In the light of the Olympic Games which recently happened in the city of London, we were reminded over and over again in every medal ceremony about the value of gold! Not so much for what it is worth monetary wise, but more for what it represents – the highest honour, the most cherished accolade, the greatest achievement in the sport.
For me, however, gold holds a whole lot of value as well but for a myriad of different reasons. Of late, I’ve started to store up a repository of quotable quotes made known by an eclectic crew of famous and not-so-famous people. And with the wonders of the internet and social media, my collection has started to grow exponentially and with this, so has my perspective in life. I have since organized these into various topical groupings and one particular one which I would like to make specific mention of in this column is entitled “Golden Inspirations”. I find that these come in really handy as words of encouragement, especially during life’s more challenging moments.
Take for example, when someone riles me up and gets me on the edge, I remind myself that “Life is too short to stress yourself with people who don’t even deserve to be an issue in your life.” And if this doesn’t get me calmed down, I resort to another liner which states that “Anger is a feeling that makes your mouth work faster than your mind.” On more than a few occasions, this has saved me from saying things which I probably would have regretted if I had voiced out my feelings at the spur of the moment.
The Dalai Lama was to have said, “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” A timely reminder as we tread through the sometimes cold and selfish world we live in. You know, life is such that we don’t always understand everything that happens, the many outcomes that transcend us, the convoluted twists and turns that we encounter – I guess that’s why someone wrote, “Someday everything will make perfect sense. So, for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason.”
People who have been hurt or have been let down by their so-called friends can relate to the fact that you should “Only trust someone who can see these three things in you: The sorrow behind your smile, the love behind your anger, and the reason behind your silence.”
All in all, my favourite poster quotation is the one that goes, “When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life.” Isn’t it strange how a simple piece of teaching with a profound meaning can be so misunderstood by the people who think they know it all?
I hope that by sharing what others have shared with me has inspired you in a small way this day. Let me leave you with this suggestion: “Lead with your heart…your life will follow.” Have a great day!
Geoff Tan 