[NOT A STORY]
In the past year, I've stayed home most of the time due to the pandemic. Although being locked in can be depressing, I decided to use the extra time to reflect on my journey as a human being. I've jotted down a few pages of the "lesson...
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This photo is intentionally unedited. I took a photo of this pretty flower a few years ago. On one chilly afternoon, I was walking home from school when I saw this pink princess sticking out amongst the dry bushes. It was so beautiful, I was completely mesmerized. What makes this flower so special is that it bloomed in winter, the coldest time of the year. The temperature was around 10 degrees Celcius at that time. When other plants around it died, this little pink flower came ALIVE.
Speaking of blooming, I remember one of my friends, his name was Mike. We attended the same university. Mike was a friend of my friend – you may call us colleagues – but he was very friendly every time we met. Mike was the kind of person who said it like he meant it – no filter, 100% honesty, and that was what I like about him.
After we graduated, we went to separate ways. From Facebook, I knew that Mike joined one of the retail giants in Indonesia: Hypermart (his major was in Business Administration). We hadn't talked ever since but kept "in touch" by routinely liking each other's Facebook posts. After two years of work, I noticed that Mike was promoted to be a manager. He was only 24.
To be a manager at 24 is a big deal since all of us in the same batch were still struggling as regular staff. I was furious by envy. I work as hard as he did, why wasn't I promoted? I didn't congratulate Mike, because I thought his promotion was "too fast". Little did I know that God had another plan for Mike.
Just four months after his promotion, Mike had a heart attack. His death was very sudden – all of us were completely devastated. Mike was on top of his game when he passed away.
Mike was bloomed "prematurely" because his life was short.
Each of us has our timing. Like Mike, some become a manager by 24. Some get married at 27, some blessed with a child a year later, some bought a house or a car at 30, some retire at 55. Some finished school on time. Some become celebrities. Some become very rich at a very young age. Some die at a very young age.
There are obvious standards for timing in this world. When to graduate school, when to get a job, when to be promoted, when to buy a house, when to get pregnant, when to get a second child, when to retire. People use it to measure their own lives and others. And when some don't comply with that standards, he or she will be deemed as a failure.
Human beings are not manufactured. We are given life from the Almighty with a special purpose. Just like this flower, each of us will BLOOM at the right time, no matter what season it is.
According to OUR standard, that flower SHOULD HAVE BLOOMED in SPRING. But it didn't. It chose winter to spread out its pretty petals NATURALLY and there's nothing we can do to force it to do something else. Does it become less pretty because it bloomed out of the "standard"? I don't think so. It became more beautiful because it blooms when others die.
Just be naturally you, and work hard to be the best version of yourself. When the time for you to bloom has finally arrived, no matter what season it is, the whole world will notice your beauty.
