Article on filial piety
Dear Editor,
I would like to contribute the following article on filial piety.
For your consideration to publish , please
Thank you
Regards
Chin Hock
Start
We are fully occupied with work and deadlines, busy pursuing financial success and living our lives to the fullest. We aspire to climb corporate ladders or excel in examinations and hence, we increasingly spend a significant amount of time on our work or studies to achieve our goals.
Goals enrich our lives. In fact, it is right to give our best in any roles that we undertake, whether we are students, salaried employees, or employers. However, along this journey, some of us (including myself) may have unintentionally sacrificed the time to spend with loved ones, especially our parents. We take for granted that they will always be there.
What is Filial Piety in our modern society?
Everybody’s view on filial piety is different and unique. In my own definition, filial piety is unconditionally loving, taking care and providing for our parents. Why love? Isn’t it innate to love our parents? Yes, but in the midst of competition for our limited time and attention, sometimes we forget to love them or put loving them at a higher priority. Love is a powerful force. We all have heard of stories of how it provided individuals with faith and strength to endure immense pain, overcome unimaginable challenges in life and many other examples you may heard of in our daily lives.
Our parents have spent a huge part of their lives protecting and nurturing us when we were young and vulnerable. They held our little hands and walked with us patiently when we took our first steps. They guided us lovingly through the different life stages— infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
Yet, we get angry and frustrated with them over the slightest thing. How many times have we ignored our parents when they asked caringly about our day? How often do we show our annoyance at them for their gentle reminders and scold them for being forgetful instead? How frequently do we treat strangers better than our parents? We take them for granted when they need us most during their twilight years.
What do our parents actually want from us?
Providing more money for them? Spending more time with them? Achieving academic excellence?
I finally know what a parent would want from their child after being one. These wishes can be expressed explicitly or implicitly and varies to certain extents across individuals. Nevertheless, they are not rocket science nor anything unachievable for most of us. I would think that parents would earnestly wish their child to be healthy, look after themselves well, earn a honest living when they are grown up and to continually love us while we slowly fade away with each passing day, at least for my case.
If you are keen to know more about “Filial Piety”, join me and the other 4 guests on 17th July, 1pm – 2.30pm at Housing Development Board Hub as we deliberate on the topic. Visit http://pbp.sph.com.sg/wbcoffeetalk/ to find out more.
Regards
Chin Hock
Author of Father (父), Mother (母)
Filial Piety Award Recipient 2013