Thursday, January 28, 2010

Passion

I have a problem with mediocrity.
I have a problem with people who settle -- people who choose the safe, unadventurous, don't-ask-don't-know way of life. I have a problem with people who don't challenge their limits, who don't get out of their comfort zone, who settle for a mediocre lives. We have only ONE shot in life. Just one. So why don't do you something good with it? Within or beyond your capability, achieve something good that you can be proud of, leave a legacy, proved you have lived a good life.

I can't settle of ordariness. I can't be just-another-one-out-there. I can't do anything that does not bring me joy. In fact, I say I function on fun, on happiness, on passion, on love! Everything that I have done hitherto has made me happy. I have been passionate about everything I do.

In school, I love physics and mathematics. So I completed a Bachelor of Engineering degree, despite all the disbeliefs (yes, lots of it!) and hardwork that came with it. (But boy, it was really tough!) Then I decided that I love to travel. So I got me a job that pays me to travel.

So while most of my peers slogged away in their offices, caught in a intangible society-imposed rat race and wasting away the best years of our 20s, I was a happy traveller! Four good years of travelling and life experience! I saw a lot, learnt a lot, lived a lot. I was very very happy with life, very very in love with life, very very passionate about life.

Then I decided it was time to come home. I also knew that I wouldn't be happy being stuck in front of a computer 8 hours a day, exchanging my time for cash at the end of the month. I knew I wanted more. I wanted to challenge my threshold, my goals, my capability. So here I am, working for myself -- setting long and short term goals for myself, motivating my entrepreneurial soul, trudging forward slowly but surely. Some days I do feel beaten too. But when I think about being another souless person who-hates-her-job-but-must-do-it, I'm glad I dare to do the things I do. I dare to be different, be myself, be happy and passionate.

And I am happy. I have been happy with every decision I made in life. If I had to choose life all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm serious. So pardon me if I despise people who have no passion in life. I have no tolerance for people who are "happy" just getting by. I hate boring people who don't do anything exciting in their lives. (Or on weekends. And weekdays. Oh heck, everyday!) I thrive on passion, on fun, on love, on happiness. How about you?

Are you happy to just get by? Are you a "one of them"? When you examine your life, have you done well? Have you been happy, passionate, lived well? Are you still hungry for life everyday?

We pass this life only once. One life, live it.

What is your passion in life?

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Getting Over A Relationship

I just love Sex and the City (SATC. Acroymns are supposed to be cooler, I was told). I was having one of those boring Saturday evenings -- friends and myself are all recovering from the wild clubbing the previous evening, just for the record -- so I decided to watch a random episode of SATC. In this episode, Carrie just ended her relationship with Mr Big and was having a hard time with the break up. Her girl friends suggested various ways to get over him. Some wanted her to jump right back into the dating scene, others allowed her to grieve. And I quote Charlotte:

It takes half the total time you went out with someone to get over them.


I've heard this from my girl friends too. You know, whenever a sista breaks up, we'll take them out for a male-bashing session, dishing out wise advices from our Breakup 101 Manual... until one hits home with her. Uh-huh, the typical "You deserves someone better" or "Keep yourself busy". You know what I'm talking about. What do you think about Charlotte's mathematical solution to relationships? Half the relationship period to get over them?

I guess it's not so much of the exact time frame. But it allows you a period to grieve, to eat tubs of Ben & Jerry's guiltlessly, to have free access to anyone's shoulder to cry on, to use retail therapy as a valid clinical assistance to your condition. And you do know that once that period deadline is over, you'll have to try to recover, to move on, to get over it.

If it is any comfort, I've learnt lately that with each relationship passed, we learn more and more about ourselves. We learn what we want from our partner, and what we don't need. What we would tolerate, and what is non-negotiable. We become clear about what kind of relationship we desire. We do not try to change what the other person is so as to fit into our idea of the "perfect relationship". I have been guilty of doing that too! Through the many tears shed, I've (finally!) learnt the best approach is to know what factors truly matter in your relationship. If you can accept the shortcomings, go ahead and be in it. One must truly be able to accept those blotches. But if the flaw is as big as Sarah Jessica Parker's (now-removed) mole a plank in your eye, then leave it -- don't even attempt to change anyone to fit your world, I beg you. It never would.

Accept, if you can.
Leave, if you can't.

It can be that simple. It ought to be. And this time round, I'm keeping it that simple. I have finally figured it out. :)