Now Jobless, Kian kept his healthy habit of running 5 kilometers every day. He needed this time to sink in all the unnecessary emotional roller coaster from the workplace over the past few years. His savings allowed him to have this luxury for six months. After that, it was a must to get back on the 9-5 mundane track.

For him, it was significant to figure out what his anger was all about. He was let down. Being a journalist for a dozen years gave him the unexpected pride that he could never imagine. But there was an end for everything, including the downfall of an once influential industry. The sudden directionless exposed him to vulnerability and he became sensitive to all types of challenges.

Except for typhoons and heavy rains, he must hit the roads and run. The innate movement of the body was refreshing. The smell of trees and grass were different on sunny and cloudy days. In 30 minutes, he was dipped in the world of regular breathing, the ordinary coordination of the feet and arms, as well as a mind without affected by junk thoughts. It was a process of daily cleansing.

On a gradual basis, he repossessed his intuitions. At the same time, he felt the rage stored in his abdomen dissipated. The blood flowed from the head to his feet then rebounded, The first time in his life he sensed the warm air engulfed him. The adrenaline excreted after the aerobic exercise opened him up to think about alternatives.

It was also the time he came to the point of admitting his recklessness on quitting the job and sending out the complain letter. Why would he give up his right of work because of some unrelated people? In order to move on, he again fixated on his most original purpose, which was being a professional journalist wherever he went. Shaped meaningful stories to make changes. He felt the blessing in disguise because his passion didn’t fade away. Not like some late 30s who might already lose the spirit and just repeat the same pattern every day until they died.

Those strangers, such as slackers, gossipers and bosses below par, were passers-by. They didn’t have the power to block his way to meet his end goal of life. Reacting too much to them was also a bit off-focus. People came and went across various systems. Their disappearance at one place to another didn’t mean the long overdue rotten parts were eradicated. At the end of the day, each person had their own lessons to learn. 

The more he was focused, the more positivity from the past emerged. 20 years ago, Kian made a mistake when he put down his choices of faculties at universities with the top 10 percentile public examination results. In the end he missed the chance to go into the J-school. It left a deep scar in him as a setback. He ended up studied applied linguistics.

But after 1 year of his graduation from the college, he was accepted by a top newsroom that he embarked on his rosy journalism career by working with many sharp-minded counterparts and editors. His experience told him long ago life was cycles.

That day marked two months since he left his previous position. A friend of his called and asked if he was available for a maternity leave fill-in on a role of communications manager. There weren’t a lot of choices for Kian but to take it. In addition, this opportunity came in timely because it was a perfect transition during when he had to keep waiting for the best to come.

His take-it-easy mentality reversed the entire energy field from weariness to tranquility. There was nothing about politics, attacks or whether he would fall victim to mistreatment. The big capacity attracted auspiciousness. Not long after this temporary job began, Kian was approached by an editor whom he kept good relationship, asking him if he was interested in taking the helm of a young online media outlet.

In the blink of an eye, he was back to where he called home. On the day of his departure from the sector, he didn’t think of going back. Over the course of ups and downs, bitterness overshadowed sweetness. He was sure that every bit of it would be forgotten soon. When the good time came, he realized how silly he was with his blow-up and emotional explosion in private before.

Living with the flow was an art that people usually promised themselves then lost sight of it every time when they were enveloped with negativity.

After all, the only part that mattered was he took full responsibility for improvement and ensured history wouldn’t repeat itself.

Next Chapter: Chapter 10 Serenity