Voluntary Work

I read an e-mail last night and found it funny, nonsense yet meaningful to some extent. It was something like this (I couldn’t really remember):

God: Ah Gu (cow), I create you to work for men, give them milk and as a return I let you chew on grass and a 50-year-lifespan.
Ah Gu: What the crap?! I have to labor for men and I only have grass to chew? I just take 20 years life time, I give you the rest.
God: Okay.

God: Ah Kow (dog), I create you to guide the door for your owner, should anyone come in, all you need to do is to bark at him. As a return, you’ll be given your master’s food leftover and a 20-year-lifespan.
Ah Kow: What the crap?! I have to bark and what I get is only leftover? No way…
God: Okay.

God: Lau Kau (monkey), I create you for a purpose. You are to put your best and funniest faces to make men laugh. As a return, you will have peanuts and banana, and a 20-year-lifespan.
Lau Kau: What the crap?! I have to do the silly faces to make men laugh and all I get are just peanut and banana? I don’t want to be so suffering, I give you my 10 years.
God: Okay.

God: Son, you are my masterpiece, so what you have to do are just eating, drinking, sleeping, playing and enjoying. I give you 20-year-lifespan.
Human: Are you serious?
God: Sure…
Human: Since Ah Gu doesn’t want his 30 years, Ah Kow doesn’t want his 10 years and Lau Kau doesn’t want his 10 years, why don’t you just give me? You can’t do anything to it also.
God: Since you’re so enthusiastic for your life, okay, I give you all.

And so, we eat, drink, sleep, play and enjoy for the first 20 years as we are growing up. We work and labor like Ah Gu for the next 30 years to raise our family. We have to bark outside people’s door for 10 years when we are retired and finally we have to make all the silly faces to make our grandchildren for our last 10 years.

Sometimes, I really wonder why we, human are so pitiful. We have no shortage of problems and worries. Solving this problem to wait for another one. Should we actually do something to help people if we are capable of or afford?

As my friend said she thought of doing voluntary work instead of continuing her tertiary education, but somehow, she wants money to enjoy. She said it’s really hard to find a balanced point between money and contribution. I also agree, I can’t give up money as I find it playing an important in my life, but seeing our world is losing its empathy gradually, I feel I’m responsible to make some contribution. I’m wondering should I participate voluntary work in my 3 months of holidays at the end of this year. Or should I say am I ready to do so? Or should I say my parents will not bark at me after listening this?