Lesson On Finding Happiness And Contentment

Written on October 12, 2007 by Tezza

Friday’s weekly guide to Life Balance from 4EvaYoung.com

Brian Thacker’s book “Planes, Trains and Elephants” is a lighthearted and often times entertaining view of travel from the authors perspective. He speaks candidly about the mishaps and the highlights of wandering around the world. Brian is extremely well traveled and his stories are illuminating to say the least. One story that caught my attention is a short story entitled “Felucca” which is a great illustration of living the simple happy life. The story is recounted by Brian’s Egyptian host in his residence.

‘One evening, eight years ago, I was tying up my felucca on the banks of the Nile when a beautiful lady called out to me, “Excuse me, can you take me to the other side?” I told her “No. I am sorry, madam, but the felucca is not for hire. It’s my own felucca.” (Allah Din had saved for years to buy his own felucca). “Oh please,” she asked me again, “I have to get to the other side.” I took her across and she then asked me if I would wait for her. I waited for an hour, then took her back. She tried to give me money but I said, “No, it is my pleasure”. She then told me she was a princess from Kuwait and asked if I would take her across the Nile again the next day. I said yes.

The next day she asked if I would like to come and work for her as her personal assistant. I said yes. I traveled the world for two years seeing the most beautiful places on earth, but I said to her I would like to stay in one place so she made me manager of her estate in Switzerland. I only ever saw her now and again. Sometimes she didn’t even know where she was. One time she awoke on the sofa and asked me where she was. I told her we were in England. She had a very big shock. She thought she was in Switzerland. She had had many drinks the night before and had asked me to organise her private plane, which was always on standby, and accompany her to her house in England. She did not remember asking me…or going over on the plane.’

‘Was she a nice person to work for?’ I asked.

‘Oh, yes. A very kind and generous lady. She was very kind to me. One time she left a note and an envelope for me when she was leaving the house in Switzerland. The note said, “Go into town and buy yourself something nice?”. Inside the envelope was 10000 Swiss Francs (about $10,000).’

Allah Din didn’t brag or gloat when he told us this. It was just matter of fact.

‘I managed the Swiss estate for one year, then spent another year at her large estate in England. But the houses were mostly empty and there was nothing really to do. I also got very homesick, so I asked the princess may I go home. She offered me a job running a very big oil company in Egypt. But I said, no, I want to go home to my village.’

So, after four years of working for one of the wealthiest women in the world, earning more money that he could ever imagine, staying in the best hotels and eating in the best restaurants. Allah Din returned to Aswan and his simple mud brick house with sand as the floor. He didn’t do too badly for himself, though. He now owns fourteen feluccas.

After a light lunch of warm bread and delicious homemade dips, Allah Din’s mum gave us all a hug goodbye and told us we could drop in any time. We said yes, we would - as if we pass by this Nubian village in the southern Egyptian desert quite often.

Allah Din dropped us off at the Hotel Pullman Cataract, the stunning and elegant turn of the last century hotel overlooking the Nile. Most Egyptians could live for a week on the price of just one of the cocktails at the bar. This was where Agatha Christie wrote the book Death of the Nile. We asked Allah Din to join us for a cocktail on the verandah, but he declined. He had spent four years living a life like that and he was much happier just to potter around in his felucca.

Later that night we saw him in a small, cheap riverside restaurant having a drink with friends and he invited us over. As I watched him chatting and laughing with his friends, it occurred to me that he was the most contented, happy man I’d ever met.

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Posted in Life Balance, Living The Simple Life