Contented with Happiness

Stalls peddling wares, titbits, toys, household stuff, vegetables, meat and food were spread in a randomly organised fashion on the huge spread of stony sandy land.

Standing in the middle of this market, my sister and I didn’t really know how to function without getting lost. We were visiting our cousin in Kajang, a town about half an hour’s drive from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

That morning, she brought us to the market to see what we would like for breakfast and to do some marketing. As she meandered her way familiarly through the stalls, stopping by her usual ones, my sister, mother and I followed her closely in her trail.

Looking after our cute and lively nephews, we were busying ourselves at a particular stall selling household items and some toys. While waiting for the little ones to choose what they wanted, my eyes took a quick tour of the place.

People of all ages and races were standing behind their stalls – some by their vans – selling a variety of items. The market was very much alive at 9.30 a.m.

Slowly sweeping across the bustling marketplace, one girl caught my eye. Wearing a white loose T-shirt with her neck-length hair half tied up, she looked like she was, at the most, in her early 20s. Waving to someone whom I reckoned she knew, she was wearing a smile that attracted my attention. Then she waved again in another direction.

I stood there and observed her on the sly, and I was at once captivated by that energy. The kind of simple bliss and happiness she radiated struck me. I remembered thinking: “Why does she look so happy, and at ease? Is she really happy? Is she forced to come here and sell breakfast by her parents, or did she volunteer? Is she still studying? Is this her full-time job?”

That girl looked contented. And I was perplexed. I found my imagination straying, wondering what she would be doing after she ended her business for the day. Would she be meeting her friends? Would she be helping in the household chores? Would she be reading, or going onto the Internet maybe?

Of course, I wouldn’t be able to get my answers, since I left the place not knowing who she was. Nevertheless, my curiosity remained piqued until now.

Are these teenagers happy with their lives? Are they contented in this routine every day – getting up early in the morning, prepare the food or merchandise to sell then setting up stall in the marketplace?

Is that girl happy because she wasn’t aware of other alternatives, that there is another world that is very different from the one she is living in?

Or is she happy just because life, really, is nothing but being around with your loved ones, staying healthy and having enough to satisfy our basic essentials of living – eating well, sleeping comfortably and dressed nicely?

And guess what? Even though she wasn’t dressed in designer labels or in anything that can be remotely linked to having a sense of fashion, even though she wasn’t wearing any make-up, she actually looked pretty to me.

Are we asking too much, or are they too contented? What do you think?