I was having an conversation in my mind, pretending I was talking to a distant colleague. The conversation revolved around the fact that I had been working late nights recently, on top of managing the usual pain from the daily grind.
“There are so many idiots pissing you off all the time.” My discouraging “colleague” sighed. “How could you do this? How could you put up with all these nonsense and still put in so much effort?”
My proud self went off on an unmemorable rant, but some conclusions filtered out eventually.
“I fight the challenges with passion. No work is fun, but without passion, all work is pain.”
I find that with passion, I have the courage to tell people off without feeling guilt, because that was not out of emotional whims. With passion, people who refused to let go of past defeats do not bother me, because I have moved on to do more meaningful stuff.
I do things because I want to move on. Having spent 2 years of my life in a stagnant state had imprinted in me a fear for wallowing in self pity. The saying that life is like riding a bicycle is true: we have to keep moving in order not to fall.
Therefore, as I ate my dinner at 10pm, the 2nd in a row, I took heart that although my initial idea for the Rehabilitation Exhibition has not materialized into the ideal state, the ground we covered should be worth the frustration and slew of vulgarities.
p/s: The Rehabilitation Exhibition is part of Yellow Ribbon Prison Run 2014, held on 14 Sep. The run covers scenic heritage road like none other, with a final lap within Changi Prison Complex, and a performance by our inmates.
The run aims to create awareness, embodies action to give second chances, and hopes to inspire an accepting society towards ex-offenders and their families.
The Exhibition would be at the End Point carnival site, just beside the Goodie Bag Collection. My team had put up a series of exhibition to showcase efforts by CARE network to help inmates reintegrate into society. We have also moved a little further from convention to try and be the spark to inspire the public to progress towards being an accepting society.
Do stay around to tour the Exhibition if you are coming for the run!
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