Saturday I attempted my IPPT, had lunch at Bugis followed by an advance family reunion dinner. The reason why my family pushed the dinner forward, was for my benefit since I am leaving before the actual commencement of the Lunar New Year.
Sunday was quite a tight day, went to the Air show with Kenneth, Ronald and Ilango. It was really a waste of time to be honest. In the evening, I watched my brother perform at the Esplanade, followed by dinner with Karen and company. As the final event to my 5 days of activities, I went to pass Pat some of my books. Why did I pass her my books expecting her not to read them? I have no idea honestly; I guess it’s about fulfilling one’s end of the deal.
This combined entry will be about fulfilling one’s end of the deal, or rather, his or her word.
When does a child become an adult? Physical condition aside, it is my personal benchmark for that threshold is when one has the ability to make promises and deliver them, both timely and in a concise fashion. Promises, or rather, it is one’s word that makes or breaks a person. I shall try to be as gender neutral as possible, please note that this applies to both male and female and if I were to use the male reference please note that I meant both genders.
A man is his word, like a samurai is his sword. Both must be hard and dependable, constant and firm. When two people get married, social etiquette demands a wedding. During this wedding they exchange vows. What are vows? They are more then just words, they are promises. They carry the weight of one’s entire life in a collection of syllabus. A promise that cannot be taken lightly, that is what a vow is to me.
But not everyone is fit to make vows, and not every vow that has been made was made by people fit to make vows. That is the reality, and that is the truth.
As person, one should only be allowed to make promises that one can keep. Making promises which one cannot keep merely does nothing more then devalue the Word of the individual. After leaving enough broken promises behind oneself, one will find that people no longer ‘trust’ him. Henceforth it will be most challenging for him to get anything done since his word is worthless and in turn he becomes worthless.
Of course, this does not happen overnight. It actually takes some time for people to over come the benefit of a doubt that they so readily bestow upon others. We are our habits, we are what we continuously do. If we are always honest with others, then we are honest people, and if we always help others then we are helpful people. If we are always lying and we are simply liars. It all starts somewhere, if there is a first time, then there will be a second time. One reputation is not build in a day, but it can be destroyed in day. The trust that we took years to build can be taken away in an act or a whisper.
Be conscious of what we promise, and deliver what we promise. That way we strengthen our word, our rights as an adult and more importantly as dependable elements in the lives of those we care most about.
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