tinggi langit, rendah bumi.

Hello earthlings. Hari ini hari yang sungguh malas. Hari ini, sampai office tak tidur sampai jam 8 pagi seperti biasa tapi melopong tak sudah-sudah. Rasanya, most things yang due dah siap hantar on Friday itu hari. Saya tiada lagi hutang kerja dan hari ini saya tak intend untuk pergi minta baru punya. Walaupun saya mahu kerja sebenarnya.

Letih la. I'm not too sure apa yang letihnya. Tapi hari-hari saya mahu March to end soon because I want to move on to April. Banyak sangat benda in March ni nampak gayanya sampai tak boleh nak focus my mind on the things which are important which I really want to focus on.

Yesterday we met a friend of Babah's at his house. Itu antara kawan-kawan masjid Babah whom he sees on an almost daily basis. Kiranya kalau sehari tak nampak tu akan terus call tanya "Are you okay" macam tu la. Cantik sangat rumah dia. Tapi apa yang paling best ialah cantik lagi budi bahasa dia. Walaupun dia berharta dan it's obvious that dia sangat-sangat well-off, dia sangat humble. Betul-betul tak sangka. He treated us all like his own children and siap buat-buat lawak with Adik because Adik is a little bit quiet when it comes to strangers. We instantly felt at ease.

Wife dia pun seorang yang sangat sprightly, cheerful and most importantly, humble. Although she is the wife of a well-off person, there was not a speckle of arrogance in her voice. When she speaks her mind, she gives all due respect to other people's thoughts as well. Kiranya, dia tahu that what may be biasa for her might just be too good to be true to others. And she knows that what may be the best for her might be something out of this world for others.

And their humble disposition shows in the upbringing of their children. Although I only had the opportunity to meet one of their 6 children, Z was equally nice to us like her parents were. Takda sombong atau berlagak etc. Saya suka orang macam ni. Because I have met far too many rich people who look down on you when they look at you. I may just be paranoid, tapi, I'm quite instinctive. And observant.

More often than not, I know what you see when you look at me although you don't seem to be saying that much to begin with. Saya tahu. So, it was refreshing to meet the people I met yesterday because they are indeed a rare species.

I write about this today because I just told my friends what I feel when some people look at me. Hey, I look simple and everything by choice. Kadang-kadang, my sister gets this as well. Like when we go out, people think that we can't afford this and that and that we are of a more lowly class. Iya, memang saya duduk double storey terrace sahaja. Drive sebiji Proton Saga. Tapi saya takda credit card bills. I don't spend more than my means.

I spend on my parents, and my siblings. Like I have no qualms buying Adik a DP dress though I don't have one myself. Occasionally, I spend on A. Cuma bab makan, saya memang tak berapa berkira where I can afford it. Sebab I was brought up during an era where my luxuries were numbered. I have earned the niceties I now have in life and for that, I am humbled. In some respects, I don't mind giving back.

Setiap kali ada orang yang buat perangai look down on me ni, I get annoyed sebab apa yang you all tahu about my family?  Saya mengaku, saya tak well-off, oh no. Memang itu adalah overstatement. Memang duduk TTDI orang selalu ingat orang kaya walaupun sebenarnya tak. Tapi if even I don't know how much my dad is earning, can you tell me whether or not I am good/not enough for you?

Kadang-kadang saya rasa orang lupa yang rezeki terletak di tangan Allah. Yang kita diberi apa yang kita terdaya untuk pikul saja. Mungkin kekayaan harta itu sesuatu yang terlalu berat untuk kami pikul so we are given wealth in a different form. Part itu, saya memang redha.

Mungkin sesiapa yang pernah look down on our family should rethink perangai dia orang tu. Ada perkara yang people decide to flaunt and ada people yang just don't feel the need to flaunt anything. My  family may be very simple, but we are principled. We have strong ties which are difficult to break. We love each other more than the world though we may small heart kadang-kadang and gaduh jugak bila dah tak tahan. But in the end, we love each other.

So we may repeat the same baju every time we go to the malls atau kenduri kahwin. Kita orang tak tempah this and that at this and that tailor. Tapi ada benda-benda yang we (the children in my family, esp) just don't feel like flaunting. After all, apa yang kami ada itu adalah hasil titik peluh ibu bapa and not ours for us to boast. Buat apa nak berlagak tunjuk harta yang bukan yours to begin with. Buat jadi bahan gelak orang saja.

Rezeki ada di tangan Allah (walaupun it is wrong for me to say Allah ada tangan pon because I don't know how Allah looks like). Rezeki boleh diberi dan ditarik balik pada bila-bila masa. Those who have it, have it. Tak perlu berlagak pon saya tahu. Because I have friends who are like that. There are those who don't have half or any of the things they claim they have. Well, shame on you. Selamat menconteng arang di muka sendiri. And there are those who choose to lay low. Sebab there are people who actually see beyond the size of your house and the clothes you wear and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Ingatlah. Orang yang tak menunjuk tak semestinya tak ada apa-apa. Diam-diam ubi berisi. Resmi padi, semakin berisi, semakin tunduk. Tak ke begitu? Boleh berhenti berlagak sekarang. Jelak.