Being on my own on my birthday allows me the perfect opportunity to reflect the happenings in the past one year. In the recent years I did not really have a lot of great thoughts and lessons that I have learnt. However this year’s reflection proves to be above any level of experience that I have ever encountered in life. The good, the bad and the worst have past. For some of us life remains the same. Perhaps physically we have transformed. Or others might just be richer or poorer, in a material sense. Some of us dealt with a lot of negative feelings; jealousy because our colleague got promoted instead of us, distress because of the mountain of work we are swarmed with, hatred because someone picks on us at work, dejection because we feel that we cannot fit in the social circle, agony because someone close to us leaves us or lets us down… The list goes on. A lot of us do not realize that it is these experiences, be it positive or negative, that makes us who we are today. It is good if we can learn from them and be able to rise above difficult situations but I would bet the majority of us gets drowned by the mishaps in life. As a matter of fact I was in that situation last year. For some very natural reason our brain is programmed to favour only things that bring us happiness which usually get tough when time passes because life is not a bed of roses. If only we can re-program our mind to take things on the same acceptance bar regardless of the case outcome then only will we be able to see the bigger picture of life. When we have tasted the bitterness in life there comes a realization to appreciate everything that comes along in life.
Life has taught me that we do not have to be rich to give. Sadly people are usually misled by a common excuse of not giving away because they do not have any materials to give away. Think outside of the box and then you will begin to see that giving away is so much more than just spending our money on people who need them. Hosted by Oprah Winfrey, a reality show was created to demonstrate how much we can actually give out to the needy. The show, called 'Big Give' consists of a number of contestants whereby each week they are given an amount of money and then they need to give that money away, in the most meaningful way they can think of. A lot of them often misunderstand that the best way is to buy them material goods, usually things that the person in need is deprived of. At the end of the day it boils down to the process of giving, whether it was a well-thought idea or one which was simply a "going-along-with-the-show" idea. It makes me understand that it is always about the small, little gestures which can touch people's hearts and lives. Equally important is when someone shows that they care, by taking the time to listen to your innermost feelings when needed. That is definitely the biggest gift one can share.
On a completely unrelated lesson, what would you do if today is your last day on Earth? Have you made an impact so great that people remember you for life? Or will you be no one to anyone? For some ironic reason these questions keep replaying in my mind (ironic because today is my birthday yet I'm talking about the last day). It makes me think that if I continue doing what I am doing everyday right now, most probably I'll be on my deathbed with no one really remembering the greatest things I do in life, or rather lack of. And perhaps hilarious I can foresee my tomb engraved with the words "Beloved Img2Vct expert". Though I am convinced that at each pitstop in life there is a reason for us to pick up at least one invaluable lesson that does not make me regret that maybe at one particular pitstop I may just be spending too much time.
What I have learnt in the past one year has in a prominent way soften my personality and makes me more vulnerable. And it is this vulnerability that has managed to open up who I am inside to the world outside for them to help me to know myself better. Happy 24th Birthday, Kin Foo.
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