I HAVE learnt an important thing about "bad" situations. It is that when such a thing happens, it is the gateway to something good.
About 10 years ago, my family and I were staying in a rented house. One day, the landlord served notice that the tenancy agreement will come to an end within a stipulated time. Apparently, he wanted back his house.
I found out that he wanted to break the agreement because the rental in my area had shot through the roof and he wasn't making much money with me because he had signed a three-year contract with me.
Anyway, for some strange reason, I wasn't upset. I merely told my wife that we must moved on. My only request to the landlord was that I wanted time to find another house. To that, the landlord readily agreed. He was feeling very guilty at that time.
I scoured the district quite thoroughly for months for suitable alternative accommodation. Eventually, I found one but it was way above my limited budget. I consulted my sister about making such an investment because I was already financially committed elsewhere.
My sister's reply at that time was: "If you have faith, you will just go ahead and buy the house. Don't worry about the money, it will come but do you have the faith?"
After much thought and some mental agony, I decided to take the plunge. Once, I had made up my mind, the rest was easy.
In the beginning, I had some trouble keeping within the family budget, but after a while, things begin to ease a little. Today, the house which I bought out of desperation is worth more than twice its original price.
The landlord who kicked me out of his house was actually instrumental in creating a rather rosy future for me as far as housing was concerned. That was when I learnt: sometimes bad things had to happen, for good things to take place.
There was another incident that happened in my professional career. In my section, there were two other executives who shared the same professional title and status with me. When there was an office reshuffle, both of them got promoted whereas I got stuck in the usual position.
I asked to be moved to another section. Several months down the road, I found out that my new position in the company had far greater rewards than I had imagined. I was actually beginning to be happy at this relatively new section. Today, I can safely say I have never been happier in all my 25 years with the company.
Earlier than that was a time when I was "relegated" for the night shift. Others call it the "graveyard" shift. I was working from 6pm to 2am. This went on for about one and a half years. My immediate supervisor kept me in "cold storage."
But as it turned out I had the time of my life. During the night shift, the office was quieter and more peaceful. It was certainly less hectic. I had more free time than usual. As a result, I was surfing the Internet quite often. On top of that, I was adopting some good habits and had the opportunity to re-organise my life.
Today, I have more meaningful and interesting friends overseas than actual ones in my own country.
People are understandably sad when their parents die. After all, parents are always the ones who love us regardless of circumstances. Mine did, anyway. So when my mother died, followed by my dad a year later, I thought it was one of those trying moments in my life.
Later as I reflected upon it, I learnt that life is an ongoing continuous process. As a result of my parents' passing, I had to take on certain responsibilities that strengthened my character. People do grow old and die. It is a natural process. God wants it that way too, so that the younger ones can live on without having to worry about other things.
Life is ongoing, even after death. I have learnt that there is no such thing as a "bad" thing. Things happen for a good reason. And if they take place for a good reason then they can't be bad. In the beginning, the reason may not be there but after a while, and it may take years, the reason will become clear. That is why some people say, wisdom comes with the passing of years. Wiser on the hindsight is the general saying.
The lesson here is: when you feel or think that something "bad" has happened to you or someone close to you, pause and think about the possibility of good things coming around the corner. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, there will actually be something good about to take place.
Things don't happen to make us miserable, things happen so that we can improve on our situation or the situation for others. All it takes is looking it from the right perspective.
It's your life. Live it well and always look at it from the right perspective no matter what happens.
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