Stuart’s Philosophies

I did a quick poll a couple of years back to realize that there are about 70% of students in Singapore (based on the number of schools that I’ve been to), who have no idea where they want to go after they finish their studies. the risk gets higher the lower their standard of education or the quality of their family interaction. This, in my opinion is dangerous because without the focus on purpose, students, who are the next generation of this country, will end up flowing along a pathway that is status quo - not daring to stretch outside a comfort zone and daring to dream. Trouble is, many adults too, need to re-examine their lives and the way they live it.

Perhaps, though, all this is too idealistic. Maybe people don’t want to wake up from the Matrix. But the trouble is, without going through a lot of pain, I find there’s difficulty in attaining that baptism of fire that is necessary for us to wake up and live in the real world.

I think the most sobering thought came from “Cast Away” where Tom Hanks’ character, there was this really beautiful quote. He says to his good buddy after having been lost on an island for a few years and returning home:

“We both had done the math; Kelly added it all up, knew she had to let me go. I added it all up, and knew I had lost her… cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone… the only choice I had the only thing I could control was when and how and where that was gonna happen so I made a rope and I went up to the summit to hang myself. I had to test it you know, of course… you know me, and the weight of the log snapped the limb of the tree. I couldn’t even kill myself the way I wanted to - I had power over nothing… that’s when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew somehow… that I had to stay alive somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason at all, and all my logic said I would never see this place again.

So that’s what I did. I stayed alive.. i kept breathing… and one day that logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in… gave me a sail. And now here I am. I’m back in Memphis talking to you. I have ice in my glass. And I’ve lost her all over again… I’m so sad that I don’t have Kelly, but I’m so grateful that she wasn’t with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring.”

 I suppose we can say Hanks’ character is resigned to fate - but I think it’s optimistic. Most of us will never be able to bear the brunt of such pain and suffering. Yet he’s a hero in our eyes because he chose to move on. I think that’s what some of us need to do - not to wait for the tide necessarily, but to look forward to opportunity, and be grateful for what we already have, so that we can use what we have to move forward in our lives.

Tags

Deep Thought, Finding Purpose, General