Last night I sang at our agency’s summer BBQ. It was one of those fun gigs where nothing’s too serious, just out having a good time while singing a couple of tunes. I closed out the set with 古巨基’s “下次再見” (“See You Next Time”). I liked the song from the first time I heard it, partly because it’s so rare to hear a pop song with a beautiful classical guitar arrangement. And I was so happy to have my good friend Philip Li playing it for me last night, who did a beautiful job.
While singing that song on stage, it suddenly hit me how time has changed me. In my younger days I insisted on hanging on to things and people forever. I evaluated the success of every relationship by how long it was kept. For instance, we would call a long marriage a “successful” one, and if a marriage ended after a short while, we’d say the person had a “failed” marriage. Perhaps we got it from our childhood bedtime stories: that people had to end up together living “happily ever after.”
But time, and pain, have been great teachers. And I have learned from them one of the most important truths in life: Everything, everyone changes. Not everything is meant to last “ever after”. Nor is that a necessary pre-requsite to live “happily”. People drift together, people drift apart. That’s okay. It’s not necessary a “good” thing or a “bad” thing. It’s just a “life” thing. 斷線風箏散失風裡…軌跡改變那有錯或對…
I have since learned that rather than worrying about how long I may stay at one place, or how long different people will stay in my life, it’s better for me to focus on today, on the moments that I can share my life with them, and make sure I generously give them the very best that I have. As I was singing, I saw my teammates whom I now work with everyday. What a wonderful group of people! I was reminded how blessed and fortunate I am to have the privilege of serving them, and seeing them help people everyday. Who knows how long this will last? But it doesn’t matter…I have learned it is possible to live “happily” with or without “ever after”.
下次再見…till next time 
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