They say...just like fine wine, it tastes better with age
As the dust settles and I am officially a year older and inching closer to the big 4 O, I can't help but to nod in agreement.
Back when I was growing up in the 80's in the backwaters of Penang, life was a lot simpler. I could play hide and seek with my neighbours by the roadside, play skipping rope strung together using rubber bands or play paper, scissors stone until we were worn out and tired. Then we would dig deep into our pockets and walked all the way to the end of the road to a tiny grocery store to reward ourselves with all kinds of junk foods, tidbits and ice creams, before walking back laughing and poking fun at each other.
The world was our oyster and time was what we had...
More than three decades later, I looked out of the bedroom window of my mom's apartment in Penang and stared at the puffy clouds above the sky and reflected just how far I have come from those humble beginnings.
It dawned on me that many things in my life which I thought were important, actually didn't really matter at all...
I realised...
You need to know who you are, where you are going and what you want for your life. Else, someone else will dictate it for you. And guessed what do they have for you? Nothing
You learned to be more patient, kind and empathetic
You realised who are your Hi-Bye friends and who are your real friends
You realised acquiring memories is more important than acquiring material wealth
You realised once you lost your health, you can never gain it back
You learned some battles are just not worth fighting for
You learned to exercise wisdom before you act or speak
You learned to hold your judgments, criticisms and cynicism
You learned to embrace and adapt to change
You learned to exercise patience and tolerance
You learned to be colour blind and accept and love others, just the way they are
You learned forgiveness is more than just saying "I am sorry". It is a reminder for you that it's time to let go of the past and move on
You learned to take a step back to reflect and pace yourself in the hurried world
You realised being happy is a choice and you alone are responsible for your own happiness. No else can make you happy, but you
You learned the most peaceful place on earth, is when you rest at the feet of God
You realised that true joy and happiness actually resides from deep within you
You realised you need to be good stewards of your own money, because no one else is going to do it for you
You realised it is OK to make mistakes as long as you learn from it and never repeat the same mistakes again
You realised failure is not the end of the world. It is the failure to get up from the failure, that will spell the beginning of the end
You realised that death is real and can knock on your door at any time. So do what you need to do today, say what you want to say because tomorrow may never come
You realised there is no such thing as perfection, because you are a work in progress
You stopped being so hard on yourself and learned to love yourself for who you are
You learned to say "No" and mean it
You realised growth is not an option, but a must
You learned to stop pleasing others or bend yourself backwards and forward for others
You realised there are no coincidences in life. Everything happens for a reason
You realised life is short. So live every day as if it was your last, because one day it will be...
KarinzDailyGrind is reflecting on the years gone by and what are the precious lessons she has learned over the years. When she is not looking into the mirror and counting her grey hairs, she likes to sip her cuppa of coffee at her favourite coffee shop on weekends with a good book and read as the world passed by.
If you resonate with her posts, do Upvote | Follow | Comment | Resteem| DM her on Discord. She promised to chew, not bite in the Year of the Earth Dog
Hey! It was great to meet you today at the meet-up! I'll be following you from now on :-)
It was nice meeting you too @yasminep! Glad to see your lovely face behind the handle. Followed!
happy birthday!
there's so much gems here I think I might need to bookmark this page ;) but among my favorite and that speaks to me as of now.
thanks for sharing and wishing you an awesome year ahead! :)
Thanks @calebleejl for the birthday wishes and for dropping by and commenting. It was certainly nice to meet you and @asherlee. I am glad you resonated with some of my life lessons here.
My personal hope for you is to take these lessons learned and make 2018 your best year yet!
was nice meeting you as well. definitely need to grow in 2018! hopefully not sideways though :p
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! May all good things come your way. Have a prosperous journey :) Thank you for the comment you left me the other day, little did you know, it touched me and motivated me :) Thank you for that
Hi @thethinkingdr. You are most welcome. I am glad to read my humble feedback has motivated and touched you somehow. Looking forward to more content from you. Keep Steeming!
Happy Birthday and sorry we missed it!
No prob! I didn't know about it either. It came as a surprise :)
Don't know about you, but over time, I've lost the feeling of significance for dates and celebrations. I think on my birthdays, I think of my mom the most, because it's the day she laboured to bring me to the world. Other days are, well, just like other days. :)
Reminds me of quote:
"What should I do with my life?"
ENJOY IT.
Heck yes.
I do personally that is what's stopping people from saving. They think someone else will magically save them from financial disaster - be it their employer (they can always rely on the next month's income) or even their parents.
It's funny that you mentioned how simple life was when we were younger.
I recall buying VCDs and PS2 games and smuggling them home almost every week with my leftover pocket money.
I guess the difference was - I HAD NO NEED TO SAVE. haha
But in all fairness, having just turned 25, I've also got to get my things straightened out a little more than I did at 24.
Love the post :)
I know right?
I was equally guilty of using all the loose change in my pocket to buy candies and Chupa Chups too. At the height of the boyband craze, I even begged my dad to take me round Penang island to search for entertainment magazines featuring my favourite boybands.
I cringed each time I think about it, caused I wasted my dad's hard earned money over something which I consider "totally crap" now!
I am sooo glad, I am way past that phase now...
PS: I have read some of your blog posts and I must say, they are all masterpiece. Keep Steeming!
@karinzdailygrind why thank you so much!
@karinzdailygrind I love this photo of you! Age is just a number babe and you don't look anywhere near that! Hugs! Happy Birthday!
Thanks @khimgoh! Age is indeed just a number. What is more important are the lessons we learned from it. Hugz!
These are valid points which you have highlighted, they certainly got me thinking as I too, will turn older soon.
My personal favourite: You stopped being so hard on yourself and learned to love yourself for who you are.
Thank you @karinzdailygrind for penning this.
Thanks @redtomato. To be frank, of all the quotes above this was one of the hardest for me to apply as I had a lot of expectations of myself in the past. It wasn't until I hit rock bottom, did I realised that if I don't learn to love myself and accept myself for all that I am, how am I going to learn to love and accept others?
You can't love others when your cup is empty. You can only love others when your own cup is full and overflow with love, joy and happiness. And in turn, you fill other's cup too
Hey, iheard 40ies are the next 20ies. Haha. Kidding. You seem like a strong woman who is well aware of who she is and what she wants. I strongly believe you just described the rules for living a fullfiled and happy life. Steem on :)
@spalatino, when you hit a certain age you tend to question yourself, your identity and your purpose in life. And that's why I loved birthdays so much. It allows me to look back and reflect on how far I've come and how far I need to go in order to get to where I aspire to be
This post really resonates with me 100% and I am also approaching the big 4 0. And wow, we had almost the same childhood. Those were the days.. and I love all the points you wrote on what you realised.
Guess we gotto give ourselves a pat on our shoulder that we are becoming the nicer-taste wine. 😉
Lol @ iamjadeline! I must say, I certainly agree with you on this!
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Happy belated birthday to you @karinzdailygrind. All the best and keep steeming.
Thanks @nickychu! You keep Steeming too yo!
Such a coincidence @karinzdailygrind, I'm from Penang Air Itam and turning the big _O too... hahaha
Happy Belated Birthday, even though it's already few days!
What a coincidence @roselifecoach! Congratulations on growing a year older!
Same to you!