A Life-changing Moment in Conversation with My Dad
A profound and heartfelt story about success
“It’s too late.”
“It’s just too late.”
“I didn’t know how to be a dad. I never had one around.”
“ Now at this age, I realised that in chasing success, I missed out on the love and connection around me.”
Tears started to well up in my eyes and I was taken aback by his honesty and vulnerability. As a man of over 60 years old, I’ve never seen my dad share his heartfelt emotions with me. It was an unexpected yet healing moment to witness the growth and awareness he’s having.
I was surprised by his openness and courage to admit his faults and flaw in being a father. I deeply felt his pain. But at the same time, I have so much love and compassion for him. It was heart-warming and profound to listen to my dad reminding me to be present to those around me. The tinge of regret stung, but I knew at that moment, this important message needs to be shared and passed on.
“It’s ok dad. Thanks for sharing with me. All you can do now is to share your lessons and pass them along. That is enough. And I’m so glad to hear this.”
As I had some time to reflect on this conversation, I deeply understood the impermanence of life. Once this very moment slips by, we will never get it back. For a child learning to walk for the first time, the first word that a child speaks, the time they get to spend with their parents at any particular age — each and every moment is so precious, it’s a unique opportunity.
I soaked in his words and it had double the impact when hearing these mindful thoughts first-hand. It echoed how I’ve been trying to redefine success for myself— to start with joy. I felt a sense of relief wash through me, it’s as if the years of expectations from myself, or from what I thought my parents had of me lifted in that moment.
It’s the honesty and courage to acknowledge his imperfections that deeply moved me. It gives me hope. It helped me understand the way I am. He further opened up and shared only now that he realised he had anxiety all these years, and he’s slowly understanding how it affected his behaviour and how he treated us in the past.
It’s a bittersweet moment to realise that we can’t change the past, but we can only hold on to the lessons and build relationships from here and now. But this vulnerability and open conversations are what I believe can change lives and heal relationships.
Thank you dad. Thank you for acknowledging your past and sharing your journey. I will now carry this with me and hopefully, many others can find peace and growth in knowing that success is not a race or a hurry, it’s the day to day love and connections, the continuous nurturing that will come back in tenfold without you realising.
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