Life Lessons from Riding the Train (part 2)

Recently, I spent 3 weeks in Korea. This time, I was alone on this trip and to top it all, the hotel booked for me is far from the office, not the usual walking distance as it was from previous trips. This time around, I had no choice but to take the subway. (Well, actually, I can take the taxi…but it would be much more expensive). But it proved to be a good experience after all. I learned more life lessons, this time from taking the subway.

1. Plan your route.
• It pays to plan.  I have two maps: one map of Seoul downtown and another map for subway stations. First, I plan where to go (using the Seoul map) and plot what stations to take (using the subway map).
• In life, we also need to determine first where we want to go. Use as many reference (map) as we can, then plot steps on how to get there.
2. You will never discover new places unless you have the courage to go out of the usual routine.
• At first, I was too afraid to take a different route. I stayed with the usual route which works. Because the last time I tried a different path, I spent almost 1 hour walking in circles. But then again, I thought I will never go places if I stayed in one route, so I tried again. True enough, I was able to go to more places and enjoyed new sights.
• In life, if we want to go ‘places’, we should not be afraid to take different paths towards our goals. We should, however, be prepared to accept failed paths and try again, not losing heart.                       
3. You have to hold on to the pole.

• Inside the train, there are times when I need to stand throughout the journey. In order not to fall down, I hold on to the pole.
• In life, we need to hold on to the One Pole (God) to be firm throughout  the journey. We can’t hold on to another passenger (another person) as he/she may fail us and we will stumble. If there are barriers (people) blocking our way to the pole, we just need to be firm on our stance.
4. The path may seem less travelled but it does not necessarily mean it’s the wrong path.

• Taking the unfamiliar subway and exits, oftentimes,  I am tempted to just follow the path where most people go. But looking at the signage, it is pointing me to a different, unlikely direction. And when I finally followed the sign, it was the right path after all.
• In life, we must learn to decipher the correct path to take not by appearances, and especially not because of by popular choice. It must be based on a solid reference, something more reliable.
5. You have to know where you are, to be able to know where you’re going.

• Getting off the train in an unfamiliar station, the first thing I looked for is a map.  Once I find it, I look for that red dot that says “You are here”. From there, I plot my steps towards the correct exit number to take.
• In life, we have to know where we are first, to know where and how far we need to go to reach our destination. Likewise, we have to check where we are from time to time to know whether we are still on track to reaching our goal.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from the Train Station

by Grace Madrinan

Funny how the long journey can stir some thoughts. Last April, I had the opportunity to visit Japan which is notorious for its complicated but efficient transport system. For a tourist like me, who only knew three phrases of Nihongo, it was a challenge. Nevertheless, I find it the most memorable. Truly, everything I need to know I learned from the train station.


1. Sometimes we can't read the signs. Since Japan is not predominantly an English-speaking country, there are still some signs with no translation, and even if there is, still we can't understand them. In life, we can't always read the signs from God, and sometimes -- most of the time, we misinterpret it. It wouldn't hurt if we ask for help from someone in authority, like a mentor, a priest or a spiritual director. Just like in the train station, I'd asked help from someone who knows the station (and who knows English) like the postman or the guard in uniform.
2. If we did not pay attention, we will miss our stop. If we doze off or got distracted with lots of things we see inside the train, we will miss our station. We have to watch out for the next station, especially if the route is new to us. In life, if we are not focused enough, we will miss our goal. We need to monitor our progress just like counting the number of stations left before reaching our destination.
3. When we ride the wrong train, we will have to take the longer route to make it right. If we act hastily without planning ahead, we might get on the wrong train. And when we do, we have to take the longer route just to go back on track. In life, it is important to plan ahead where we're going, what we're steps to reach it similar to planning what routes to take, where to drop off and when to transfer to the next train.
4. In times of doubt, ask for help. Since we're new to the place, there’s no harm to ask for directions. But let’s not ask just any other person, choose someone who is more likely an expert, like a policeman, guard, or postman. Similarly, if we need guidance on spiritual growth, ask for a mentor, someone whom you know that can give a sensible answer.
5. Travel light. Inside the train station, everything is fast paced and people are rushing everywhere. If we travel with big luggage, we will be left out and forced to carry it all while running towards the next station. In life, we need to free ourselves of clutter (worries, grudges) and carry only the essentials to get to where we're going, faster.
6. Timing is everything. If we miss the train, we will have to wait for a few minutes to an hour, which means a delay in our arrival to our destination. In life, if we miss an opportunity, we have to wait for the next one to come.

7. At the train station, we have an option to choose. There are trains that come every 5 minutes but takes longer because it stops at every station. There are also some rare rapid trains we have to wait for a few more minutes but will take us sooner to our destination. In life, we have to decide which path we want to take. Do we want to jump to the next available opportunity or wait for a while for the next one?

8. We will meet different people in the train, others will stay beside us for a while, but they have to drop off at any station sooner or later. In life, there are people who will stay beside us longer but we can't expect them to be with us at the same destination. They have their own destination to take, but enjoy their company while we're with them. More often than not, they might even give we tips on how to reach our destination sooner. Better if we found out that we are going towards the same destination all along.

9. If we feel the train is too slow, we can drop off at the next station anytime and transfer at the rapid line. But we have to pay extra cost. In life, we control our own pace. If we feel things are moving slow for us, we can do things to speed it up. But we have to pay the extra cost, like work overtime, study more, make more sacrifices…

10. We can't stay at the train station. We have to move, decide where we're going and take that ride. If we happen to take the wrong train. We can always get off and ride another one. We can't be stagnant, we have to get moving. Similarly in life, we need to make a decision on where we are going, take some actions and reach that destination.

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned at McDonald’s

by Rhonee Lyn Garcia

I love to eat at McDonald’s. Why? Because it’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s cheap. I can go in, eat, meditate and go home. The health conscious people have horrified looks on their faces. Yes, I know about the horrors of transfat and the bad effects of sugar. I’ve seen the documentary Super Size Me. But I sometimes have A-ha moments while I’m craving for the genetically modified potato without any nutritional value we lovingly call French fries.

My first A-ha is: the menu in the morning is different from the menu in the afternoon.

When I was very young, I couldn’t wrap my small head why Big Mac is not available at 7am. Why do I have to wait until 11am before I can order a Big Mac? I actually experimented on this once. I bought a Big Mac the night before and ate the whole thing for breakfast. Needless to say, I felt nauseous the whole morning. Then imagine yourself eating only pancakes for lunch. You would probably faint from hunger about mid-afternoon. Hopefully, this is not during an important business meeting. This made me realize that the food preferences of people change throughout the day. What you want to eat for dinner is usually not what you want to eat in the morning. And vice versa.

When we were young, we’re not able to handle big responsibilities yet. We need to slowly acquire the skills and the experience first before we are ready. Just imagine asking a 2 year old boy to do your taxes. This will probably get you into trouble with IRAS. On the other hand, if you are the president of a company and you do something easy that doesn’t match with your capabilities like play with Barbie dolls the whole week, you will be bored to death.

My second A-ha is: you can always upsize your order but you have to pay an additional cost.

Upsize? That’s what you usually hear when you place an order at the counter. And this one dollar coin is all you need to have an upsized meal.

In life, we can always upsize our dreams if we just put on a little extra effort. To have that fabulous figure, it can be just a few minutes of exercise like running up the steps from the first floor to the 30th floor your HDB flat while wearing high heels. Or if you fancy being the next Singapore Idol, you can do a few minutes of vocalization while doing your shopping at the mall. Or sometimes, it just takes a minute to show off your hula hoop skills to your boss for you to get that huge project you’ve been aspiring for. You don’t have to trade your whole life to upsize your dream. It’s just a little more effort. It's just a few more cents.

The third A-ha is: happy meals are not only for children.

If you order a happy meal, the cashier will not refuse to sell it to you just because you have grey hair, sagging skin and a wrinkly face. If you order and you have the money, they will give it to you.

I often hear people say, "Oh I can’t have fun. That's not for me. I’m too old for this." But it is the adult's busy life that needs a happy meal all the more. It's when you’re stressed out that you need to have fun and relax. We all need to have our versions of a happy meal. It can be reading an intellectual and serious book like Harry Potter. Or taking a 2 hour bath with your favorite yellow squishy rubber ducky. Or go belly dancing. Maybe sky diving. Or belly dancing while sky diving. Just a few minutes of fun to relax and unwind and get the edge out of your system.

My fourth and last A-ha is: McDonald’s is not the only restaurant in town.

If you don’t like the food at McDonald’s, you can always go to another restaurant to eat. No one is forcing you to eat food that you don’t like. There’s Subway. KFC. Equinox. Lawry’s. Economic Bee Hoon. Yong Tau Fu. And you can even cook your own food. You can always choose the food you want to eat as long as you have the money and you are willing to pay for it.

If you don’t like your job, find a new one. If you can’t find a new one because of the economic crisis, then do something fun so you won’t hate your job. It can be as simple as listening to music when you’re at work. Or practicing your dance moves while at the rest room. Or testing your memory and memorize the shoes your coworkers wear and remember how many days they’ve worn the same pair. Or testing your psychic abilities and predict who is going to call you on the phone before it rings. You can also pretend to be Spiderman and use your spider sense to figure out who is approaching based on the sound of the footsteps. The point is, you must do something to either change your circumstances or change how you view your circumstances. We can always choose what we want as long as we are willing to pay the price.

These are my four A-has I realized while I’m drinking that diabetes inducing liquid we know as Coke: the menu changes throughout the day; you can always upsize your order; happy meals are not only for children; and there are other restaurants in town.

It's funny how we sometimes find the most profound inspiration from the most mundane of things. When I go to McDonald’s for dinner later tonight I would ask them to update their menu and insert 'life lessons' in between french fries and Coke. Why? Because all I need to know, I learned at McDonald's.