stars and opportunities......

"Are you crazy?!???!?" was one of the first remarks Jimmy was treated to during Thanksgiving dinner went he broke the news to his relatives about resigning after about two years working for a well established law firm. Jimmy was going to become an insurance agent.

Other comments Jimmy got thrown at with:

"Why are you taking so much risk coming out?"

"Changing career when times are so bad? What's wrong with you?"

"What were you thinking when you handed in your resignation letter?"

"Did the stress at work get to your head?"

With the credit crunch lingering, the global market conditions are deemed unsound and many world economies are facing slowing GDP growth. Three quarters of the world are cutting back on spending and taking more steps to save money. Clearly, Jimmy's relatives did not share Jimmy's viewpoint.

Ironically when most of us would have thought your relatives should be the ones supporting you and giving you some form of encouragement. Not for Jimmy though. Although he did expect some negative comments, he clearly wasn't ready for this much.

That very night after the dinner, Jimmy went up to the house roof and just sighed while looking up into the starry night. He just sighed, "I sure as hell better make sure I do well out there! The last thing I want to hear is 'I told you so' from all of them."

While Jimmy was lying down on the cool roof tiles, his father went up to join him in the cool night. "You came up here to tell me I have lost my mind as well?", Jimmy asked. 

"No son, if I was going to do that, I'd just yell from down there and make sure the neighbours hear it!", chuckled his father.

Jimmy just brushed it off, "Very funny dad. Very funny."

"Son, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a pinch of disappointment knowing you are not going to continue your career in law. After all, I did use my hard earn money for that piece of paper you got hanging in your room. But I am happy my son has got the guts to come out and challenge status quo", said Jimmy's father.

Jimmy looked at his father, "Really?".

Jimmy's father gave an approving nod and said, "Yup! Wouldn't lie to my own son now would I? Unless I might just cheer you up enough for you to say you'd pay me back for the money spent on your tuition fees.", as he laughed it off.

Jimmy couldn't help but laughed, "Why you stingy old fart! Hahahahahahahaha........." Laughing until his stomach ached, he said, "Thanks dad. You supporting my decision means a lot to me. Really."

Jimmy's dad looked up at sky and said, "Take a look at the sky kid. What do you see?"

Jimmy took a good look at the sky, "It's a beautiful night filled with stars."

"Heck of a lot of starts up there ain't it?", Jimmy's father asked. "But the skies isn't just telling you how beautiful it is, it tells you and me a whole lot more than that. It tells us, the stars are just like opportunities - it is limitless! This whole world doesn't revolve around one opportunity Jimmy, it revolves around opportunities. You just need to go out there and grab it with your two bare hands. Opportunities don't come to you son, you've got to reach out to them like your life depends on it."

Jimmy nodded in agreement, "Just like you came out on your own to start your own food business. Don't recall your brother being eclectic about it."

"He sure didn't share my enthusiasm. More than anything else he said I was crazy to leave my high paying job as a general manager. But if I hadn't come out on my own I wouldn't have had quality time with you or your mom. The flexibility it gave me, gave me more opportunities to be with you guys and do other things I like to. I had more time to go fishing as well.", replied Jimmy's father.

Jimmy nodded approvingly, "Definitely looking forward to a brand new, fresher life compared to the long hours I am putting into my job."

"Go on out there and enrich people's lives with your insurance policies son. Don't hold back and make the best of yourself! Alright, let's get the hell back inside the house before both of us catch a cold.", Jimmy's father said.

Jimmy replied, "It's getting cold alright......... and dad, thanks again."

~Path of Time~ by Micky Foo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

There are always two sides to a coin.......

Many a times, we often see things from our perspective (i.e. from one viewpoint). There was this one time when I had a small discussion with a friend of mine and of course we couldn't come to terms on the subject matter. I could be wrong but I think, we were debating on the ever famous topic of "whether the egg or the chicken came first".

After about half an hour of back and forth comments, my friend finally just stopped and said, "you know what, I'd be more than happy to look at things from your point of view, but I simply cannot stick my head that far up my own rear end!". Both of us ended up laughing at the comment he made so spontaneously, but I have to admit there is some element of truth to his statement - we hardly look at things from a different perspective unless we are forced to.

My maternal side grandfather passed on about five years ago. He did not die from any disease in particular but simply from the expiry of his bodily functions. He literally died at work, at his office desk when everyone else thought he was taking nap not knowing he had already passed on. Until the very last second of his life, he refused to stay at home and insisted on going to work.

He died when he was 78 years of age if I recall rightly, by the time he was 75 years old I could clearly see him deteriorating - congestive heart problems, weak knees, bad cough and high blood pressure constantly making him go dizzy. I am sure he could have lived on longer if it weren't was his drinking habits during his younger days. Not that I can blame him for drinking since he worked in a labour intensive job.

At one point in time, I overheard him telling my mom, "look, if I ever end up in any form of intensive care, just pull the plug. I don't want to be a burden to any of my kids". I respected his decision and I deep down I knew that he knew what he was saying. He was far from being senile and neither was he even reaching that stage.

Few months before he passed on, we already noticed his physical deterioration getting more distinct and knew his time was coming to an end soon. One day, he was squatting down by the garden trying really hard to trim the wild grass and I overheard him talking to himself (not the exact words but something to this effect), "I hate being seen in this horrible condition! Once an independent man doing everything by my own, now humbled like a young child. *sigh*". About 2 months later, my parents got a phone call from my uncle breaking the news of his death.

Ironically, on his last birthday he mentioned something like, "I may not have been rich, but I had a lot of good food during my younger days, drank a lot more alchohol than I should have been drinking but what the heck? But you know what? We all got to go someday. If I die right now, I'd be happy and satisfied - all my kids doing fairly well, eaten all my favourite food and done what I have been tasked to do as a parent. If I ever end up in a miserable state, I'd rather be dead. I don't want any of my close ones to see me in a pitiful condition. I know all of you love me, and I love you guys too. But I don't want any of you to see me when I kick the bucket, I don't want any of you to be holding my hand when I die. That's what you guys want, not what I want. I want to leave this world happy and I don't want any of you crying by my bed. There are two sides to a coin - even when it comes to dying".