How did you send away 2006? How did you receive 2007?
Most people do not like to work in old folk home. They prefer to work with new developments which are glamorous and with potential of growth.
So, who would like to hold a grand finale to send 2006 into history? Most people would join in the festive mood of welcoming 2007. New year, new hope, new resolution. Tomorrow will be a better day.
I am a person who like to look back. I believe that the future is hinging on the past. No past, no future.
Looking back, thought of great granny and granny. Great granny is my mother’s mother’s mother. Sound complicated? Granny is my father’s mother. They belonged to the past generations. They did not attend school. Schooling was for the guys. But they were knowledgeable and philosophical.
I spent most of my childhood with granny. We rented a room in Funan Street (Funan IT mall today). Every night we would walk to our little heaven. I did not know how I fell into sleep. I only knew that the next morning, we were having peanut porridge for our breakfast at the roadside stall. Where could we find those stalls? Funan Street, of course.
She passed away. She went to the real heaven alone. I missed our little heaven since. She dreamt to return to China, returned to the village where she was born. She passed away with her dream peacefully. She didn’t realize her dream. But at least she had a dream.
I fulfilled granny's dream 25 years later which was more than 13 years ago. I was not her. I did not have her kind of sentiment towards her hometown. I tried to feel it when I walked around the village, stand in the small house. I'd tried.
Great granny had more personal stories to tell. 人无千日好，花无百日红。好花不常在，好景不常开。She advised us to prepare for the rainy days and to seize opportunities when the sun was still shining. Did she have good fortune? She was not wealthy. But many people attended her funeral. I heard stories about how her one dollar in those good old days had saved lives. Perhaps completed a life-long journey with no regret was her fortune.
She had a dream. She dreamt to meet up with her husband in the heaven which I had no idea how he looked like. The few days before she passed away, she told us she managed to meet up her husband. He told her that she was not yet ready and asked her to return back to the mortal world. She told us she would be ready to go. She carried her dream and joined another world. She passed away with her dream fulfilled.
2007 should be a good starting. Why talked about all these? Well, most people do not like to work in old folk home. They do not want to look back.
We should look back. We would be able to find our position by taking a fix. We would be able to start dreaming. We would chase after our dreams with no regret. Whether we could realize our dreams is immaterial. The key question is – do you have dream?