Simple Perceptions

One of the trips with my buddies brought Nancy along. A lively, vivacious, full-of-life girl who brought her own touch to every table as she was serving food. While we waited for our cocktail training session to begin, the curious worm in me wanted to know more about her and we had a brief talk. Nancy is a solitary youngster surrounded by lots of friends and cousins from a far-off village in Phuket. Her mother loved to offer food not only to the family members but also to the neighbors or anyone in need; her father was a farmer.

COVID struck the travel and hospitality industries severely in 2020. Nancy thus had to quit her work and go back to her village. She went over two years without a consistent salary, yet this helped her to remain near to her family. “Those were the most challenging years of my life since we were living one day at a time on literal terms,” she recalls. Not having enough money, all those neighbors her mother raised volunteered to assist during the worst of times. Her loyal buddies from her early years supported her by giving what they could and occasionally by laughing at the uncertainty this one small virus brought into the world. She was growing up.

When our brief talk came to a close, I asked Nancy what she discovered during those days. Her lightning-fast answer was-

Saving enough for rainy days is important; first I save 15% for the future and then live to the utmost of today from the remainder.
Constructing your closest circle on a strong basis of compassion and respect: I could not have imagined how we would have survived those two years if our family, friends, and neighbors lacked one another.
Spending time and effort to pick new skills: I enjoy working as a waiter and learning to be a bartender. Making a mocktail or a cocktail is an art, and I want to become quite accurate someday.
We went back to the scheduled cocktail learning session when Nancy shared her knowledge bits on creating mocktails and incredibly good cocktails. We once more appreciated her company and almost contagious vitality.

A brief meeting with Nancy inspired me to consider the straightforward and strong teachings she acquired devoid of any motivating books, seminars, or techniques. Are these teachings so basic? If so, why do our businesses or communities need to commit significant time, money, and effort developing plans to apply these basic ideas? That too, after seeing the awful side effects of the epidemic like Nancy did!