A Personal Development Journey.
November 21, 2008 by: Rebecca ChengNow it’s my opportunity to share with you a synopsys of my personal development - my personal journey.
Hi, my name is Rebecca Cheng; I also have a middle Chinese name, which I shall skip. I was born in Darjeeling. Yes, of the famous Tea and holiday resort at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.
My three beautiful children ages 18 to 22 live with me. I was married for over 18 years, and decided ‘enough is enough’ since I was both mum and dad to my children all their lives. I have two sons and a daughter.
My late mom took us to church without fail every single week. Her father was a Scottish native and mom was Nepalese. They had settled in Darjeeling. My late father was 12 years old when he left China seeking business opportunities elsewhere and he also settled in Darjeeling where he met my mom.
Prior to 1962 my late father had built wealth which I would say would be the equivalent of a multi-millionaire today. We had our own hotel, shoe manufacturing and shops, retail stores, restaurant and servants to care for us. We also had our own stables and race horses. For transportation we had our own Land Rover! I was attending a prestigious girls’ school called Loreto Darjeeling and life was good.
But paradise came to an end in 1962 as war between India and China broke out and we were incarcerated in a concentration camp, in Rajasthan (this was in the middle of a desert) for about 2 years. My late parents were forbidden to return to Darjeeling to operate their businesses effectively causing us to lose everything without any compensation.
We were released to settle in Calcutta, a city where we had no home, no family or money. We were effectively refugees in our own country. If you have ever seen those homeless, needy people lining up for up to 4 hours for a loaf of bread, I was one of them. Giving up was not an option, this was survival.
My apprenticeship began at the age of 12. My father trained us to work from dawn to dusk. We resumed our shoe manufacturing and retail business, designing and manufacturing each and every pair from scratch and delivered them to the shops. We did this for many years in the streets of Calcutta after the war of 1962. At the same time, I took upon my mother’s chore of running the household. I cooked for the entire extended family of 13 members.
Today, cooking gourmet meals for my family has become my passion. And now the problem is that my immediate family simply loves my cooking too much and would miss it if I try to take time off.
I came to Canada over 30 years ago and settled in downtown Toronto and moved around the GTA – Greater Toronto Area. I lived in Pakistan a couple of years supporting my ex-husband’s businesses. Over the years I had travelled to Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cuba, some parts of Canada and some parts of the USA and revisited some parts of India on vacation, visiting relatives and friends.
Besides operating our family owned restaurants and my own wellness clinic, I had the opportunity to work in the admin performing accounting operations and marketing. My involvement in several MLMs gave me a great scope of understanding that business’ ins and outs, but more importantly, was the separate training I undertook to develop myself as a marketer in any product. As it is, I speak Chinese, English, Hindi, Urdu and Nepali.
Learning gives me great passion and insight. Over 20 years I have been on the quest for ‘self-discovery’. I questioned my purpose and my reason for living, which led me to path of learning different religions, philosophies, and spiritualism. Starting with the ‘Road Less Travelled’ by Scot Peck was an absolute eye opener.
In order to keep things in balance and perspective, I need to practice on a regular basis tai chi, yoga and meditation. In keeping with the balance of our mind, body, spirit and soul we find our greater purpose and the fulfillment of our existence. At some point my journey ended and at another it is just beginning to a ‘new experience’ once again.
I am very glad to be in the company of such wonderful, inspirational and enthusiastic people and looking forward to working together.
Safe Journey To Everyone.
