Responsibility

Maybe talk about something different now.

Something came into my mind when I was listening in to what Princess and Mary-Ann talked about on Friday during dinner (at ABC market! haha).

It got me thinking when Princess mentioned that her dad is not in the tip top of health but yet continues to indulge a little on the side with the knowledge that it may be bad for his health. It just got me wondering if a desire to continue a certain quality of life should override the need to be responsible for one's health and to the family.

My reasons.... Unless it is hereditary or bad luck, I believe our personal lifestyle will determine our state of health now and in the future. Human beings will wear and tear with time and I am of the belief that all excessive indulgence (food, liquor, cigarettes etc) will show up as poor health in the future.

For example, it is a given that cigarettes are bad for one's health but people still do it. Why? Because they don't see the pain now and they always cite the low probability (grandmother story about so and so smoking for years but still OK). So if someone who smokes a lot during his early years and gets a related illness thereafter, does that mean that he should be allowed to continue because he wants to maintain his quality of life? I don't know.... I always believe in balance... he has already decided to squander his quota of "quality life" in early life and if restraint is needed later to maintain a healthier life then I think it is the responsibility of the person to realise this and do so.

In my opinion, it must be a balance between sacrifices and the desire to maintain a quality of life. If I knowingly maintain my quality of life even with the knowledge that it may deteriorate my condition and burden them in the future, then I think it is selfish and irresponsible for the simple fact that it is thinking of self before the masses.

Probably I feel very strongly about this because I have seen or heard of cases whereby people simply over-indulged and then end up burdening the family years down the road. In those cases, the people also chose to ignore the signs and continued to lead their normal lives..... What happened? One case had to sell off the house to pay for the medical expenses, one case had the dad being wheelchair-bound and ostracised, and one case has the person literally wasting his life away on a bed....

Well, another case of Princess triggering me to think..... Haha...