Money is the root of all evil. And yet...

A few weeks back on my way to work, my mother was talking to me as i drove (actually 'nagging' would come closer >.<). she was discussing her worry about my younger bro's girlfriend who has had a brain tumor removed before and may experience a relapse. my uncle (who is my mother's elder brother) has a wife, who currently has a second-stage cancer. my mother's point was this: that although it is our lives and our choice on who we choose as our mate, it is ultimately fate that decides everything. therefore on that point, my mother was worried that the impact of any relapse on my brother's girlfriend, will affect my brother's life and force him to adopt a less 'successful' life, not unlike my before-mentioned uncle who has owns a factory and could have more 'successful' if not for his wife. at that point of time, i mentally scorn and dismiss her view. i thought to myself: what about love? is love not more important that being 'successful'? love would prevail against all odds and is foremost, in my opinion.

last friday, i had to attend a funeral on my parents' behalf. one of my grandmother's god-sister died and i drove there with my grandmother, uncle (another one of my mother's younger brother, not the before-mentioned one) and aunt (my mother's elder sister). being a representative of my parents and not being particularly close to the deceased (i only see her during chinese new year), most of my time was spend sitting with my mouth closed, eyes and ears open. some of my mother's family (meaning my uncles and aunts) attended and i could seriously picture how they were when my uncles and aunts were young. one of my aunts initally looked like she was going to unleash the water-works ('cry' for the ignoramus >.<), but looked better after much chatting. i talked with my uncle most of time and answered the occasional usual qustions thrown at me by the other relatives (like what i'm studying and what year i'm in >.<). my uncle half-jokingly suggested that i become a plumber so as to better my chances of obtaining the australian PR, and to earn better money. i rebutted his claim and said that to do so would waste my time and expenses of the four years of university education. the following is more or less the conversation after:

uncle: yes yes. i'm not saying that you are wasting your time in university. all i'm saying is that you should keep an open mind when you look for your job.
me: then you could have said it better, isn't it? for example, you could have asked me first what i liked to do, and then suggested that i do that, instead of suggesting plumbing.
(momentary pause for a second or so)
uncle: i think you and i are different. for me, i would do anything and any job, so long as i survive. and you focus on what you like to do instead. i think its because of the times that i lived in. we were really poor when young and our priority was survival. your priority is liking what you do. granted, liking what you do is important as your work would become easier. but given me a choice, i would rather do any job, go through life and at the end of it, say to myself: hey, i survived. i fed and supported my family. thats whats important.

for a moment, i sat there stunned. i have heard of the often debatable issue on whether money is everything, and i've always sided the view that money is NOT everything. but after those chats with my mother and uncle, i start to wonder otherwise. is the drive and ambition is to have more money, that sinful and wrong? if the reason behind doing so, is to survive and support the family, would that make it wrong as well? we are talking about SURVIVAL: the basic and instinctive human nature to kick and strain for your life. the base emotion that all animals have and drives them to struggle in a hunter's trap and net, to run/fly/swim their fastest when pursued by a predator. the willingness in everyone to take on, fight and battle anyone who threatens.

i truly wonder now...