Blood Diamond

I was watching Blood Diamond earlier today. On the whole, the show is about humanity’s greed (for diamonds) that only led up to blood shed. I suppose the movie title does elucidate everything.

Well, that little motion picture actually got me thinking - a man’s greed, gluttony or voraciousness if you prefer to call, is undoubtedly scary. Watching people kill their own flesh and blood just for an extra buck, that’s just barbaric. Here’s the thing, for the first time in my very short life, I actually caught a glimpse of what life’s like at war. I could feel a part of me being torn away when I saw a man put a bullet through another man’s head. For the first time, through the countless number of violent shows I’ve watched that didn’t budge me a tad bit, I was overwhelmed just by the sight of that man that grasped for breath, clutching onto his daughter, thinking, just thinking that he can protect her and armour her from harm.

I never knew a movie could move me so much. I never knew a person could ever be that cruel. I know for the very fact that it is not just a stage show. It happens and is happening in every single day of our lives. For us, it is just the intensity of greed that differs, or perhaps the substance that fuels our desires. The thing is, we know about this. We know that there’s a war. We read it in the newspapers. However, we do nothing.

You know what? Let’s put Blood Diamond aside for now and look at the smaller things that we go through every day and which we can definitely overcome. So what exactly is greed? My dear Mr. Oxford tells me that it’s the insatiate desire for food or wealth. I beg to differ. You have to include power too! And lot’s of other things, and of course you have to include the fact that it is also a selfish act. Come to think about it, selfism is a crucial element in greed. However, that is beside the point. Let’s get a wee bit more serious. I realise that I haven’t got much stories to tell because I for one always put that behind me. You could also say I’m forgetful because I am what I am.

Nevertheless, I am a ravenous person as well, there is no denying to that. I remember when I was young, I’d always make sure I had more sweets and Barbie’s than my cousins. I didn’t even like Barbie’s. Don’t even get me started on real food, that’s the only reason why I’m horizontally luxuriant. Well, I love winning and I hate to lose. Be sly, cunning or whatever, as long as I get my way, as long as I get what I want, it didn’t matter to me. I’m no different from everyone else, perhaps other than Mother Theresa or some other Samaritans like her. The thing is that some people grow up allowing temptation to engineer their every move. Their refusal to share and their wanting to possess something entirely led them to make choices that eventually led to regrets.

I am very grateful that I am not as bad as what I was before. There is no denying that a little bit of greed still remains, in fact, the little bit of greed is essential to a certain extent. Else wise, we wouldn’t get anywhere now, would we? Behind the innocent layers of masks, we do do things for a reason, and that reason would be to benefit ourselves one way or another. Nonetheless, I would never allow greed to get the better part of me. Temptations are nothing but temptations. I strongly feel that as long as one can tell apart their needs and their desires, they will be satisfied.

I’m a very happy person. I get contented with the little things. It all starts with me, myself and I.