Following is a letter to his son from a renowned Hong Kong TV Broadcaster cum Child Psychologist. The words are actually applicable to all of us, young or old, children or parents! This applies to daughters too. All parents can use this in their teachings to their children.

Dear son,

I am writing this to you because of 3 reasons:

1) Life, fortune and mishaps are unpredictable; nobody knows how long one will live. Some words are better said early.

2) I am your father and if I don’t tell you these, no one else will.

3) What is written here is my own personal bitter experiences that perhaps could save you a lot of unnecessary heartaches.

Remember the following as you go through life: 

1) Do not bear grudge towards those who are not good to you. No one has the responsibility of treating you well, except your mother and I. To those who are good to you, you have to treasure it and be thankful and also you have to be cautious, because, everyone has a motive for every move. When a person is good to you, it does not mean he really likes you. You have to be careful; don’t hastily regard him as a real friend.

2) No one is indispensable. There is nothing in this world that you can possess. You may hold possessions for some time. In the past someone else held it and in the future someone else will hold it. Once you understand this idea, it would be easier for you to go through life when people around you don’t want you anymore, or when you lose what or who you love most.

3) Life is short. When you waste your life today, tomorrow you would find that life is leaving you. The earlier you treasure your life, the better you enjoy life.

4) Love is but a transient feeling, and this feeling would fade with time and with one’s mood. If your so called loved one leaves you, be patient, time will wash away your aches and sadness. Don’t over exaggerate the beauty and sweetness of love, and don’t over exaggerate the sadness of falling out of love.

5) A lot of successful people did not receive a good education that does not mean that you can be successful by not studying hard! Whatever knowledge you gain is your weapon in life. One can go from rags to riches, but one has to start from some rags!

6) I do not expect you to financially support me when I am old, neither would I financially support you your whole life. My responsibility as a supporter ends when you are grown up. After that, you decide whether you want to travel in a public transport or in your limousine, whether rich or poor.

7) You honour your words, but don’t expect others to be so. You can be good to people, but don’t expect people to be good to you. If you don’t understand this, you would end up with unnecessary troubles.

8) I bought lotteries for umpteen years, but I never struck any prize. That shows if you want to be rich, you have to work hard! There is no free lunch!

9) No matter how much time I have with you, let’s treasure the time we have together. We do not know if we would meet again in our next life.

Your Dad