I remember this exactly..
It was 2007..
An acquaintance asked me how much salary I was making..
At that time, I was making just over $3,000..
But the reaction was..
Wow~..how do you live on that..? That's what they said..
I was quite taken aback..
We weren't even that close,
but they asked how much I was making..
and when I told them, they said how could I live on that..
But..
their tone wasn't mocking or anything..
I felt like they pitied me..
But..
they must have thought I looked so pitiful that
they said they only wore it once..
and gave me suit pants as a gift..
I accept and wear clothes when people give them to me..
I can't wear them if they're too small, but I wear them even if they're a bit big..
Since I believe in wearing things cleanly after washing them, it didn't bother me much..
I started to become curious..
2007 was 18 years ago from now..
I was still young and making just over $3,000 was enough to live on,
so I wondered how much they were making..
and I asked people around me..
What does that person do..?
Turns out..
they were working at companies while traveling abroad..
They were an elite..
Their family was well-to-do..
At that time, they were apparently a big shot at some multinational company in Indonesia..
They had Japanese subordinates and whatnot..
They said they made $12,000 a month..
They were rich from childhood and followed an elite path,
earning $12,000 a month..
they couldn't seem to understand how someone making $3,000 could survive..
The person wasn't bad at all..
You know how politicians don't know the price of noodles..subway fares..
It's similar to that kind of thing..
When I told my wife..
Wow..I'm so jealous..she said..
But I didn't really feel jealous..
Why not..
First, they were much older than me..
There's no law that says I can't earn that much when I reach their age..
That's what I thought..
Second..
They make a lot of money but they're much older..
I was at that time..well..now too of course,
young and vibrant..
Although I earn less money,
my body is still young..and youth contains infinite possibilities,
and I have more time than them..
So..
In terms of actual money, they were ahead of me,
but when I counted time..money..youth..all of it together,
I didn't think I was worse off..
There was something someone said to me..
It was when Chairman Lee Kun-hee was alive..
They said they were so jealous of Chairman Lee Kun-hee..because he had so much money he couldn't control it,
wishing they could live as Chairman Lee Kun-hee..
It's a bit weird to say this, but..
listening to them..
I thought it was pathetic..
Chairman Lee Kun-hee had a lot of money..
But he didn't have much time left..
At that time, I think he was around 70..
I said..
You don't have much money..Chairman Lee Kun-hee has a lot of money..
But if, like in a movie, you became Chairman Lee Kun-hee,
and he became you, who would benefit more..?
Who would benefit more..?
Time slips away like sand through fingers..
No matter how much wealth you have, you can't stop or buy time..
Rather than envying others for making a lot of money,
right now, this moment..
I think appreciating the value of my time would be a good way for modern people suffering from relative poverty..
Ah..
Now 18 years have passed and you might be wondering if I'm earning as much as them..
The answer is..
No..I'm still broke..
But..I'm living with electricity on and internet working..
and I'm posting something like writing every day..
Now..well..
I have less money than them,
but I've gained the ability(?) to write something new every day,
it depends on what you value,
but I still don't feel particularly jealous of them..
If you say, what good is writing that doesn't make money..where would it be used..,
well..
who knows what will happen with people..
what I might become from this writing..
At worst, I might make it in the Guinness Book..
as the guy who posts writing every single day..
If not, then so be it..
