wise men (and women) say

of making a move on

2011-10-17T05:31:00.000-07:00

"Life is too short to be unhappy."

(sorry, no accompanying picture of a famous person)

It was early 2008 and I was working my first job after graduating from junior college. After a long fruitless job search my mum introduced me to her friend's husband, who ran a small company which provided listing services for companies, kind of like a Yellow Pages. The office had probably 10 employees or less, all of whom were older and spoke predominantly Chinese instead of English, and I was a shy and awkward kid. Basically, I had a miserable time. But even objectively, it was a terrible job - I seldom had anything to do, and when I did, I was forced to create designs that met my boss' taste, or lack of it. Worse, I didn't understand why he was even creating the product that he was creating because it seemed completely useless and undesirable to me.

The building that I worked at had a friendly security guard, and I would often visit him at lunch times because I was so bored and lonely. Although I never talked about my job, one day he simply pointed out how sad I looked all the time (I tried to deny it) and he suggested that I quit my job. I was hesitant. Then when he said the words that I quoted above, I felt so liberated and I decided then and there to quit. I can't quite explain it, because they are simple words that I'm sure everyone has heard before, but it was a magic moment for me.

Sometimes you just need someone (anyone) to remind you of the things you already know. I will never forget that security guard and the much-needed push he gave me that day.

of the mud and the heavens

2010-10-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

"All of us are in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

- Oscar Wilde

This is one of my favourite quotes and Wilde has to be featured, sooner or later. Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, to a family of intellectuals; he himself moved on to be an outstanding student at Oxford. After university, Wilde moved to London where he met Constance Lloyd, whom he married, and a number of young men, whom he had affairs with. One of them proved fatal as it prompted Wilde to sue his lover's father for libel (for calling him a 'posing somdomite'), which backlashed tragically and ended with Wilde being convicted of gross indecency, imprisoned and bankrupt.

...But who remembers him for that? Wilde impresses me because he was a truly modern man of his times, and through his works and words I think he showed a remarkable insight into human nature. For example The Picture of Dorian Gray, which tells the story of the degradation of a young man who - basically - falls in love with a portrait of himself, is a haunting account of how vanity can consume us all. Maybe Wilde himself was a victim of his own vanity, but I think that only makes him human and one of us. But if that's the case, he was definitely looking at the stars.

*Addendum: Oscar Wilde doesn't stop inspiring. Designer Yuichi Kuroda designs a collection inspired by 'The Portrait of Dorian Gray' for LAD Musician 2011 Spring/Summer. Here is a little preview:

of one versus a hundred

2010-09-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one."

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Mother Teresa was born in 26 August 1910 in what was known as the Ottoman Empire (now the capital of the Republic of Macedonia). From an early age she knew that she wanted to be a missionary, and at the age of 18 she joined a convent. It was through convent work that she was brought to Calcutta, where she became increasingly disturbed by the state of poverty around her. When she was 36, Mother Teresa left the convent and entered the slums to help the poor and needy, where she would spend 45 years of her life. Mother Teresa started the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, which now operates hundreds of missions around the world, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

It was actually pretty interesting how I came upon this quote. A friend had suggested that I join a certain group in school which is working towards lifting the prejudice on rape victims in society. I came for my first meeting with the group, was not entirely convinced by the cause, unsure if I should direct my time to something more worthwhile. Then I looked out the window and literally saw the words of the quote staring at me -- the school had decided to decorate this particular wall of this particular block with the words of Mother Teresa. It was the quote that largely persuaded me to stay on with the group.

(Almost 3 months later I am still unsure if this little group will ever come to anything, or if I will be able to help even one person, but I guess it's best to stay optimistic.)

of great and small

2010-07-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

"The chief proof of man's real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness."

-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a Scottish writer born in 1859. He was trained as a physician but turned to writing when his practice did not prove to be successful. Although Sir Arthur (or do I call him Sir Doyle?) is most well-known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, arguably the best detective of all time albeit in fiction, he did also write a number of other works such as historical novels, science fiction, plays and non-fiction. In fact it was because he wanted more attention on his other works that he famously 'killed off' Holmes at Reichenbach Falls (although Holmes was resurrected shortly after an uproar from the fans, no worries).

I came across this quote by Sir Doyle during a period when I was absolutely mad about Holmes (I still am a huge fan, although the obsession level has thankfully dropped a little). It is interesting I guess, because Holmes himself shows little to no sign of humility. But for the rest of us mortal beings with ordinary powers of perception, perhaps we can do with a little less flair and a little more modesty, and perceive ourselves as the small particles that we are in this great wide universe.