Pass & Move

Pass & Move

There's a sajak which I was quite fond of reading when I was a student: it's a prize-winning piece by a Hashim Jeffrey, published in a local daily in 1974 and anthologized in the same volume with another favourite cerpen of mine, Debu-Debu Kuala Lumpur. It's titled Sesekali Dalam Perjalanan Ini.

Here's an excerpt from the last two stanzas:

kalau kau menemuku di jalananmu
tak menyapa kerana tak kenal,
berterimakasihlah pada peradaban ini,
pembentuk hati masing-masing.

aku tak akan menyalahkan
atau berkecil hati,
aku juga tak akan menunggu
seperti waktu yang tak pernah menanti
hidup terlalu singkat untuk menunggu dan menanti

I won't attempt a translation here. What I like is the tone of the poem--It's cold, aloof but full of resolve.

The last few lines capture the simple wisdom of the poem: life is too short for us to wait around and take offence over small things. We simply move on.

Whenever we suffer any setback or rejection in life; there's no point in dwelling on it. It's done. Learn from it. Move on. Take comfort in the fact that you are a wiser person after the experience. It only hurts a lot when you give unnecessary weight to it.

Liverpool FC's legendary manager Bill Shankly had a simple "pass and move" football philosophy; the same principle applies to life too. Every experience in life is a transaction, a stepping stone for us to move on. You do whatever you can, influence the world around you positively and move on. Don't dwell on pain, expect pity nor wait for praise to come. Keep it simple. No big deal, no hassle, no fuss. Pass and move.

If you are within sight of the goal, shoot. If you are one or even five goals down, there's still only one way to continue playing: pass and move.

A football match is 90 minutes long. Even if you need to waste time to hold on to your slim 1-0 lead during the dying seconds of the game, you still need to keep the ball: you pass and move (preferable around the opponent's corner flag).

Nothing remains static. Life is also like a football match--the Almight Referee will ultimately blow the final whistle. What can you do in the meantime? You simply pass and move, because "hidup terlalu singkat untuk menunggu dan menanti".