Living below the line
Once again, it has been a while...
Not really sure if it's 4th year or I'm just having more and more commitments
Oh well, either way, I'm enjoying it, that's what really matters :)
Last week, I joined over 5000 people all over Australia to "Live below the line"
Limiting only $2 per day for food, for 5 days
YES! A total of $10 per week for all the things that you put into your stomach except plain water
At first when Jo mentioned it to us, I thought to myself...
"Hmm...I'm not gonna do this, why would I suffer? Can't I just donate the money?"
At that time, the thought of giving up foods was just too hard, looking back, I felt that I was a bit self-centered...
Why did I then accept the challenge???
Firstly, I guess it's because this might be my last and only chance
Secondly, I've got friends to do it together with
To be honest, the idea of "feeling how the starving people feel" did not cross my mind at that time
So, me, Isaac & Ryan decided to do it, $30 worth of foods for the 3 of us for that week
Thanks Melissa for coming up with a wholesome list of foods we should buy within the budget of $30
Careful planning really does matter, without it, I think we would have run out of food on the third of fourth day!
With $30, we had rice, chicken wings, bakchoy, mince meat & eggs
I was stunned when we finished our grocery shopping
"IT'S ACTUALLY POSSIBLE!"
Donate @ ^^
There's actually nothing exciting about the foods that we cooked, lol
One thing worth mentioning, I've learnt many ways to grill a chicken wing!
Fried rice is the less filling dish of all
Porridge can help to save rice and still be filling
Experience wise, I've got lots of stuff to say and to remember :)
Hunger, it's very scary.........
Imagine, sticking to your daily routine, but minus the feasts
We all know that foods are the source of energy for our daily living
But I've never felt so tired and weak before because of food-deprivation
The idea of "I'm weak, let's forget about doing this...doing that..."
The temptation of giving up was just there all the time
The temptation of compromising my daily routine like going to the gym and work was there too
The temptation of grabbing a chocolate bar in the shelve was there!!!
Thank God, I've crushed the temptations again and again
My mind just kept telling me, if you compromise, you'll regret and you won't deserve to be called a fighter
Anything edible during that time just became so precious, even the remaining oils & seasonings stuck on the aluminium foil...
That's how desperate we were, at least Isaac & me, we literally just scrap the oil and nom away, screaming how awesome "the unhealthiest food of all time" are!
While we were doing that, we pitied ourselves...
What about people who really do live on less than $2 of food every single day of their life
A drop of soya sauce, a single crystal of salt...these are all foods to them!
5 days gone by pretty quickly
I broke my so called "fast" with an oreo cookies
That's the tastiest oreo I've tasted all my life~
The privilege to eat, is just too awesome
We cooked ourselves a feast, to celebrate the end of living below the line, and also to remind ourselves how lucky we really are
"Live below the line" has taught me a lot of things
Not just to realise how tough it is without adequate food
But also to learn how to be determined and not to compromise when situation becomes tougher. Instead, hang in there and push it through to witness the glory.
Hard earned victory is always more precious
It's indeed true...
Thank God to help me keep my composure when the time's tough, anything is possible through with his help :)
Let's cherish the chance to eat, and don't waste the foods!
I'm just so fortunate~
Thanks my friends for the support too :)
Let's make a difference!
