The Things We Once Wanted

I was travelling to Jakarta this evening and overheard a teenage boy asking his father, “Can I also get a credit card when I grow up?”

I am not sure what the context was, but it made me smile.

In the late ’80s, I remember watching a cousin flash his credit card and thinking that was the ultimate symbol of achievement. A few years later, I had one. Then it was a car, a house, a bigger role, a promotion…..every few years, something I once longed for quietly became part of my normal life.

Ambition pushes us forward, and that’s good. But sometimes we forget to pause and notice how far we’ve come. Today’s ordinary moments were once my big dreams.

Always remember with gratitude that there was a time when you wanted what you have now.