Musings Over Breakfast

A typical Malaysian breakfast: roti canai with dhal curry

It is not really my habit to read the newspaper while having my breakfast. I don’t know about you but I’d rather talk; however since I am married to a MAN who shush me up even before I open my mouth and give me the look; “cant-you-see-am-reading-the newspaper?” (What is it with men when it comes to breakfast and newspaper anyway? It boggles me!), I opted to concentrate on the food and looking silly.

Anyway, as I was in-between-chewing my wanton mee, my eyes darted across an open article (behind where my husband was reading) that says “Importance of Social Health.” I couldn’t resist reading and this time I didn’t mind even when he started pulling the newspaper closer to himself; we were caught in a newspaper tug-of-war! Well, HE HAS TO give way (if you know what I mean ) so he gave it to me. Whew!

The article (The Star, 10 June 2007, p. N8) revealed about a survey done by Blackmores regarding the definition of “Real Health” by Malaysians. The survey took into account 4 aspects of health and questions were given in each component of physical, social, emotional & mental. The result; surprise, surprise…Malaysians are sociable people! Or so they want to be. Well, respondents placed it second to emotional health (by a meager 1 point!); but over all, forming a relationship or “having dinner with a love one or chatting with a friend at least once a week” still plays a pivotal role in every Malaysians.

The phrase “chatting with a friend at least once a week” stayed in my mind for a while and I found myself staring into nothingness. While this is true however, what we want to have (a good and solid friendship) and what is actually happening in real life may not be the same. Like the other day, I felt so in need of a friend to talk to; after waking up on the wrong side of the bed and receiving a not-so-good email from someone.

You see, there are just certain things that only women will understand, so the idea of getting sympathy from my husband (at that time) was out of the question.

For the like of me, there was no one I could find! Sad to say, I think over the years since becoming a wife, the idea of having girlfriends or having a BFF (Best Friend Forever) has taken a major backseat. So there I was, staring at my computer, wanting to talk to someone so much but words just couldn’t come out because there was no one to talk to! The reality was painful. I’ve never felt so miserable.

Dr. Dean Ornish said; “our survival depends on the healing power of love, intimacy, and relationship – physically, emotionally, spiritually; as individuals, as community, as a country, as a culture. Perhaps even as species.”

Good thing to me is that, there was God and prayer does the trick all the time! So guess what, when I opened my eyes there was this beautiful e-mail from someone, telling me how wonderful it is to be her friend and that she will always be there for me.

Life is an irony.