Objects in the rear view mirror may seem closer/further than it really is...

Was inspired by a looming deadline to name today's post as such...time flies so fast, it kinda caught me off guard. But all is good at the end of the day. *grin*

Looking back (yes it's something i'm quite fond of doing, you might have noticed by now) at the year(s) gone by, i'm glad to say that it's mostly been good. And even those not so good times, have been turned into lessons learnt and (hopefully) never repeated again.

It's strange how things you would have thought to be totally unsuitable for yourself several years ago, maybe the exact thing you desire at the moment (and vice-versa). So for that reason, never say never...you don't know when things may come back to haunt you :)

Personality wise, the years have been kind to me...am able to grow and mature (not fully, but getting there day by day). I'm much more vocal, brave, lucid/precise than before, while still maintaining a slight air of naïveté to boot. Compared to the days when i'd be mewling like a kitty cat, i can now ROAR with abandon...hahaha. (and coincidentally, it is the year of the Tiger too.)

Physically, i'm glad to say i'm getting healthier day by day too. The injuries are (very) slowly recovering, and although there will be some residual pain, i am learning to get them under control. Doing stuff i enjoy doing helps as well. Weight loss has helped to lessen the impact and pain, plus looking good does make me feel good too ;)

Coming back to the point, yes i have "evolved" in some areas of my life, some by choice, others by necessity, but they occur to improve my life, that's for sure. In other parts, i know who i am, and years have simply added age, wisdom, and strength (of will, body, mind) to me. Definitely no (or very little) regrets...and to quote one of my favourite songs, my best days are ahead of me. Amen to that! So, while being dissimilar to the younger version of myself, i do notice the similarities between my current version and my siblings & parents. For better or for worse. :P So there, objects in the rear view mirror can be deceptive. My true essence is retained, but with a new veneer to suit my stature and stage in life.

To everyone who has entered/left/remained in my life, THANK YOU for enriching me. I do hope that it was a 2 way enrichment process, and that good memories linger while the bad ones are forgotten/forgiven. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad.

Before i end, let me leave you with lyrics of Carrie Underwood's "So Small" - another one of my favourite inspirational songs (and it was covered by Matt Giraud in Season 8 of American Idol). Till the next time, adios!

VERSE 1:
What you got if you ain't got love
The kind that you just wanna give away
It's okay to open up
Go ahead and let the light shine through
I know it's hard on a rainy day
You wanna shut the world out
And just be left alone
But don't run out on your faith

Chorus:
Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing
Is just a grain of sand
What you've been out there searching for forever,
Is in your hands
When you figure out love is all that matters, after all
It sure makes everything else
Seem so small

VERSE 2:
It's so easy to get lost inside
A problem that seems so big, at the time
It's like a river that's so wide
It swallows you whole
While you're sittin round thinking about what you can't change
And worryin' about all the wrong things
Time's flying by, moving so fast
You better make it count, cause you can't get it back

This is what i saw few days back...

Was out for lunch one day, and i felt the blazing sun searing my head and back. But guess what, i took a look up into the skies and saw the blue skies up ahead. Immediate reaction : "WOW". The feeling of freedom, more innocent younger days sprang to mind and heart. To be able to just lie back on a warm summery day, on a clear (and clean) field, and just relax and enjoy the time spent under the sun (literally) was so uplifting, i forgot about my immediate cares. The blueness of the skies was a good change from the hazy grey days KL is so famous about.








And to tie in the theme of freedom, celebrating life, here's a song that's been uplifting my mood in the mornings. It's by Danny Gokey, entitled "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me". And i truly believe, it is :) Hope you find it as inspiring as i did.




















Blowing out the candles on another birthday cake
Old enough to look back and laugh at my mistakes
Young enough to look at the future and like what I see
My best days are ahead of me

Life hasn't always been a party but mostly it's been good
There's only one or two things that I'd change if I could
I dont get lost in the past or get stuck in some sad memory yeah
My best days are ahead of me

Age is nothing but a number
Sometimes I have to wonder, what does it really mean
But hey I'm still putting it together
I keep getting better
if I keep getting better, I can be whatever I want to be
My best days are ahead of me

I've got sunsets to witness
Dreams to dance with
Beaches to walk on, and lovers to kiss
There's a whole lot of world out there that I can't wait to see
My best days are ahead of me
My best days are ahead of me

The Climb (to where you need to go to)

The Climb lyrics
Songwriters: Alexander, J; Mabe, J;
Artiste: Miley Cyrus

I can almost see it, That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking, Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaken

But I gotta keep trying, Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing, The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it, But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong, Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

Just a shout out to everyone who needs reminding that life is a climb (up corporate ladders, or life in general, or any applicable situation). There will be times when you come to mini plateaus where you can take a short breather and assess how far you've come. There will be times when you almost slip or do slip, and also times when weather forces you to stay put. What matters then would be how you pick yourself up, dust off the debris, and keep moving on. And of course, there will be times when it's right to ATTACK the climb...hehehe. When you need to do it, JUST DO IT! (Yes, it's Nike's motto, but it's effective nevertheless). With the end goal in sight, that's how we progress through life in stages, with each stage having an immediate goal to be achieved. What matters end of the day is that we arrive at the peak (some in style, some not so in style) in our own way, time, and strength.

And if you have no faith in anything else...trust in yourself. Faith basically is having trust in something you can't see immediately, but knowing that it exists somewhere, somehow.