Balance ... a trick question

Someone I met yesterday told me, there are three types of people … one that focuses on the past, the other on present & the last on the future. The thing is, aren’t we all a bit of each? Of course there could be a dominant feature, where I’ve seen people who just can’t let go of the old stuff … perhaps it’s a feeling of something unaccomplished, perhaps it something of liking how things were.

There’s also people who spent a lot of time enjoying the present … where extreme cases can enjoy all without thinking of consequences (consequence is a future thing anyway), just what they are doing at the present & spending the most they can … and I have relatives who go bust to maintain a lavish & extravagant lifestyle when they cannot afford it. It scares me more when I read the paper over the past 2 days that many retirees don’t have enough in their EPF until their end days. What does that mean? Support from family I guess.

Come to think of it, I’ve lived a bit of each previously, and the part about enjoying the present? I just went extreme during my university & AIESEC days, just kept doing things I loved, things I have passion for … and breathed every moment with 100% of what I have to give (even in my dreams). I would say that my experience is extreme cause 95% of Malaysians I know do not take time off to do extreme stuff (this is not physically extreme, but extreme in the sense that it’s not contributing to my career. In some sense, it did free me a lot … a lot of time to think of the future, a lot of time to realize several childhood dreams, which has been crucial in boosting my esteem.

I have lived mostly in the past during the end my school days, still trying to think I was the school genius, the nerd who can beat the balanced people … but I think with advance of levels, I began to fall short … and it was hard letting go of what I built up, only to be taken away by moving to another larger institution when I am marginally insignificant. It’s like, ‘so what genius?’. But when I look back, I realize also that the 1^st time I let go was the hardest, but I grew strength to strength with letting go of more stuff and it became easier.

Working life brings out another dimension … particularly the part on reality. To be realistic, you must think of the future. The future is nothing if we don’t do something to prepare ourselves for it. The real sad part about it all is, the more you are into building your future, the more likely you let go of your past & present. It’s not good for balance, but it happens cause so many people I know are so absorbed into it. Of course there are also some who are too into the past, that they are comfortable & don’t want to leave where they are now, the pain of adapting & letting go of the old times is too much to bear. There are some who focus too much on enjoying the present that they don’t save or live prudently for the future. Having written this, I just realized that perhaps I am one of the few who’s too focused on the future?

Let me take this moment to have a good look & laugh at myself. Hahaha. Hohoho. Hehehe. (lame laughs, I know, but I am indeed laughing inside)

In life we need reminders. If we live without appreciating our past, it’s like life without values, without principles and our past built that into who we are today. If we live life building for the future, our lives can be taken away anytime … it’s just a short lease given to us to own a body, then that’s it. But if we live too much in the present, we can go on to the extreme lengths of destroying what we have from the past and not preparing for the future. Life is complex huh? But that’s why I was not born to be a bird or ape or insect.

There was another friend who recently wrote a profound piece on balance in life. She has a point. I think that balance is the secret behind great people. All great people have the hallmarks of extremism in their exterior, but for most I've read, they have another side, balanced not by just concerns of past, present & future but also by people in their lives.

A human comes with the potential to make a difference, to be the difference and to pass it on. Then again, not everyone is in that league. The rest, are just beings slightly above animals. Who am I? still chasing my potential & dreams …

Keep on walking …