Monday, March 17, 2008 The gateway By Henry L. Yu, M.D.
IN this life, no matter how happy or successful we are, there are times when we don’t know what to do or where to go.
Such times are when we feel bored and dry for no reason at all, when we feel lonely even if we’re not alone, when all we just want to do is sit down motionless or lie down and stare blankly at the ceiling.
Then all of a sudden, out of the blue, flashes of our yesteryears come to view. We think about certain people we’ve been with, places we’ve been to or some unforgettable events that occurred some decades or so ago.
Human beings that we are, we all need moments like this to give ourselves time to think, create or evaluate certain things in life.
Yes, it’s true that we can no longer do anything about the past as it’s already part of history. But there’s always such a thing as being able to rethink, recreate, reevaluate, reinvent, reformat, rehash. And lest we forget, the past is our gateway to the present.
We can never be what we are today without the past. That’s why it’s important that we take time to look back to the past every now and then so we won’t forget who we were before becoming what we are today.
By looking back, we will be reminded of who we were or what we went through to become today’s professionals. For always, let our feet stay rooted on the ground.
Let’s not allow fame and fortune to transform us into an overnight sensation. After all, we don’t own anything in this world.
Not those hectares of land, not those branded cars, or those time deposits or jewelry.
Everything is just loaned to us by God, our Creator. We are all but passing visitors on a limited tourist visa who, like all the rest of us, will have to say goodbye to this earthly life someday.
We bring with us nothing as we exit, just as we brought nothing with us when we came into this world—except for our shrill cry that signaled the birth of the baby that was us. Look back.
