Of The Past.The Future.And The In Between

天时地利人和

When people asked me about what are my plans after I graduate, that has been my most common reply.For those who understand the meaning of the words, you would also understand why I said what I said.

I have probably recommended a lot of you to read the commencement speech at Stanford given by Steve Jobs. In his speech, Steve Jobs said something that has become sort of a personal mantra for me ...

"Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.

You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever--because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference."

It is impossible to connect the dots looking forward.You can only connect them looking backwards.So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.

I have always wondered about the past.The pledges and promises that were made.The hope that were held.Right now, where are they?
Didn't some of us promise to be together for a long time?
But ... I always trust that the past happens for a reason ... and that is for our own good.
The broken things we had in the past ... teach us to be more appreciative of the things we have now.

Where would I be in the future, I ask myself sometimes.The plans I designed.The future I envisioned. Am I there?

The past.The future.

Not being able to connect the dots forward, I can only connect it looking back ... trying to make sense of the dots ... and hopefully, in between ... I learn.