Lots of thoughts down the lane.

A 5-minute walk. Passed by Bedok Library, looked through the glass, I saw 3 men of different races holding Chinese, Malay, Indian books sitting on the long comfy sofa. That was a nice sight. It was a rainy day, guess a Malay lady slipped and fell and this Chinese man was rubbing her feet with Chinese medicine giving the thumbs up sign. That was a nice sight. Then was this fruit seller, scolding on top of his voice at a child, threathening that poor child. I was so angry yet helpless. Guess I didn't have enough guts to stand up for the boy. How could an adult say such nasty stuffs to a little boy.

I read this book. There's an excerpt from the book:

" ... comes the day when the young adults graduate from school. The once-adoring parents are now somewhere back there in the shadows. The young adults are pushed out onto the stage of life without having any chance to rehearse the lines. They aren't even sure of the name of the drama or how it is supposed to turn out. Are they going to make it? They don't know. It's a scary world, with no guarantees. They are, at long last, on their own. In adolescence, they longed for freedom from parental constraints. Now that they have it, it can be frightening.

These children-becoming-adults long for the Elysian fields of infancy-for adoration and unconditional love, to be supremely important to mommy and daddy and everyone else. But that's all in the past now. They have to perform. They are scared- and sometimes lonely. Occasionally they are depressed.

Now begins the lifelong search for success and happiness and fulfillment. These goals have only been vaguely defined for the young adults and they may not have a very clear picture of how to achieve them. They are seized with a vague disquietude for which there is no name. They are aware, in quiet moments, of a sense of puzzlement, and have occasional somber moods. Where is all the fun and happiness "they" promised them ("they" refering to books, movies and TV programmes)? If they pause long enough in their drive for the elusive carrot of success, they have the feeling that something must have gone wrong.

So, the silent cry goes up: Listen to me, affirm me, hear me, love me, touch me, hold me, talk to me. I want to feel important, to be significant. This is a universal longing; no one is free of it, though it may be denied and repressed. "

Taken from "The art of getting along with people" by Cecil G. Osborne