He doesn’t have much. He retired from being a busker. He is not married. He had a stroke a few years back. He is taking care of his friend, who is living with him. His friend has dementia. He is 83 years old.
With no 5 or 6 Cs to boast about, Mr Lee Cho Poon has opened his rented unit to three different housemates in the past decade, caring for them till their final hour and tending to their funerals.
One pre-school director said this about Mr Lee: “He gives so much with the little he has, I have so much but I give so little. That’s really inspiring.” Well, I can’t agree with that more. I stand charged and guilty.
And because of Mr Lee’s story, many have come forward to offer assistance to him. Most have offered donations. But this is what was reported in the papers today.
“...when the Straits Times visited Mr Lee in his one-room apartment in Ang Mo Kio on Wednesday, he politely declined every one of them, asking instead that donors help those less fortunate than he is.”
And what Mr Lee said here captured my heart. “All I did was take care of my friend, who’s like a brother to me - why is this such a big news? I have enough...I don’t need anything else.”
Truly, I really believe he meant every word of that. That is why you can say that he might just be one of the happiest and most contented persons living this side of mother earth.
Now, I am sure you have heard of this saying: “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” And I thought about that and these words of Mr Lee rang shrill in my mind - “All I did was take care of my friend who’s like a brother to me - why is this such a big news?”
Well, it’s big news because of the society we live in today. If Mr Lee had lived at a time before the advent of media technology or the industrial revolution, for that matter, his good deeds will largely go unnoticed or off the public ether.
Another reason why this is such big news is because, borrowing that saying about the country of the blind, I suspect that in our society, we may just be living our life ”visionally impaired”. Not literally of course, but if it helps metaphorically, or putting it in another way, we are living our lives one eye shut. And it is, at most times, an autopilot, or conditioned, reaction.
As such, people like Mr Lee (and the many others who have to sacrifice much to take care of their loved ones out of duty, love and hope) are deemed exceptional in conduct and heart, or are considered society’s city on the emerald hill.
In other words, I would like to think that people like Mr Lee sees with both eyes, and their clarity of vision goes beyond the here and now, that is, beyond the pursuit of the material, the accolades and the fame that lasts only for as long as one is not replaced by the next big thing that comes along, which happens on a weekly basis.
So, as the society live with one eye closed, very much by default, what we see is the script that is handed to us. Our scope is narrow, constricted. And that script starts young, practically at birth.
From thereon, our parents are conditioned to define and pursue success the same way our government once defined it, that is, the socially iconic 5 or 6Cs.
(Although our government has tried to change that 5Cs to represent competency, collaboration and capabilities and so on, sadly, I doubt it is effective to transform the Singapore dream into anything beyond the material and immediate).
The unspoken rule is therefore to strive to reach the top even at the expense of what truly matters in life, and the chant to get there is taken from the script of materialism and individualism, whose foundation is constantly nourished by the direction our society is heading towards.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that we shouldn’t inculcate in our kids a disciplined spirit to pursue economically worthy goals, that is, to provide for family, to invest wisely, to plan for retirement, and to achieve excellence in whatever we set our mind on.
But, in our pursuit of them, the script we uncritically follow risks taking us by autopilot (like a rushing river) to places that leave us more discontented than before, with our desire for shared meaning seldom fulfilled, and leaving a trail of relationships in distress and disrepair behind.
Many times, we live with one eye closed, refusing to see further and deeper, refusing to forgive, refusing to understand, refusing to let go, refusing to give up the things that stake a possessive hold on us for the things that matter in life (until it’s too late).
That is why people like Mr Lee is such big news, not so much that the one-eyed man is king, but that the one who sees with both eyes tend to exude a certain peace, charity and contentment that most of us desire and long after in our own life.
Let me end with what Mr Lee has to say to the people who have shown him kindness.
"Please tell readers that I'm very, very grateful, but that they should give the money to people who are needier than I am. We already have enough to eat... we have about $40 (for two people) a day, that's enough.”
It reports that “the men live on financial assistance of $600 a month each after Mr Lee's savings from his days as a busker ran out.”
Mr Lee added: “Most importantly, I want to remain healthy, to continue caring for Mr Neo, for him to not fall ill, to eat and be happy. This is what gives me satisfaction... I have no regrets."
Thanks Mr Lee, for opening my eyes.
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