When 'Lemons' Cannot be Returned

Recently , Parliament passed several legislations to protect consumers against goods that are defective or do not meet expected quality or performance standards. These goods are colloquially termed ‘lemons’ and the laws are collectively called the “lemon laws”.

In life, there are the so-called ‘lemons’ too – people or experiences which in reality are not easily repaired, replaced, returned or refunded.

Is it possible that lemons can be transformed to lemonade? I strongly believe so.

MPs

Several MPs like Lim Biow Chuan, Dr Lim Wee Kiak and myself, for instance, were born into poor families. Biow Chuan’s parents were once fruit sellers. Wee Kiak’s father passed away when he was little, leaving his widow to raise the children. My family and I lived in a congested rental flat with other relatives.

We supported our university education through providing tuition to students weak in studies. Each month, I remember I could even proudly give part of the tuition money I earned to my mother to supplement our household income.

The challenges life dealt us were not something that could be returned or rejected. We confronted and overcome them. Today, our experience as one of the poor translate to a key driving force in our political roles, to do more for the poor we serve in our wards .

David Hoe

I am very inspired by David Hoe Teck Chye, a proactive young friend I knew through a Facebook discussion on education

When I finally met David, I was surprised to learn that he was Singapore’s top Normal Technical (NT) student in 2004. David’s parents were divorced when he was young. He was placed under the custody of his mother who was visually impaired. Mother and son used to sell tissue papers to make a living. David’s mother passed away when he was in Primary 6.

Throughout the years, despite the challenges, David was not bitter and despondent. Instead, with strong support from his school and church, David became one of the rare NT students who transferred to the Express Stream. Today, he is an undergraduate in the National University of Singapore; and a successful youth trainer motivating scores of NT students to bravely face their mountains to maximize their potential.

Hsieh Kun-shan

Some of us may have heard of renowned Taiwanese painter, Hsieh Kun-shan or 谢坤山.

As a young technician, Hsieh lost his leg and 2 arms from an unfortunate work accident and several years later, lost an eye. Undaunted,Hsieh painstakingly retaught himself daily living skills using what is left of his body. He later mastered the art of mouth-painting and became a renowned artist.

Hsieh once said he never mulled over what he has lost and he is glad he still has one limb and one eye. The ever optimistic man was named one of Taiwan’s 10 Outstanding Youths in 1996. He is married and has 2 lovely daughters. Hsieh is now an accomplished painter and was elected to the board of the International Association of Mouth and Foot Painters.

Viktor Frankl

One of my favourite authors is Austrian Viktor Frankl who wrote “Man’s Search for Meaning”. He too turned life’s lemons to lemonade. Frankl survived the harsh conditions of his concentration camp stay in World War 2. His wife and parents perished at the concentration camps.

Instead of giving up, Frankl determined to use the lessons he learnt from his sufferings to impact others.

Frankl taught the world that “everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude and response in any given set of circumstances. In our response lies our growth and our liberation. “

Like Frankl, I strongly believe that within each of us lies the freedom to choose our response to any given set of circumstances in life. Life indeed is like a clear glass filled with water. Some will say that the glass is half-full whilst others will only grumble that it is half-empty.

I believe that choosing to make lemonade out of the lemons life deals us, is a worthy choice.

Denise Phua Lay Peng/ My Paper’ Fortnightly Column/ 21 Mar 2013