Hsin Yeow’s thoughts: Wise words, my friend
Bevlyn has done it again! She’s much wiser than she realises, although if you mention this to her, she’d probably split her sides.
Here’s her latest column:
After sending my father off at the airport the other night, some relatives and I decided to grab some food and drinks. I did not know the way to the cafe and it had seemed to be such a long walk, just like life. The journey always feels longer when you are on a path you have never taken before. You take in all the unfamiliar scenery, perhaps concentrating a split second more.
You absorb as much as possible of whatever that comes your way because you’re wary of danger, of getting lost, or simply because you fear what lies ahead. However, the return journey seems shorter, and you may not even pay as much attention to the scenery. This time round, you may pay attention to only the few landmarks or eye-catching items you had remembered to lead you back.
Life is such, isn’t it?
At times, it seems so hard to move forward because we are so scared of what lies ahead. The journey to the unknown is often so much more difficult than a simple act of reflection. Similarly, many of us rarely take roads that are less travelled anymore. We are so used to having the government set our paths for us (PSLE, O and A levels, and the stipulated exams in polytechnics or universities).
So much so that some of us feel lost when, suddenly, we have full control of what we can do with our lives. When there are no more goals set by others to reach, or maps prepared by others to follow, some of us lose sight of what we want because we were simply not trained to think about what we really like to pursue in life.
Isn’t it wonderful to be able to think, choose, and plan? So, why not indulge in this privilege?
We can choose to use the black, red, blue, yellow, etc., colours of crayons to paint our canvas of life with circles, dots, stripes, patterns or other unique designs. We are the ones holding the crayons, and we can have colourful lives if we choose to.
We know it cannot be with the use of a pencil because actions are not erasable, but that is where it is interesting. We all know the marks left behind by erased pencil markings are ugly, so don’t adopt the “pencil attitude”. Don’t have an eraser for “what ifs”. If you like something, believe in it, choose it, plan for it, do it and make your portrait colourful.
Many years from now, when we have flashbacks on our lives, hopefully we will see streams and streaks of exciting colours to call our own.
The writer is a full-time singer-songwriter and wedding singer. She has just released an album called “Lonely Afternoon”. For more information, please go to www.bevlynkhoo.com.
