It’s not been over yet. It’ll never. And I am grateful for that. I will find myself still over the moon in those melting moments now and then. I will…
It was a Saturday morning in Botanic Garden, our family’s favorite weekend earthly escape, when I was walking and suddenly noticed that some little person stepping in the opposite direction was smiling to me, radiantly with her big eyes so twinkly telling. So I looked at her, a beautiful chubby blond-haired cutie in a dark blue flowery dress, standing next to her dad, and I smiled back. I went near her and sat down to be at her eye level and asked, “Hello! What’s your name?” and, “How old are you?” We exchanged a few words and some hugs. Then I said goodbye and continued my stroll. To my surprise, the baby girl ran towards me and hugged me again, and I hugged her and gave her the sweetest kiss of mine on her pinky cheek. We just kept saying goodbye and I kept seeing the little angel going back to me with her beautiful smiles and generous hugs till her dad really had to carry her to get home. It was instant bonding. It was a beautiful moment. By randomness.
It was a Saturday morning when I was on the train to Botanic Garden to have my weekly mini-vacation, I saw a boy carrying a few books and a white metal box sitting nearby. He looked so familiar and after a few seconds, I realized that he was the young waiter that caught my curiosity in a restaurant where I had an alumni dinner with my school mates about a month back. At that time, sitting at the table and chatting with a few around me, I actually kept wondering why this bright looking boy did this job and made a guess that he might do it temporarily. When the train stopped where I needed to get off, the young man also walked out. After being hesitant for a short while, I said “Hi” and told him that I had met him at the restaurant the other day. I learnt about his name, Richard, and we began chatting. And I was correct. The boy had just graduated from an International High School and was going to NS (National Services) soon, so he wanted to do something during that short break. He told about the management of the restaurant who was not really good at leadership. He told about the food of the restaurant which was really good in terms of quality. He told about the people he met there who were, most of the time, very nice people. And then the conversation shifted to his plan after NS. He passionately shared that he loved writing and he would go to university in Germany or the UK or the US, preferably the US, to take a course that would help him be a true writer in five years’ time. He had a group of friends two of whom loved writing as well, another interested in game development, and the last just so passionate about theatre. They met every Saturday to review each other’s work and discuss on how improvement could be made. Richard was half Singaporean and half German. At some point in our conversation, we talked about Konstanz where my dad had been living for more than half of his life when he exclaimed that I must go and visit since it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world . “I may suck some time but the thing is I still love it when I am suck!”, said he. I sincerely uttered to him that I admired him for clearly knowing what he wanted to do with his life and daring to follow his passion, and wished his dream would soon come true. It was such a lovely chat. It was an enchanting moment. By randomness.
It was a Saturday morning when my two men and I were walking along a street, we met with an old man. He had been walking with his bicycle aside and then parked it over the side of the pedestrian when seeing my 4-year-old son. “Hello baby boy!”, said he with his eyes sparkling. He shook my husband’s hand. He and I then ended having a brief conversation. The 82-year-old man told me his story that he had two wives with the first passing away due to heart disease and the second because of cancer. His two grown up children lived in Malaysia. He, therefore, lived by himself in Boon Lay which was two third of Singapore’s driving way from where we met, and everyday, he did a lot of exercise either cycling or walking. “You remember me and I remember you. God bless you!”, said the kind man with a radiant smile when we farewelled. I felt so much energy and so much happiness in this old man. And it was a contagious feeling. It was a happy moment. By randomness.
It was a Saturday evening when a teenager approached us and asked if we could spare him one minute. So I asked how we could help. The first and foremost thing he showed us was the cold black lace in his lower leg. He then explained he had just been out of prison and was trying to earn a living with a hope to be back to school some soon day. I actually spoke for 10 times of the one minute he requested, as I wanted to learn more about this smart looking young man. He went to jail due to a fight when he was 19 and had stayed there for three years. He did not know his father. His mother passed away and he lived in a rental place. He showed five products he was selling, which included two types of notebooks, a little mobile lamp for reading books, a headphone accessory set, and a phone cover. Each was SGD 10. He could sell 10 of them per day on average and part of the money would go to house rental and other utilities. The rest was saved for future schooling. The boy said he could not get a job now due to his situation but I was enlightened to hear about his plan. I bought one notebook for him, telling him that Singapore is a great country where people like him are cared and encouraged to rebuild the lives, structurally by public policies, and from the depth of my heart, wished that his plan would be realized soon and he would be successful. Well, I actually thought for a few seconds whether I should take the notebook but then decided to since I wanted him to see the fruition of his effort and to see himself as an actual businessman. It was meaningful appreciation. It was a human moment. By randomness.
There is a limit to how much we could plan for our lives. There is no limit to what the life out there would bring to us. Sometimes, I choose to unclose the door of raNdomNeSs for my heart to get opened, for my mind to get inhaled, and for my soul to get enriched.