Sighs for Lost Opportunities

Due to Wasted Time and Arrogance

By Apolinario Villalobos

It is always the sigh of regret that one can only heave out of his chest every time he losses an opportunity. Wasted opportunities may result from wasted time as some are just careless in managing their lives. They seem to or deliberately forget that time is a very important element that affects man’s daily life. Many forgot the adage about the hands of time that cannot be moved back. Man is no match to the infinity of time. So many also forgot that nowadays, in order to survive, discipline and resourcefulness are very important factors, and both are affected by time.

Those who slave it out from 8 to 5 every day, lost precious hours deducted from their take home pay every time they report to work late. They always blame the traffic. I cannot understand why they cannot leave home hours before the onset of the traffic which is normally at 7AM.

For those who are looking for jobs, stories are true about intelligent guys who graduated cum laude but oftentimes fail to land a job. These humbugs wonder how other job hunters could ever get a job despite poor scholastic marks for courses earned from unheard of provincial colleges and vocational schools. The cum laudes forgot that the “early birds get the seeds”. Because of pride and overconfidence, they thought that they can always make it because of high marks on their transcript of records with letterheads of prestigious universities. They forgot that nowadays, employers prefer applicants who show interest in the job, and this interest is initially indicated by being the first in the line on the day of interview. Of course, scholastic marks earned from memorizing lessons can help, but job hunting is a different thing. Respect for time and adeptness in reasoning are two most important measures used to know if a person is ready to take responsibilities.

Those who finish high-end courses from universities thought that the job they prefer must fit their course to a “T”. In this regard,  “management course” graduates, expect to be “managers” right away. They do not want to start from the lowest rung as an office staff. As computer engineering graduates, they expect an “engineer” tagged in the position they are applying for. They do not want to start with a job as computer technician or programmer. These losers only have their pride to blame.

As regards the parents who are crying their hearts out because of growing undisciplined children, they should not ask themselves how this could have happened. In the first place, they forgot to implant in the minds of their children the values that should have been the foundation for their developments. They allowed the children to spend precious time with their peers outside their home even during unholy hours. They give their children hard-earned or borrowed money so they can go to internet cafes to play games instead of studying their lessons at home. They give in to the whims of their children for gadgets that are not necessary. These parents had all the opportunities and time to nurture their children properly but wasted them. They equated love with “pampering”!

Children of well-to-do families have more opportunity to prepare for their future. They have money for every thing that they need, especially for education. But they spend more time with barkadas than with their parents, even skipping classes to be with them to play games in internet cafes or hang out in parks and mall. When they grow old, they realize that they have been left behind by friends who have been serious with their studies.

Lawmakers are losing time and opportunity in bringing out relevant issues beneficial to the government and the people, because they waste precious time lambasting each other for the selfish motive of gaining publicity mileage. They pretend to be immaculately clean in person and heroic in their effort as they besmear each other’s image. In the process, they forgot that they are supposed to formulate laws instead of broadcasting intrigues which should be left to the rumor mongering writers and columnists of showbiz magazines and tabloids. Before they know it, no more time is left of sessions that should have been devoted to their basic mission as lawmakers.

Finally, every worship day should have been spent by people who belong to the various religious leanings for the atonement of their wrongdoings. Unfortunately, their effort is thickly coated with insincerity and hypocrisy. Deep in their mind, they believe in God, but deep in their heart, they believe that He is blind and dumb, so that when they come out of their temples of worship, they are back to their old selfish and arrogant characters.