Post May 7, 2011 I am quietly encouraged by my fellow Singaporeans.  There were enough voters who stood behind what they believed to show me that fear no longer motivates how Singaporeans vote.  Whatever it is, we are a pragmatic lot but at least we aren’t all sheep that can be scared into paralysis.  Well, not anymore anyway.  That said, we still lost some of the better people in our government.

That’s the fact of elections.  You win some and you most definitely lose some.  Both had great love for their country and wanted nothing more than the opportunity to make real the vision they have for making Singapore a place we can truly call home.  Now the both of them will have to find other ways to continue contributing to Singapore and by their track record, I’m sure this isn’t the end for the both of them.

I learnt though that you may have great passion and love for something but if you don’t have your act together … it ain’t going to be enough.  On a personal level, this election had me wondering about making sacrifices, dreaming the impossible and making it all happen.  How does one stay balanced between the heart and mind?  To have enough fuel to keep your passion burning and the fortitude of logic to stay on track. I hope I learn how to maintain that balance way before I get too old to actually do it :p  More than that, I hope when I am faced with defeat as these two have, I will have the grace that they carried themselves with.

So my new adventure, as daunting as it may be, is my opportunity to make something out of the little corner of my world.  I’m going to win some and lose some but I’m going to keep these two men in mind.  Love what you do, have a clear vision, build a good team you can trust, keep learning and after all that if the chips still fall, gracefully and humbly remember you’ve done your best and there’s just someone who may be able to do it better than you.

With that, I’ll be keeping myself busy with my new adventure but I’m most certainly looking forward to the next elections and am optimistic about Singapore … more than I have ever been 🙂