I Detest the Word "Regret".....

Regret! Regret! I dislike the word with the first letter of R. When we think of R, let us think of words like Reliance, Relish, Realism, and better still Renaissance which also means rebirth.

This is probably why someone comes up with the evergreen advice, "Don't cry over spilt milk." If ever we should regret, something solid must come out of it....our realisation of our mistakes should make us become better people and we should take all precaution not to repeat the same error twice. We should be able to remember the lessons learnt and strive to be wiser and more alert.

Just the other week, I read in the Straits Times that a study had revealed that many people regret over their choice of field of specialisation in the university.

I have always wanted to be a teacher, yet I ended up working in a legal firm as a typist! One day, wallowing in self pity, I wondered how on earth I ended up taking a year's private secretarial course in Stamford College in Singapore. I would have very much preferred to spend that one year working in Penang, with a mundane job as a sales personnel or clerk. It meant I could stay with my beloved parents. I reminded myself not to sink into the abyss of despair and make the most of the situation. I told myself that if I had to type and do shorthand, I would do my utmost and be the best secretary in South East Aisa. My boss' father, the late Mr. Lim Cheng Ean took notice of me and gave me a bursary to study in Canada!

I feel that our learning and training can never be wasted for what we are today is the product of all that we have gone through. Little did I realise too that my great typing skill had also enabled me to earn a good income while studying at the University of Alberta. I earned Can$1 a page for typing students' essays. The spacing was always a double spacing. Hence, if I were to type the whole day during weekends, I could earn about $90 a day! Again with my improved and accurate typing skill, I am able to write an article almost everyday in my blog.

In Kungfu Panda, the philosopher said that nothing is really good or bad. When a situation or object is presented to someone, he has the ability to make it either good or bad. We must all remember that yesterday had passed, tomorow is a mystery, today is a gift and hence it is called the present.

It is amazing how we could sometimes be in a world of yesterdays and tomorrows, and forget about getting the most out of life in the present.

If we make a mistake, learn from it and move on. Let us all relish in the now and then, and face the reality of living life to the fullest.

Gan Chau