Ideally, I would like to live to the age of around 80 - long enough to satisfy my curiosity and wonder, but hopefully not too long to have to endure the challenges of illness and getting senile. If assuming this wish is granted, this means that 2013 would be the year when I step from the first half to the second half of my life. Worth putting down my thoughts at this juncture.
Some significant events:-
Gobi March
Ultras or other extreme endurance sports have the potentials of shifting people's lives. The physical and mental demands of training and going through races can shake us up, make us face our deepest fears and weaknesses, give us the courage to push all boundaries and live our wildest dreams.
Gobi March certainly opened that door for me, and interestingly, the real transformation came after the race. One of my major takeaways was gaining the courage which I never had. For the past 6 months, I have signed up for tougher local races, and I am so contented and accepted full responsibility for putting myself in all sorts of awful situations in races, one after another. Yet, I felt so blessed and proud of myself that I was able to endure and actually enjoy the experience.
Since Gobi, the racing bucket list has got crazier and crazier, at least that's how my friends describe. But to me, I am just searching for higher quality travelling experience. I used to be a city-hopping traveller, now I just want to see places which are untouched, I want to see places before they are destroyed by global warming or infrastructure development, I want to experience cultures before they are compromised by commercialism. More importantly, I want to use my legs to walk these places because walking gives me the connection with mother earth, it gives me the space and time to explore cultures and interact with people and all forms of life, it gives me the awareness that I am somewhere between heaven and earth, where time is linear and finite, and so every moment counts...
The social enterprise workshop
My friend Pui Fung said yesterday when we were having a get together drink, "the first two years of a social enterprise is for the most part, a warm-up, a game and nowhere near the substance." I'm not sure if I can fully appreciate what she is saying, because she is looking back from a ten-year journey. But at least I realize I am only at the start if I want this journey to continue.
The first two years were hard enough, but I treasure each and every moment from the start. The business, the people, the results and the challenges have sped up my personal growth immensely, not to mention the mentorship and support I received along the way.
I've said before that the experience so far is like studying an MBA, acted out by myself and for real. Now that I come to think about it, I have only completed the first semester and looking forward to starting the next round.
Making new friends and finding an adventurous me
I never appreciated how much of a blessing it is living in Hong Kong until recently. Within 18 months, I have explored (with the help of new friends) almost all country parks and trails, the waterfalls and so many other intriguing landmarks that I wouldn't have imagined them to exist. And still there are more!
Work and major reshuffle
What happened to me or around me in the office in the past 2 months, was on the face of it seemed frustrating. Now after some digestion, I can look at it from a different perspective. I think they are significant because the time and the circumstances are finally mature, the dots and lines are about to be connected and take me to the next thing. Will know what this is in 2014 and looking forward to it. That said, I will always be grateful to the past 5 years. I have had so much happiness, fun and growth working in this company.
Officially single and a whole new world begins
The uneventful divorce has been a great blessing. I do not regret closing that door and burying the past, because I can never go back to that life again. It is equally a blessing to find another door leading to a new path, one that is full of unknown and exciting adventures.
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
Helen Keller (1880-1968)
"There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)
"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves."
Andre Gide (1869 - 1951)
