I chose. mister maroon's rant

i had a coffee meetup with my highschool mates a few months ago and we did a little catching up.

they asked me if it was really worth it to take a 60% paycut to be pursuing my passion.

at least i chose my path in life.... and i'll die knowing at least i gave it my best shot. and they looked at me funny.
*note to self: must meet up less often with these idiots...*

to be honest with you, i don't know if i'm going to stay in this job cos anything can happen.
but yet i give 101% and then some.

i have to think of new ideas day in day out which makes me mentally exhausted but i give myself a pat on the back everynight i leave my office...
and there are times when i'm actually out with my friends and i think to myself, "hey, let's go back to the office cos there are things to play around there."
they call me a workaholic but i'm not.
this is my passion, this is fun... so how can u call me a workaholic when i'm actually at play from 10am to 7pm? i don't know where i'll be next cos i may be based in thailand for a while... and then where else?

i get to watch movies, commercials, and video clips during work to get new ideas... and brainstorm with my colleagues on the latest thing that we watched.
we listen to music and flood the office space with music to make us create visuals. after we finish a video, we'd sit there and watch our concepts turn to reality.
we hang out every single day, either going out to catch a movie, grab a cold beer from our hangout nearby the office, or play xbox till late at night.

this is wat i did. to leave security, to take a huge paycut, to earn so much lesser, to have no idea where i'm going but at least i know i'm being guided by my love and passion for what i'm doing, and meeting kindred souls like me, are pursuing their own dreams.

don't ever stop pursuing your dreams. i know how it feels to do it.
and i know how it feels not to. don't ever deny your passion. don't ever kill your soul.
no amount of money nor material things can ever give u the happiness that comes from your heart when people see what your passion created and tell you, "hey it's really nice"

life is nothing but passion and lovecos at the end of the day, love and passion always win.

i will find myself eventually and to ultimately, find happiness.
Not search for it. But find it.

When was the last time you stood on a balcony with a cool breeze blowing across your face and tried to count the stars in the sky? When was the last time you laughed with your heart? And spend a day with the people that you care about and do nothing but just be in that moment? When was the last time you took sometime off and just be in that moment?

We put a high price on scarcity, not on beauty.
There rarer it is, the hard to get, we would spend our lives fighting to get it.
And we yearn for it and spend our lives in misery not getting them.
And then beat ourselves up because nothing is EVER good enough... nor ever enough.

That chase for the unobtainable has made us lost touch with the reality, as it should be.

We are so obsessed with our creature comforts, our man-made things and shopping malls and financial hubs and experiences?
cable, stock and shares, money, and the space that states what you do on your name card, trading, buying, selling and being marketing and advertising prey.

Why let yourself be dictated by the advertising and marketing world?
How your lifestyle should be, what brands define your charater and self.
Which bands tell your life story.
If you don't have it, then you have no life, no point whatsoever.
Is this what you become through the years?
But if you stopped to think for a minute.
Was it always been like this?

I'm not saying that we should all go off and live in a commune or run naked on a desert island. (which sounds like a good idea, really and i know a lot of you would love that)

All I'm saying is that it's important to ground ourselves from time to time.
To return to our roots and feel the earth under our bare feet.
To sit and watch a sunset occasionally, wake up at six and listen to the dawn chorus.
To sit by the sea and listen to the waves lapping on the beach and just be free.
Be passionate about life.
Learn to breathe.

We are products of society.

Because of our jobs, our responsibilities, marriages, children, loans, and a host of other reasons?
we are tied to society?
but that doesn't mean we can't think.

Wake up each morning and say to yourself.

Live your lives with passion.
We're all individuals... and different.
Stop being sheep.

I will find my paradise someday.
I'm already on my way.
and i know i'll meet more kindred souls over there.


and most importantly, i chose... to be me