It sure is fun to drive down the empty streets of Singapore past midnight. The emptiness somehow reflects how busy Singapore is in the day. The roads are usually so congested, and always full of dust and noise which would never settle down till late.
The roads are so peaceful. So free. No bugging cabbies irritating the crap out of us. No public buses slowing down the traffic. No others cramming up the space.
The radio was churning late night songs at the back, and Ber was beside as we headed to Choms to meet Bud for supper. The streets were clear. No heat, no dust, no noise. Just the music. Just the night. Just the company.
I think I like that.
Relaxed. Late night. No worries. No hurries. Nothing like what usually would happen in the day. Everything goes at the pace we like. Time seemed like a toy we control with a remote, and not a manipulative mental disorder we all suffer.
The food. The ginko. The fun. The laughs.
I think I like that. Just too bad I was still limping a little. But yeah. I think I like that.
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It almost smelled like freedom. It’s something perhaps we would never dream of years back. Hitting the roads 2am, meeting up friends, doing whatever we like. No more boundaries. No strings attached. We’re fully responsible for ourselves.
Turning 21 makes me think. We’re all gonna grow up. We’re all gonna grow old. We’re all gonna grow out of the comfort zone that we are in right now. It’s where the real stuff begins huh? Uncertainty and multiple challenges lie ahead. It’s what we’ve been preparing for, for the past 2 decades. This is when falls are gonna get harder, and satisfactions are gonna get stronger.
Have you ever wondered what ‘growing’, ‘learning’ and perhaps, what is ‘life’ all about?
In years to come, we are all gonna climb the corporate ladder, and tackle the insurance policies, the family issues. And we’re sure to pay more attention to the current affairs, the world news and all the what-have-you’s. Sometimes we just pray and hope that time would turn back, don’t we? To a time when we are protected and ignorant, a time when we can always make mistakes and know that we would be forgiven for sure.
So what’s this all about? Does it feel as if we’re about to be warped into a vortex of money, sex, parties, and more money, sex and parties to you? Or are we reaching a plateau of life where the days are rituals and more rituals of work, home, dinner, sleep and work, home, dinner, sleep? A stigma where we can’t wait for public holidays to arrive when we can finally take a break?
Indeed there is much to experience in our lives. Alright. So… After the experience, after achieving what we want to achieve, then what? Find more things to do? Try and achieve more? It’s never ending.
A typical Singaporean, I see, would easily spend 40odd years working. If you’re lucky, you get a good job, you retire early. If you’re not, you would still have to work even when you’re haggard and old.
So why are we all working so hard? What are we working for?
It all boils down to survival. It’s basic instinct. To try and live as long as possible. And the next question is, “what for?”
Why do we try and work so hard each day? Why do we live? What’s our purpose in life? What is life all about? This, 70odd 80 years we have here, what is it all about? Are we all “plugged” like THE MATRIX? Or are we just another living being on this rock we call Earth, and pass away in 80years time with no traces?
Sounds like I’m all confused. Well I’m not. I know why I’m here. I know who I’m working for and what’s my purpose. But do you? What’s your purpose in life? What are you working for? Who are you working for?
Ever thought of it? Perhaps you can take a moment and think about it. God bless…
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“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only few find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14