Hospital Tales: arson doesn't turn everything to ashes
I was in the middle of scanning case files when Freida called me from the counter today.
"Do you remember me telling you to pass Miss Xuan her IC just now? She just ended her appointment and now said she didn't receive it."
The image of a short, skinny chinese girl comes to my mind instantly, i remembered her and most importantly, i also remember putting her blue IC in her hands. I may be busy at work but i'm certainly not senile. Miss Xuan was waiting at the reception counter, looking like we've eaten her family members.
"Miss...just now i've already returned you your IC, remember? When i took your weight for you, i handed it to you," I said.
"Miss, please check your bag... We can't find your IC anywhere," Freida added.
"Don't have..." Miss Xuan takes out her wallet and waterbottle as she digs into her bag. "I've already searched, you really didn't..."
At that very moment, a look of surprise crossed her face when she pulled out her IC from the pocket of her jeans.
"Oh."
***
After Weekeong's lesson on Sunday, i can't help but agree that its human nature to simply blame everyone except yourself for the different things that happen to us. While human psychology is similiar to archaelogy - the study of the fossils of our past can help reveal why we often act, think and feel the way we do now - the fossils do not always directly shape our character and behaviour.
Take David Pelzer and Mary Bell for example. Both of them are victims of child abuse in their own family; in fact David Pelzer's childhood was even constituted as the 3rd worst case of child abuse in California history. One became a bestselling author and award winning individual, the other lived her adult life in fear and shame because she had murdered more than 3 children when she was barely 10 years old herself. A writer says of Mary Bell the young muderess, "Her inability to bond with others in a loving manner was twisted into a bonding process based on violent aggression. Mary responded to others based on how she herself had been treated."
How is it that individuals in similar situations could respond so differently? I guess the answer is simply this - Choice. Everyone, you and i, we have a choice. You can be a victor or a victim or your circumstances, a cynic or a believer in the end. When you come to a bridge, you can cross it or burn it down and build concrete walls strong and high around yourself and maybe you can finally become untouchable. When your heart gets broken, you can cut yourself with the shards or pick them up and piece them together so that it can be used once again. When you see flaws in something once beautiful, will you cherish its past glory or memorize its imperfections? If you are a toreador, will you just lay there on the ground and let the dust settle in your hair, or will you pick up your ripped red cape and fight again?
Just remember that when you have built your walls with valor and strength, take your torch along 'cos you will have burned all those bridges with lamposts that could have lit your way.
"Do you remember me telling you to pass Miss Xuan her IC just now? She just ended her appointment and now said she didn't receive it."
The image of a short, skinny chinese girl comes to my mind instantly, i remembered her and most importantly, i also remember putting her blue IC in her hands. I may be busy at work but i'm certainly not senile. Miss Xuan was waiting at the reception counter, looking like we've eaten her family members.
"Miss...just now i've already returned you your IC, remember? When i took your weight for you, i handed it to you," I said.
"Miss, please check your bag... We can't find your IC anywhere," Freida added.
"Don't have..." Miss Xuan takes out her wallet and waterbottle as she digs into her bag. "I've already searched, you really didn't..."
At that very moment, a look of surprise crossed her face when she pulled out her IC from the pocket of her jeans.
"Oh."
***
After Weekeong's lesson on Sunday, i can't help but agree that its human nature to simply blame everyone except yourself for the different things that happen to us. While human psychology is similiar to archaelogy - the study of the fossils of our past can help reveal why we often act, think and feel the way we do now - the fossils do not always directly shape our character and behaviour.
Take David Pelzer and Mary Bell for example. Both of them are victims of child abuse in their own family; in fact David Pelzer's childhood was even constituted as the 3rd worst case of child abuse in California history. One became a bestselling author and award winning individual, the other lived her adult life in fear and shame because she had murdered more than 3 children when she was barely 10 years old herself. A writer says of Mary Bell the young muderess, "Her inability to bond with others in a loving manner was twisted into a bonding process based on violent aggression. Mary responded to others based on how she herself had been treated."
How is it that individuals in similar situations could respond so differently? I guess the answer is simply this - Choice. Everyone, you and i, we have a choice. You can be a victor or a victim or your circumstances, a cynic or a believer in the end. When you come to a bridge, you can cross it or burn it down and build concrete walls strong and high around yourself and maybe you can finally become untouchable. When your heart gets broken, you can cut yourself with the shards or pick them up and piece them together so that it can be used once again. When you see flaws in something once beautiful, will you cherish its past glory or memorize its imperfections? If you are a toreador, will you just lay there on the ground and let the dust settle in your hair, or will you pick up your ripped red cape and fight again?
Just remember that when you have built your walls with valor and strength, take your torch along 'cos you will have burned all those bridges with lamposts that could have lit your way.
Labels: life observations
