1916- MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY

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(This nice fictitious anecdote is not Chetan Bhagat's own story but is mentioned as such in the book 'Sound and Silence' by Dunstan Chan at page 295 in its chapter titled Capricious Consumption and its consequences.)
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Germany is a highly industrialized country. In such a country, many will think its people lead a luxurious life.
When we arrived at Hamburg , my colleagues walked into the restaurant, we noticed that a lot of tables were empty. There was a table where a young couple was having their meal. There were only two dishes and two cans of beer on the table. I wondered if such simple meal could be romantic, and whether the girl will leave this stingy guy.

There were a few old ladies on another table. When a dish is served, the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would finish every bit of the food on their plates.
As we were hungry, our local colleague ordered more food for us.When we left, there was still about one third of un-consumed food on the table.
When we were leaving the restaurant, the old ladies spoke to us in English, we understood that they were unhappy about us wasting so much food.
"We paid for our food, it is none of your business how much food we left behind," my colleague told the old ladies. The old ladies were furious. One of them immediately took her hand phone out and made a call to someone. After a while, a man in uniform from Social Security organisation arrived. Upon knowing what the dispute was, he issued us a 50 Euro fine. We all kept quiet.
The officer told us in a stern voice, "ORDER WHAT YOU CAN CONSUME, MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS IN THE WORLD WHO ARE FACING SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES. YOU HAVE NO REASON TO WASTE RESOURCES."
The mindset of people of this rich country put all of us to shame. WE REALLY NEED TO REFLECT ON THIS. We are from country which is not very rich in resources. To save face, we order large quantity and also waste food when we give others a treat.
(Courtesy: A friend who is now changed a lot)
THE LESSON IS:- THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT CHANGING OUR BAD HABITS. Expecting acknowledgment, that u read the message and forward to your contacts.

VERY TRUE -"MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY."
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"This linkage (our consumption and loss of resources) can be illustrated with the issue of shark fin. To many traditional Chinese shark fin soup is a status symbol. The inclusion of it in a feast gives the host much “face”. He can say to the anti-shark fin soup brigade, “I can afford it, so what’s that business to you?” It is our business because for that little bowl of soup a whole shark is wasted."
Sound and Silence, Dunstan Chan.

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comment:  
We don't learn good things...
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"I hv studied nd lived in abroad... all I see is we have not learnt much good thngs from them... like
(1)manners,
(2)caring/ consideration for others
(3)united thinking for country nd not only individual,
(4)respecting law even whn nobody is watchng us....
bt learnt almost all not so good thngs"

Rajeev Pareekh
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