Go Fly a Kite!
Go Fly a Kite.
That was exactly the advice a close friend recently ranted out to me as I whined and rambled about the qualms of both my professional and personal life. "Shut the fuck up and do it", he vehemently urged me as I vividly recalled.
Not one to enjoy kite flying in my growing up years, I could however appreciate the art and mechanics behind kite flying. I was more of the 'guli' or marble kind of boy, besides football and fishing in murky large drains of 1980s Singapore.
Shrugging off the idea, I left it at that...mere coffee shop talk. Until one fine day, well, one fine horrific day at work to be precise, I found myself storming out of the office with my termination letter. Strangely, I remembered feeling light and 'full of spring' for a man that just got fired. Perhaps, I just knew that nothing could possibly get worse henceforth.
With the sun still scorching bright in the afternoon, and office rats rushing back to their meager cubicles, I trudged on happily, briefcase en-towed with a loosely tied necktie around my unbuttoned shirt.
I went to the beach that afternoon to be alone and reflect on recent incidents. I took off my shoes, rolled up my trousers and buried my feet in the soft subtle sand by the coast, leaving my imprints on the beach as I lined the coast. And there just up ahead, was an old Chinese man, dead to his surroundings as he stoned near his makeshift stall, selling home made kites.
"What the hell", I thought to myself as I paid for one. It had a smiley face printed on one side. How ironic.
I dumped my belongings by the side and went out onto the open beach, wind howling across my face and hair. I stretched the kite out with my right arm as ran against the wind. With a violent surge forward, I lunged the kite into the open sky as I let the wind take over.
Up up and up it soared as I tried to trace it amidst the blinding sun rays. But there it was smiling back down on me. I felt like a boy once again, free from worldly troubles. I tugged and loosened the string intermittently as I was determined to let the kite stay afloat. In a matter or minutes, I was at the end of the spool.
The next few minutes consisted of a series of ups and downs as the kite plunged land side and me repeating the routine all over again, but it made me feel light for a change. And in one of those instances when the kite was up once again, another kite I was battling swooped in and cut my line and down down down it went. I smiled and it made me ponder.
Kite flying. As trivial as it is, it somehow mirrored life in a way. In life, it's never an easy thing to be successful and happy. But with sheer determination and hard work, it isn't difficult for things to run its course.
There are times when we soar, and times where we delve deep into turbulence. It is the man that gets up and tries that soars once again. There will always be bastards that try to cut u off, but there will always be luck and love, which like the wind, can make one climb once again.
I was a happy man as I made my way back home once again. I'll not know what tomorrow holds for me but one thing's for sure, I'll be trying my best.
And to those out there who is feeling that life has been a little harsh toward you lately, here's a piece of advice..."Shut the Fuck Up, and Go Fly a Kite!"
It helps.
