A Lesson

A few days back I had attended cLass for my bacheLor program. Its the fifth week aLready and this semester has gone somewhat pretty swiftLy.

Mr. JAP (John AruL PauL) is our Lecturer for this moduLe, Advanced Human Resource Management. As usuaL, the man, in his sixties, with his common formaL wear and specs, is giving an utmost specific Lesson. He never misses a point or another as he aLways repeats himseLf.

The evening cLass was the usuaL. He covered his topics, and he went through the muLtipLe-choice questions, fLashing them on the projector, going around asking the students for answers. On each question, he had stated at the end of the question where in the textbook the answer couLd be found. It was my turn to answer, and so I read the question, referred to the page and started to Look for the answer, as the whoLe cLass did concurrentLy.

I gave an answer, then he paused Looking at me, and said, "why did you go through the whoLe page when I have aLready given you the answer.." Then, the whoLe cLass reaLised that at the end of the question, after the reference page was a LittLe aLphabet 'a'.

Mr. JAP added, "many a time, we aLL don't see what is right in front of us, and then spend so much effort Looking for it..." His statement might not have been heard by many as cLearLy, but I did.

Sometimes, or most of the time (according to Mr. JAP), we keep working hard for things we beLieve are things that we want, but at the end of the day, the most important things that we reaLLy want, are just right there, yet we do not see it.

This Lesson, is priceLess, at Least, to me.

The Journey

And so we aLways hear, that what matters is not the destination but the journey that brings us to it. WeLL, this can onLy be true.

We are aLL doing what we beLieve is for a better tomorrow .. that paper, cLimbing thae corporate Ladder, saving up for marriage, housing, buiLd a famiLy, retirement and the List goes on. No, we wiLL not know when and where the finaL destination wiLL be, but everyone keeps moving aLong.

Of course, just Like what we study in the marketing cLasses of the Product Life cycLe - Introduction, Growth, Maturity, DecLine .. Life has its own cycLe as weLL - Birth, Age, Sickness, Death. Everything that has a beginning, has an end, though, it might just sound pessimistic to some. However, if you have Learnt to accept reaLity, Life wiLL very much be easier, and probabLy happier.

Our journeys in Life are aLL unique, and very much infLuenced by the existence of every other thing eLse. Anyone that appears in your Life, pLays a roLe in shaping your future, aLthough the impact might not be there to be seen. I am happy, aLL the time, whenever I think of the peopLe around me that answers my hierachy of needs, the most important, being my mother, of whom, as my Life moves on, the roLe wiLL be passed on to that SpeciaL someone.

I cant thank destiny and Cupid more than enough, for shooting the arrow of Love right into me, onto DeL .. She is simpLy one word to describe - unique. ObviousLy, Love is bLind and peopLe in Love choose to onLy see the good things, but isnt that better? We shouLd aLways try to see things in the positive Light, for nothing is perfect.

On the eve of VaLentine's, as I am writing this, my girLfriend is working her sLeeves off since a month ago for this heartLands Chingay event. I hope, everything goes weLL for her and she deserves a good break thereafter.

On another personaL note, gratitude is something which I feLt Lacking in the urban LifestyLe as ours. We are taking the good for granted, and often, onLy focusing on what goes wrong. It shouLdnt be. This cuLture has to change.

As the Chinese ceLebrates Lunar New Year, Let us hope the rabbit year wiLL be bountifuL for aLL. I wish you aLL the best, and as Singapore's very own "Mother Theresa" said at the Chingay which I was present Last night, "Love ALL" .. and Love we shouLd, beginning with the peopLe that matters most.