Training Ground

I feel good today. The driver who has been with me for the past 8 months makes more money working somewhere else. I told him he could move - I would recommend him to move - if he can make a better living for his family and get health insurance for them.

This experience reinforces my non-attachment principle. There is no need to hold on to something if it is time to let it go. Not a driver, a housemaid, a wife, a son, or anything else for that matter.

I have been criticized by my father to let my son live by himself in Canada. He is in grade 12. It was difficult for him, but he has so far adjusted well. He acknowledges that it would be difficult to start living by himself if he does this in his first year at university.

I have been told that I am a "western" dad despite my Asian heritage by one of my friends. I have to say that most parents in Indonesia really hold on to their kids, until they grow well into adulthood.

But a memory is like a box that I can lock if I don't want to remember about it. A glimpse of my son's photo reminds me of four of us having a vacation. It aches me. I looked at his photo and am grateful he has grown to an adult I am proud of.

I think the best thing for me to do is to allow my daily life to be a training ground for anybody who crosses my path. I simply work with this person and hope he and I can learn something along the way. When it is time to say good bye, then we will do so. No tears, no regret. Life goes on.