Unfortunately , yours truly never did get to experience
any of those . Even now , as the clock hits 12 midnight , indicating the start
of Christmas , there are people shouting and started celebrating already , yet
I am here updating this nondescript blog . However , it does not necessarily
mean that it’s a bad thing . In fact, I am loving it . I am loving the feeling of having the freedom to do whatever
I want in this space ( my room ) . The truth is , for the past few days , life
have been moving on quite a fast pace . The past 2 days seems to have gone by
in a blur. And now , finally I have a
bit of breathing room .
I like breathing space / room . I like the luxury of
having time by my side , to have the freedom to ponder and wonder endlessly
about the whatever nonsensical thoughts I have in my mind , to reflect on the
past and also to think about the future . Therefore , for me , I would say that
freedom of time is the ultimate luxury in the world . Not money , not the other
materialistic things that can provide conveniences , not even fame and glory .
The ultimate luxury is without a doubt , freedom . In retrospect , I have been
very lucky to be blessed with freedom of choice in most of my life . Being born
in a middle-income family , materialistic things that could provide luxury are
but a distant dream . Growing up , I have always yearned for those “luxuries”
that other more privileged kids have . Branded gadgets , better mattresses ,
air-con , and a whole lot more of gadgets which I used to view as the ultimate
luxuries money can buy .
However , as I grow older and wise up a little , I start
to be more appreciative of the power of freedom . I still remember the
marvelous feeling of thrill and euphoria I had when I slept at my own room for
the first time . As the night falls and the only door that leads to my room closes,
the faint moonlights sneaks in through the translucent blue curtain and the subtle sound of the rotating Panasonic fan
breaks the stillness of the room , emphasizing that me and only me alone exists
in this room . I love the thought of that . At night , I would always imagine
that this whole room is my territory , my area , my entire world , and I am the
king and ruler of this world .
It is at these kind of moments that I truly cherish the
power of solitude . Usually , the word solitude is associated with a negative connotation
, i.e life of solitude = life without friends , forever alone , etc , however for me , I believe that when you’re
alone , that’s when you’re able to concentrate and bring out your biggest
potential . I do not know about the rest , but I am pretty sure I thrive in a
quiet environment , working by myself , devoid of any external disturbances .
When I am alone , I tend to be able to think about things I normally not able
to think of and able to produce more efficient and effective work . Perhaps that
explains why introverts are so successful ? Speaking about introverts , one
book that is definitely worth checking out is this : “ Quiet “ by Susan Cain as she explores in great details
about the power of introverts .
But I digressed . Recently , I have reflected on a lot of
things . These few days reflection had me re-examining my principle of
friendship , and discovering my own weakness . About the latter , I find myself
not walking my own talk . You see, I have been a great advocate of change . I
look down on complacency and advocates change whenever it’s possible as I felt
that change and subsequently continuous improvement is the key to greater
success . Yet , in recent days , I have not been changing much . I had a goal
in mind 2 years ago , a road map of change so to speak , so that I could
continuously challenge myself in various grounds and improve as much as
possible . However , the progress of that plan is not quite as well as it
should have been . In fact , it seems to have reached a plateau and becoming
stagnant , which is very depressing . Being a guy who dreams big and talking
big about importance of changes and self-improvement all the time , not doing
the action is kinda counter-productive and saddening .
Next , recent events have also forced me to re-examine my
friendships . I consider myself a very complicated person , as I am both
extrovert and introvert at the same time . When I am being extrovert , I mixed
around a lot , and thus have joined a few different cliques . But the problem
is , with so many different cliques , each of them are special in their own way
and all of them are friends with varying degree of closeness , I find it hard sometimes
to find the time to entertain them . Perhaps “entertain” would not be best word
to describe it , as when you’re with friends , you are supposed to be having
fun and enjoying it right ?
 |
| Example of cliques |
That’s what I thought too . Don’t be mistaken . I LOVE
hanging out with friends and talking about everything under the sun in a
kopitiam or café all day long . That’s life . However , the thing is , once you
have a lot of cliques of friends , you will need to catch up with them on a
different day or time , as more often than not , the cliques don’t mix . * e.g
perhaps you have a clique of friends who loves shopping , and another clique of
friends who love outdoor activity , they don’t really mix right ? * To make
matters worst , money and time are limited resources , and I can’t really be
spending time with different kind of cliques every single day . That , coupled
with the fact that sometimes. the introvert part of myself just want to enjoy being
in my cosy little home whole day . Thus , this brings us to a hard dilemma of prioritizing
who to go out with .
Of course , the obvious solution being just hang out and
connect with your closest best gang of friends and ignore the rest , allocating
the rest of the time for yourself . And that’s what I have been doing for quite
some time . Yet , there are times when you thought of this particular clique of
friends and go “ oh , it’s been a long time since I last catch up with them “ ,
and then the question of whether of not you should initiate the gathering or
hang out arises . I strongly believe friends , true friends especially are the
best assets one could have .
Some people view friends as networks that they
could potentially exploit in the future as some of them may turn out to be
politicians , leaders or even some influential figures that are forces to be
reckoned with . And they may think that by getting close to them now , they
would be able to take advantage of these connections that they have build up
now . However , friends are friends , they are not “networks “ which are
treated as benefits or liabilities according to what they can provide . True ,
some friends may be able to offer help in specific aspects in the future , and
I have no qualms about people thinking of exploiting friends this way , however
to rate friends according to what they can provide in the future is just
despicable .
In a bid not to end this post in a solemn note , I shall
wish you readers ( if there are any ) a Happy , Merry Christmas ! May you be
able to celebrate this eventful events with your beloved ones with joy ,
happiness and love ~ But , if in the event of you failing to find anyone to
celebrate it with , hey , no sweats , you can still celebrate it alone
:D . Cherish the moment of solitude and
remember , you are not alone in celebrating it alone . Cheers !!! Merry
Christmas peeps ~
No comments:
Post a Comment