EVER WONDERED HOW IT IS LIKE TO GIVE AWAY MILLIONS OF RINGGIT? AS IN RM 33 MILLION?
US$11mil won in lottery given away; can we too learn to be
content?
Monday Starters - By Soo Ewe Jin
AN elderly couple in
Nova Scotia made world headlines recently when they gave away nearly all the
US$11mil (RM33mil) they won in a lottery.
Allen and Violet Large,
aged 75 and 78, only kept aside 2% of the winnings for a rainy day.
The rest went to a
number of local organisations, charities, hospitals and churches.
"What you've never
had, you never miss" Violet told the Halifax Chronicle-Herald
newspaper.
"That money that we
won was nothing" Allen told the newspaper. "We have each other."
In this Nov. 3, 2010 photo, Allen and Violet Large hug in the kitchen of their Lower Truro, N.S., Canada home. The couple has given away almost $11.2 million in lottery winnings. According to the Halifax Chronicle Herald, the Larges won their fortune in a July 14 Lotto 649 draw and decided to give almost all of it away. After taking care of their family, the couple donated money to area churches, fire departments, cemeteries, the Red Cross and hospitals where Violet, who has cancer, has undergone treatment. Large, a 75-year-old retired welder, told the paper they gave away 98 per cent of their winnings and banked the remaining two per cent “for a rainy day." (AP Photo/Halifax Chronicle Herald via the The Canadian Press, Michael Gorman)
It is hard for us to say
that money is nothing, especially when it runs into the millions.
But what Violet said
struck a chord "We can never miss what we have never had."
Our problem is that we
spend much of our life pursuing things that the world tells us are important
-power, prestige and wealth.
And when we do get
there, we find that we have to embrace the many extras that come along with the
territory.
For example, if your
spouse is awarded a datukship, or is suddenly propelled to the top of the
company as CEO, you will find that your simple lifestyle can no longer be
sustained.
You may have to get a
new wardrobe, a bigger car, and even go to some finishing school to brush up
your social skills.
Every year, business
magazines like Forbes and Fortune will publish a list of the
richest people in the world and we will instinctively look out for the
Malaysians who make the list.
Their public wealth does
not reveal much about their private lifestyles but one can surmise that they
live quite differently from ordinary people.
A friend who is doing
well in business tells me that since his wife passed away, he has been telling
his friends that they should invest less time chasing money and more time in
relationships with the people who matter.
Those wonderful angels
who work in palliative care organisations like Hospis Malaysia will tell you
that the greatest regrets of the dying are never about how much more money they
can make if given a chance to live longer.
Even the very rich and
powerful will say, as they face the reality of their mortality, that they
wished they had spent more time with their family and friends.
Allena's remark that the
money won was nothing "because we have each other"truly reminds us
that the best things in life are not only free, but simply priceless.
In Malaysia, we also
have the occasional news about people who have won large sums of money through
the various gaming options. They remain anonymous but I do wonder if any of
them would give it all away.
It is easy to say, when
we don't have the millions, that we can be like Violet and Allen. I suspect,
however, that if we get our hands on say, RM1mil, many of us will struggle to
let go of even a single sen.
Still, I believe we
should all learn to be content. Benjamin Franklin once said: "Content
makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor."
With these wise words in
mind, I am quite happy to remain as I am not very rich but certainly very
content.
Deputy executive editor
Soo Ewe Jin confesses that it would be fun to indulge in some of the latest
gadgets and gizmos if he has some spare cash to spare.
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