder, quietly sinning against our souls by living beneath our capacity.

I am lost in my thoughts heading back home on the ferry as one of the crew politely nudges me to say that we are alongside. I get off and the bus is waiting to take me home. Life is a joy when things happen with so much ease and perfection. 

I mentally thank the people that have contributed to making my day run so rhythmically. Their hard work enriches not just their own lives but also the lives of so many others.

The cleaning lady is still at her business, and despite her back being a bit bent from the effort, her smile is as fresh as ever. I am sure that she sleeps well at night satisfied with her endeavours.

As my own warm bed beckons me, I think of this quote by Mark Twain that sums up my thoughts very well, “Let us endeavour so to live, that when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry.”

©Suveera Sharma

Photos from the Internet

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