Meeting Muang-Muang

The theme of Meeting Muang-Muang by Pico Iyer is that the it's the little things that count. This can be shown by Muang-Muang's positivity and happiness despite living a life that some may see as less fortunate. Muang's happiness is derived from making others happy and seeing his work. The tone of the passage furthers this by staying upbeat and happy and makes you feel better after reading it. Two examples of the language that struck me as effective are, (1) "If you put air into volleyball and throw it against wall, it bounces back. But if you do not put in air, what happens? It collapses against wall." I like this quote because it shows the simplicity of Muang-Muang's philosophies on life. It is simple but yet so complex and deep when you further read into it and I think it adds to depth of Muang-Muang's character, and (2) "All tourist people are my bread and butter. So I need to help everything as I could. If I do not help them, they will never forgive me because I fully understand their love or sincerity. I don't have enough money, but I need to pay their gratitude one day." I enjoy this excerpt because it better helps understand why Muang-Muang does all that he does for so little in return. You can better see his beliefs in action with this quote. It really makes you sit down and think about how you are living your life.