The Joy of the Unexpected

Amidst all the sad and unstoppable going ons here in the office because of the financial crisis, a truly unexpected thing happened yesterday. The knowledge that it is July, the month for bonuses, has been completely driven out of my mind. Who would have guessed that such thing still exists when just last week more than a dozen people got their notices that they will have to cease work after the end of the month? Then there is the abominable decrease in salary which took effect last month.

But it was a truly wonderful surprise to have received the white envelope. I received an email from a colleague that our boss was wandering and handing out envelopes. I didn't know why but I immediately thought that it was good news. I somehow wished I hadn't known beforehand though, then I will be truly surprised. Nevertheless, it was still quite a shock. I waited for my boss to hand me over the mysterious envelope. And when I finally got it, I can't help but put a big grin on my face.

My boss told me not to get overexcited because it was not that much. It was really not that much, not even half of what I previously received. But it's not the amount that has sent me over the moon. It was the fact that there is something, even so tiny, and it is definitely better than nothing.

Before all the euphoria has worn out, I got into a deep thought. Everybody seemed so happy about the little surprise though it was such a tiny thing when the previous year, I have heard a lot of rants as to why their bonuses were not enough though it was triple of the amount we just received. Then there's the realization that the fact that it was truly unexpected made the big difference. Everyone has expected nothing but when they got a tiny thing, they were overly grateful.

Perhaps people should always be like this. We should not expect for too much things because when we receive something less than what we expected, we will get a heavy disappointment. On the other hand, when we don't expect for anything and get small things unexpectedly, we will truly be grateful. Then this is the key to our happiness and contentment.