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As I was travelling back home from Outram MRT today, I came across a very very sad sad scene.

There was this man with a big bag hang around his shoulders who looks like either in his late 4Os or early 50s, walking really slowly in front of me. The way he walks was like dragging his tired leg across the ground of the underpass.

When I was walking behind him, I was like “Wow, this man must be really tired, hoped he can quickly reach home and rest man…” and that was the first thought that went through my mind. Not thinking too much, I decided to over take him, and it was at this point, I overheard his own mumbling and below was what I heard…..”五十岁了，一事无成， 怎么办呢….,五十岁了，一事无成， 怎么办呢….,” ……oh man, for a few second, my heart literally stop pumping when I heard those words, automatically I turned around and looked at him, and quickly I just turned back and fasten my footstep towards the east-bound train. And all this while, the man is still mumbling “怎么办呢….,五十岁了，一事无成， 怎么办呢….,五十岁了，一事无成”

I do not know what struck me at that point, all I knew was the fear rising up in me. I’m not so sure, what the fear was all about, Was it a fear that I will be like him or was it a fear coming from witnessing from a man losing hope, or was it the fear creating for me on my first encounter of the impact of career failure or the reality consequence of a retrenchment. I really do not know.

Frankly speaking, all I know is that as much as I am empathise with him, deep inside my heart and my mind is that I totally don’t like what I saw in him and I do not want to be like him.

All I know now is that I am glad that I have found a job that I like and love to do. Despite the tough road and tough outlook in terms of the financial crisis, I want to stay on my job, to do whatever it takes to ensure the company is floating and flying so that it can ensure my career success and not failure, continue to upgrade myself so that I am will always be in demand in the job market, continue to search for new ideas and opportunities so that I can create another form of income security or start my own business again, quickly to clear my debt so that I can use my future income to invest to earn money rather than to use to pay off debt, continue to live and eat healthy so that I have the energy and spirit to enjoy my later life.

This might sound mean, but this is what I really want to say to the man, “Sorry and thank you Uncle, you just taught me a very valuable life-time lesson” and I hope you too, have learn something from this sad episode.