When Passion Fades and Profit Takes Over

 There is an adage that says, for every action, there is a reason. This means that something bad doesn’t just happen without a cause or trigger. I believe this wasn’t how things were years ago. People have made things worse for themselves to the extent that everyone now “shines their eyes” not to be fooled anymore. The heart of a man is desperately wicked; who can search it? No one knows what’s running in the mind of someone when they approach you. You might mean well for them, but they want to be wicked to you. Many bad people have made everyone, including the good ones, reluctant to receive kindness again because of what they’ve gone through. In those days, people were more passionate and concerned about treating others well. Still, because their kindness was taken for granted, people stepping on their toes and making them regret their acts of generosity, they decided to change and act the other way, so they wouldn’t let the same thing happen again. I remember when I was in my teenage years, there was a nurse who opened a pharmacy shop beside our house. She was always the one who would help women in labour to give birth and wouldn’t collect any dime, sometimes. Her act of kindness was seen everywhere. Other times, she would not demand any money until she was done with her service because she was passionate about her work and also considerate when women were in such situations of giving birth. But today, it isn’t like that. Another example was my boss, where I taught as a class teacher years back. My boss was very kind, but the parents made her change. How do you expect her to keep running her school if parents refuse to pay their children’s school fees? Or they start coming around to beg my boss, putting on a pity face and promising to pay before the end of the term, but till the third term, they were still owing?  She wasn’t always happy, and whenever she came up with a strict rule, the parents would feel bad. This kept going for years, while she had to keep showing kindness just because she didn’t want them to take their children away from her school. No one told her to take a drastic step, which later brought a new change in the school. Some parents still owed her money even after they took their kids away before I left. Can you now see why things have changed today, and it looks as if some people only want to do business for the money alone and not because they have a passion for it? Yes, I won’t dispute the fact that we have some greedy ones too, who only open their businesses not because of anything but to make money and rip others off. These ones would do anything for money and not because they have an interest in people’s well-being. I remember how they insisted we must deposit a big sum of money before they could treat my mom at the hospital, even in such urgency. Most people today are in business for the money alone and do not value lives at all. You’d see them mostly in hospitals, where they won’t perform any treatment on you until you pay some amount. But to be honest, I wouldn’t blame the good ones who have good intentions. When I tried to understand why such a thing happens, I was made to understand that some patients can be cruel; they only want to be treated and won’t pay a dime. Another thing is that hospitals know if they don’t take the step of requesting deposits before treatment, and when a patient dies while being helped out of kindness, they won’t receive a dime from them. But it doesn’t stop the fact that we have good health practitioners who are willing to focus on treating a patient well, even before payment is made, and these are people with good hearts. How about in the business world? Some good people still show kindness, while some are greedy from the onset and are just in it for the money, not because they are passionate about making the best products or brands for their customers. You’d even see honest business people who would be transparent enough to direct you to other business counterparts when they don’t have a particular product and would sincerely advise you on which products are good or not, even if they are displayed on their wares. But for some, because of the money they want, they don’t care if they give you a fake one. In summary, there are good and bad people. While some do it for passion, others do it for their selfish interests and do not have the best interests of others at heart. But in the end, I believe there is always a reason behind everything that happens. I think when people are naturally good towards others, even passion won’t be lacking. Encouragement drives a passionate person - forget about the money now. When someone encounters another fellow with a good heart who treats them nicely, that will push them to take their business seriously and not focus on making money alone. At the end of the day, we would need to begin the change from each individual, from ourselves. --- _{*Images Credit to Gemini*}