Top 5 Things I would Do/Pursue

Do you look forward to weekends? I definitely do. It's the time when I can indulge in my hobbies, read, blog, get some exercise, bond with my loved ones etc.-- basically doing things I enjoy. But it's always a challenge fitting them all in into 2 short days. So some things I want to do never get done. I always find that having a day job inhibits me from doing the things I love. Other than draining me physically, it consumes my mind. I find myself thinking and worrying about work long after I've stepped out of the office. It's a sad reality because it means that the majority of my time is spent at work, doing things I love a lot lesser.

I envy and admire individuals who live their dreams and passion, pursuing them even if they are unconventional or contrary to what society perceives as "money-generating careers". Obviously, when embarking on such a path, practical concerns such as finances come into play. Afterall, one needs to eat, pay rent and it doesn't help that shopping is one of my loves. Someone once told me that as long as we are true to ourselves and chase our passion, the money will come. We don't have to worry so much about it that we never attempt to find out what our lives could be like. Imagine the possibilities!

Lately, I've been thinking about what I would do with my life if I left my day job and had time in my hands. So, I came up with my list of Top 5 things I would do/pursue:

1. Take up a visual communication/graphic design course

2. Set up an etsy shop (obviously entailing me doing craft/design work)

3. Freelance writing for magazines

4. Learn Japanese

5. Exercise everyday (jog, yoga)

What about you? What's your Top 5? Try imagining. Trust me, it's liberating.

Death

An ad in the papers caught my eye recently. It occupied almost an entire page but all it featured was a picture of a flower with just 2 lines of text. I couldn’t quite tell what it was about but Lien Foundation was clearly indicated and there was an URL: http://www.lifebeforedeath.org.sg. I was intrigued but did not check out the website till I came across a similar ad again. “Life Before Death” is actually a campaign to raise awareness on end-of-life care (hospice and palliative) and to promote understanding of the needs of patients and their families, with the vision that quality end-of-life care should be made available to all who needs it.

I found the website very informative. Death is something we shun from thinking about because it screams of the fragility of life. And we feel that we can hide from it until old age, until illness comes courting or when confronted with death of a loved one. Maybe death needs to be always personified as Brad Pitt for us to find it more approachable (“Meet Joe Black”). Recently, I caught the Japanese film, Departures, winner of the Academy Award, Best Foreign Language Film. The movie tackled the subject matter of death in an interesting way and infuses it with humour. It shows how different people react to it, reminding us how we should treasure the present, live life to the fullest and most of all, it is a flim about love. On seeing the trailer earlier on, I smugly felt I already knew what the film is about. I was wrong and it way exceeded my expectations. Excellent mise-en-scene and the shots of inaka (country-side) Japan really made me miss the place.

The topic on death seems to be surrounding me recently. But I was reminded that the answer to the fear of death is what we marked last Friday and Sunday. Because of the first Good Friday years ago, death is but a transition zone.

“He hangs, by whom the world was made,

beneath the darkened sky;

the everlasting ransom paid

I see my Savior die.”

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend.

Running

I have been committing to running at least twice a week. It has always been my desire to do so and reading Holly's second installment of her wonderful Creativity Series gave me more reasons to do so. Usually, I try to squeeze in time after work. It's tough as it entails getting off work promptly and pushing away all other work engagements. Today, I attempted to run in the morning before work (again something I thought of but sleep was always in the way). I got up at 6am and was out by 6.10am.

It felt great. Exhilarating. I witnessed the sun gradually flooding the eastern horizon with its glory. Usually when I run, I would avoid all the bumps on the road. Even with such small things, I opt for the safe route. This obviously applies for the other aspects of my life. I recalled how I once saw a kid deliberately stepping into all the after-shower puddles in his path. I on the other hand was desperately trying to avoid them. But he was having so much fun! As I approached the first bump on the road this morning, I tackled it. Only when we embrace the highs and lows of life will we truly live, right?

Oh, I also enjoyed the after sport adrenalin high. Feels even better when one gets it at the start of the day.