Some time ago, the main gate of our house needed to be repaired by a welding machine. Though there are various skilled welders in our area offering the service yet my husband preferred to call a relative for performing the job.
The relative happened to be jobless at that time so my husband saw it as an opportunity to assist a closer person in need while also getting the task done
My husband asked him if the welding machine was available to him. After getting a positive reply from him the husband asked him to carry out the repair.
The hubby was quite sure that he would get agreed to perform the work soonest (as he was jobless); but to his surprise, he refused saying that it was not the kind of work he does.
He knows how to weld something. He has the tools at his disposal. He has ample free time. What thing on the earth makes the task a work not doable for him. Oh! We found out that the work was not in line with his perceived calibre.
Great! You are jobless and taking loan for feeding your family but not ready to do a work calling it below your calibre. What’s your calibre, by the way? Debtor, unemployed, poor, or what?
After his refusal, the husband contacted a nearby welder who accomplished the job in an hour for 1500 PKR. Wouldn’t this amount be able to put food on the table of that high-calibre man?
It is not a unique story. It reflects a broader societal phenomenon. I have come across several people in my life who keep on crying for their poor financial circumstances. They want you to support them but they are not ready to work below their so-called calibre.
There is another category of similar kind of people who hold the “poverty card” instead of “calibre card”. They feel entitled to be supported solely due to their impoverished status. However, when they are provided with the work to attain respectable living, they fall short of sincerity and dedication.
Several instances have made me draw a conclusion that there is a set of people who never want to come out of their financial destitution. For them, the shenanigans of economic hardship is a method of gaining easy money in the form of monetary support from various sources.
For years and years, you would find them in similar circumstances without any improvement, singing the songs of poverty, complaining their fate, but showing little willingness to put the required efforts.
I wonder if poverty has chosen them or they have chosen it! Does our standard of living not improve if we genuinely strive for the cause?
My father’s life is a vivid example. He was an electrician who worked from 7 AM to 5 PM in a factory.
Upon returning to home he wouldn’t rest assuming that he had already done what he could. If he would get a private request, he would go to people’s home or offices for repairing.
He would go to such extra work on Sundays too. It was his unwavering dedication that made it possible for us to acquire quality food, education and healthcare services.
Without his willingness to put extra efforts, our standard of living wouldn’t have raised. People might attribute his progress to luck but it was his hard work that made the difference.
Fate might be out of our hands but it seems to love those who are ready to work for it.
There was a time when I needed money. My circumstances didn’t allow me to go get a job outside. I looked for some work that I could do staying at home.
After an exhaustive quest, I found a freelancing job that paid aa meagre amount. For a research paper of two thousand words I would get only 500 PKR- a payment that didn’t match the efforts required. However, I went for it because it was the only opportunity at my disposal at that time.
Moreover, I believe that it is better to have little than to have nothing. That little preserved my self-worth and self-esteem.
Although monetary benefit wasn’t that much but I got experience and also honed my skill. Availing that less attractive opportunity eventually opened doors towards better ones. I made my way to Hive.
That’s how fate and fortune usually progress. When you value small, the big values you.
If I find myself in need of money, I would accept any job that aligns with my skillset, even if it pays me low.
Nevertheless, there are certain jobs I would never consider even if they pay me stacks of gold. I have a firm “No" for any job where my respect, dignity and conscience is compromised.
After all, why do we earn money? To get a respectful and secure status in the society and to make our lives comfortable and peaceful.
A job that destructs my moral compass or be a reason to bring disgrace to me would be of no benefit but is sure to being harm to my emotional and spiritual life. That’s why I would never go for doing any such job.
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This is my participation for Hl-featured contest.
Image by tswedensky from pixabay.com