Of late, I often catch myself thinking about the future.
What is in store for me? But ponder as I might, I'm always brought back to one point.
Me.
I have not just had this epiphany that I am the master of my life and my destiny. Far from it. I've always known that one's lot in life is in one's control. I've always believed with conviction that all the good and bad that happen in your life is due to you.
My perspective is not seminal; I look at negatives (failures, et cetera) as opportunities to start anew. They are wonderful vantage points from where you can initiate a responsible, truthful and realistic post mortem, from which you can pick up pointers.
Similarly I look at positives (successes, et cetera (I've recently come into the habit of spelling etc. in full... go figure!) as opportunities for more of the same. They also offer the same vantage point from where we can make greater strides and inroads towards whatever it is we were striving for.
But the truth is, often times, most of us - and that includes me - look at sucesses with such finality that we fall into the trap of resting on our laurels as the saying goes.
It's been a fantastic journey for me. The ups and the down of almost 39 years of life never fail to astound me.
I like history. Simply because it allows me to live a longer life than the one that Allah has graced upon me, how ever long that is. But I've often marvelled at how deep I get when I look back into my own history.
I can recall events as far back as when I was 5 I believe, when I was running around the little garden we had at No 30 Jalan 22/44, PJ. I was clad in a white pair of shorts with a pin-hole sleeveless vest, and mom and dad were tending to the garden, while my second sibling was doing the chasing.
Such memory recalls often lead me to push further what more I can remember of my past.
One thing I have noticed is that there was a phase in my life when I only recalled the bad memories. It was a brief phase thankfully, as I learnt quite quickly that it tended to make one become too self-absorbed and trap one into a feeling of helplessness.
History is a great teacher, it was once said. I know that for a fact. Yet, no amount of history recall can teach you anything unless you wanted to.
The two ideas - history and the future - contradict in terms of direction. Yet the two can provide tremendous drive for life. I know.
But I want a peek into the future. Has anyone got Dr Emmet Brown's contact? I need the keys to the Delorean...
What is in store for me? But ponder as I might, I'm always brought back to one point.
Me.
I have not just had this epiphany that I am the master of my life and my destiny. Far from it. I've always known that one's lot in life is in one's control. I've always believed with conviction that all the good and bad that happen in your life is due to you.
My perspective is not seminal; I look at negatives (failures, et cetera) as opportunities to start anew. They are wonderful vantage points from where you can initiate a responsible, truthful and realistic post mortem, from which you can pick up pointers.
Similarly I look at positives (successes, et cetera (I've recently come into the habit of spelling etc. in full... go figure!) as opportunities for more of the same. They also offer the same vantage point from where we can make greater strides and inroads towards whatever it is we were striving for.
But the truth is, often times, most of us - and that includes me - look at sucesses with such finality that we fall into the trap of resting on our laurels as the saying goes.
It's been a fantastic journey for me. The ups and the down of almost 39 years of life never fail to astound me.
I like history. Simply because it allows me to live a longer life than the one that Allah has graced upon me, how ever long that is. But I've often marvelled at how deep I get when I look back into my own history.
I can recall events as far back as when I was 5 I believe, when I was running around the little garden we had at No 30 Jalan 22/44, PJ. I was clad in a white pair of shorts with a pin-hole sleeveless vest, and mom and dad were tending to the garden, while my second sibling was doing the chasing.
Such memory recalls often lead me to push further what more I can remember of my past.
One thing I have noticed is that there was a phase in my life when I only recalled the bad memories. It was a brief phase thankfully, as I learnt quite quickly that it tended to make one become too self-absorbed and trap one into a feeling of helplessness.
History is a great teacher, it was once said. I know that for a fact. Yet, no amount of history recall can teach you anything unless you wanted to.
The two ideas - history and the future - contradict in terms of direction. Yet the two can provide tremendous drive for life. I know.
But I want a peek into the future. Has anyone got Dr Emmet Brown's contact? I need the keys to the Delorean...
Comments
Sometimes memorizing the past had hurt me a little, but as you said, what had happened in our life is due to us. History can’t be changed but there is an opportunity to plan the future. Instead of grieve for the past, let look forward. Wake up and let begin a new journey (of course not to efface the history).
Thanks for a precious advice (I took your adage as an advice) :)