The Oblivious Kind

There is a kind of people in this world
who are oblivious towards the harm and sins of themselves
They are very driven and successful
who can persuade an army to go to war on their behalf
They often would dwell on half a truth
enlarging it bigger so that the other half as a lie is hidden
On the surface, they are leaders and high achievers
pushing boundaries and breaking new grounds
Buried within them, their hurts and pains so deep
it takes a valley to drown their sorrows
A pseudo kind of confidence, so strong and sincere
it makes a mountain seem small
For their pride is higher than the mountain
deeper than the valley and they think they can conquer them all

There is a kind of people in this world
who does not know that they are hurting others while they win
They feast on pride and confidence
drawing out of people whom they are leading
They demand the whole of you who serve
nothing less will be acceptable
Outwardly they cast a tall vision
for all to pursue whole-heartedly
Inwardly they hunger for control
out of obedience from the people they lead
Like a famine has come upon the land
all who work on the land suffers
For their thirst and hunger for control
like drop of water in the desert, it is never enough


8 June 2018
A thought in this season of tormenting voyage
A reflection of my beloved nation after GE14

On oblivious people:

- "You can plan around lack of skill or ability in many areas, or avoid those areas and key in on virtues. Really, I think there's room in the world for people of people of all smarts and lack-of-smarts. Intelligence is overrated, and there's a dozen or so traits I'd look for before intelligence in someone in my life. Stupid people aren't a problem. Oblivious people, though? Oh, they break all kinds of shit. Oblivious people are a big, big problem. We gotta watch out for them."

- written by Carlos Miceli part the Book Review for the book "Ikigai, by Sebastian Marshall"

http://sebastianmarshall.com/carlos-micelis-excellent-ikigai-review

Are All the Roads Lead to Rome ?

What would be the road map be like if all roads lead to Rome ?

https://www.wired.com/2015/12/here-are-all-the-roads-that-lead-to-rome/?mbid=social_twitter
Here is how it might look like :-

The Parable of the Sower

Mark 4:13-20New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

13 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 

14 The farmer sows the word. 

15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 

16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 

17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 

18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 

20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.

http://www.2x2ministry.org/bible_study/parable_sower_seed_soil.php

Mark 4:13

I have heard The parable of the Sower from Sunday School days and numerous sermons preached on it for evangelism and mission purposes. Jesus said that this parable is the first of all the other parables and in fact Jesus indicated that the disciples must understand this parable in order to under the other eight parables. So, it can be stated that The parable of the Sower is the  mother of all the other parables taught by Jesus. It holds the key to unlock the secrets of the other parables. 

As we are know and have been taught :-

Sower : Jesus or anyone who shares good news to others

Seed : The Word of God - clearly stated by Jesus (no need to guess)

Soil : The conditions of the hearers' heart 

Environment : The world and its temptations

Fruits : The bearing of fruits from the seed sowed into our lives

Often, we heard that this is the story of four types of people and their heart conditions. But, we could read that these are the four stages that each of one could go through. Ground #1 to Ground # 4. 

Ground # 1 Along the Path / Side walks V15
As soon as the Word is sown, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 

Why did Satan come to take away the Word / Seed ? The Word must be very precious and has great impact. Notice that Satan does not come to take away health and peace, he comes after the Word and steal it. Therefore, we must guard the Word. 

Ground # 2 On Rocky Place V16-17

When the seed / Word sown on rocky places, it is like a person hear the Word, receive it with joy. Then trouble and persecution come because of the Word. When the Word comes into effect, that is why trouble trouble and persecution come. If the there is no root for the seed, they will fall away quickly. 

Ground # 3 Among Thorns V18-19

The Word falls among thorns, the believers have faith and chew on the Word but the desire and cares of the world comes in. Deceitfulness of wealth, worries and desires of the worldly things, choke the Word. When the Lord gives success, He always gives Good Success, so that we have time for everything we love to do for the Lord, our loved ones and ourselves. However, with Bad Success, a promotion that takes away too much of our time to serve the Lord or be with our loved ones or simply for ourselves, then it will make us unfruitful.

Ground # 4 On Good Soil V 20
When the Word sown on good soil, the believers hear the Word, accept, admit, guard and agree on it. It produces much fruits, thirty folds, sixty folds and even a hundred folds. Sometimes, we want double portion of fruitfulness but it is actually many folds that we can have.

Ultimately, all Christians must be like Ground # 4, the good soil where we hear the word, guard the word, nurture it to growth and be fruitful and where the fruits produce more seeds to bear more fruits. Probably, at different seasons of our lives, we have gone through these four types of grounds. Hopefully, as we grow, we will be ever ready to hear, receive and guard the Word. 

Here are some of the commentary I have found in internet which are interesting to know.

http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/481/Parable-of-Sower-and-Seed.htm

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Parables of Matthew 13 (Part 1): The Mustard Seed

In Matthew. a total of eight parables are recorded. These eight parables can be divided into three sections. 

1) The first sections is "Satan's Plan to Destroy the Church" consists of the first four parables: 

• the Parable of the Sower, 
• the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, 
• the Parable of the Mustard Seed, and 
• the Parable of the Leaven. 

2) The second section "God's Work on Behalf of the Church" (What God does to make sure that Satan does not destroy the church) consists of the next three parables: 

• the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, 
• the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, and 
• the Parable of the Dragnet. 

3) The third section "The Ministry's Duty to the Church" is the last parable, the Parable of the Householder, who takes out of his treasury both old and new.

Notice the comment Matthew makes following the first section. In Matthew 13:34 is an explanation why the first four parables can be titled "Satan's Plan to Destroy the Church":

All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."

What was kept secret from the foundation of the world? Satan's plan to destroy God's plan ofsalvation, which He is fulfilling through the church.

Matthew 13:34 applies specifically to what Jesus had just said, but it also applies generally to all the parables. Through them, Jesus opens up matters that have been concealed from the foundation of the world. In Psalm 78:2, it does not say, "I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." Instead, it says: "I will utter dark sayings of old," providing another clue that what Matthew 13:34 refers to in respect to the first four parables is dark. Jesus is speaking of dark mysteries, dark things happening. These can only be Satanic things, bad, negative things inspired by the Devil.

What Jesus spoke before verse 34 is primarily negative, not positive, and these negative things have been hidden from man since the foundation of the world. What happened at the foundation of the world? Adam and Eve sinned. That was the first step in Satan's plan—"Get them while they're young"—and he has been doing the same thing ever since. Jesus touches on this in the first parable.

So, in the first half of this chapter, Jesus is saying, "Look, My disciples, this is the plan that you must fight against. If you understand what is in these parables, you will have a pretty good idea of what is happening spiritually."

John W. Ritenbaugh

Unity (Part 5): Ephesians 4 (B)

Matthew 13:3-9

The seed is the Word of God, and its hitting the ground is not the end of the story. A variety of things can happen that will affect the growth of that seed. Some might fall on stone, others might be buried too deep. Rain may come and wash away some of it. Birds may devour others. But because life is in the seed, something will happen.

In the last century, archeologists found wheat and cotton seeds in some of the burial chambers that they excavated. Those seeds—which were probably anywhere from 2,000-4,000 years old—grew when put into the right soil. The spirit of life was still in them, even though they had lain dormant for thousands of years.

This is dramatic confirmation that, if a seed is sown, it will do something when it lands in the right kind of soil. Jesus shows in this parable that the environment affects the seed's growth. When we make the proper application—people are the ground, and our environment and what we do after receiving the seed—the word of truth, containing the doctrines—is what affects its growth. In this analogy, growth represents sanctification, which is is the formation of God's image in us by living His way of life empowered by His Spirit. What we do with the seed is "work[ing] out [our] salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). It is the equivalent of rain, sunshine, weeding, fertilizing, so that the potential for fruit is the greatest. Sanctification is worked out through application, by living the doctrines and the truths of God.

A Rap on The Parable of Sower by Stephen Amato

One day a farmer went out to sow

Scattering seed to and frow

Some fell along the path

Which could not deliver from God's wrath

For the devil took what they hadn't craved

So they didn't believe and were not saved.

Some fell on rocks but withered and died

For their faith was not deep enough to be qualified

To receive the life God promised to those

Who really believed Jesus died and arose.

Yes at first they were overjoyed

But when trials came their faith was destroyed

For they received it without their faith being rooted

And so fell away after they were persecuted

But then some among thorns fell

But in the end didn't mature too well.

For they were too concerned for their security

To bring any fruit to maturity

But those on good soil retained what they heard

It wasn't taken away by any bird

Nor did they fall away like those on the rock 

But continued to believe when others did mock

The problems in life would not make them stop

And by persevering they produced a crop

http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/pbl5.html

How did John outrun Peter on the way to the tomb ?

John 20:3-4

NIVUK

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

The Message

Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter.

Such an easy question to answer, of course, as we know, Peter was the oldest disciple of Jesus among the twelve. We knew it because :-

1) Peter had a mother in law. There was no mention of the other disciples having wives, so mostly still single. 

2) Matthew 17 says that Jesus asked Peter to catch a fish and pulled out a coin to pay the annual taxes and that coin was only enough for Jesus and Peter which implied that they were the only ones above 20 years old. So John, for sure was younger than Peter.

Is it strange that a younger man will outrun an older man ? At the prime of youth, perhaps, a few years difference do not matter. But really, how did John outrun Peter on that resurrection Sunday ?

The Message says that : They ran, neck and neck. Both were running together.

I am not an athletic and running is not my favourite sport. I disliked the annual sport run where we needed to bring one point to the Sport House by completing 5 Km run under 45 minutes. 

Here is Rev Stella Lim's sharing on How did John outran Peter to the tomb.

Peter and John ran enthusiatically as they really needed to confirm what Mary said was true that the tomb was empty. So, they were really excited as they raced together, neck and neck. Then, Peter slowed down. Why ?  

When we run especially to check out some news that have shocked us, our mind run with us, that is the mind will be processing information, facts and recalling conversations and joining the dots and tell-signs. Peter and John would likely recall back the last days of Jesus. As if it was not bad enough that Jesus was publicly humiliated, naked, brutally punished and nailed to a cross, why not his body is gone ? They must have thought how could this be so bad, the worst supposed to be over. Their master is dead and at least, let him rest in place. Could it be a conspiracy by the Roman Soldiers and High Priest yet again ? 

This probably did enter their mind during the initial part of the race. 

Then, Peter suddenly recalled his last few moments with Jesus, how he denied the Lord, three times and even cursed and swore that he did not know Jesus and had no part with him. Peter must have felt the heart pain and regrets. Wait, what if the Lord has not forgiven him until his last breath ? It was full of remorse and tears of sorry likely to flow down. In such a moment of grief, Peter's footsteps would slow down. He felt totally undeserving even to go and check out the Tomb. Even though Mary assumed both Peter and John as the leaders of the group, for she came straight to them first, Peter knew better. He was an undeserving leader, an ignorant guy, a betrayal of his Lord. 

In another words, Peter ran with shame and guilt in his heart. He felt condemned. He ran out of guilty feet and condemnation. 

As for John, he has always called himself as the "Beloved disciple of the Lord", he knew his position with Christ. He has been faithfully following the Lord till the end. Yes, he was scared and he followed from behind in disguise. He ran without reservation and knew that Jesus still loves him the same, dead or alive. 

So, this is the most probable answer as to how John outran Peter on the way to the tomb. Likely, in our lives, we should run this race without condemnation and not run with guilty feet. We run knowing that the Lord has died for our sins and forgiven us and His love is sure. 

The morale of the lesson, don't be like Peter. Be like John, he does not run with guilty feet.

A time for Mindless Tasks

I do not like to be idle. If I were to be confined in a room for a long time, I would need activities and I need different category of activities subject to my mood and concentration capacity which is very much determined by environment and emotional moods. So, if I know that I am going to be away for a long time or stuck in a certain place, I need to bring my own activities to calm my nerve and help me pass the time.

Even in a very uneventful medical appointment, I will bring a book (optimistic), broadband to surf on my Ipad (moderate optimistic) and hand phone (pessimistic), at least I can delete duplicated contacts and delete photos.

Recently, I have learnt how useful "Mindless Tasks" or mundane chores are for a prolonged boredom when you are stuck in a place that you are unwilling to be in. These are the tasks you will never do at home when there are one hundred other active tasks you can do. These are the tasks you keep deferring them as they are noble ideas but not urgent or very important. Sure, life is better with them completed but they also can have no bearing in living.

Here are some of the "Mindless Task" which I find such a joy to see the results and feel much better after doing them.

1. Cleaning up Phone's Data - from contacts list, Whatsapp messages, Videos, Images. Take a good look at each one and delete all redundant, useless, offensives information. Reorganise the contacts information to be more search able for yourself, such as put Family Surnames before all your family member, Abbreviation for Colleagues, Church, Volunteers groups. Once, I spent the whole day doing this and my phone battery was flat before sunset. 
2. Sorting and re-writing your favourite recipes into new Notebooks with Categories to separate them. Although I love to get recipes from Internet, Mr Google but once I find my favourite recipes, I used to write them down and for future reference. I spent one whole day copying from my old torn notebook all the recipes that I torn from the old Notebook. It was so satisfying experience. I used different colour codes for Ingredients and Methods. 
3. Read an Easy Joke Book or Simple Story with messages. I find reading heavy stuff required a lot of thinking and challenging the thoughts process. If you are emotionally not very happy and the environment likely make you upset too, then you most likely cannot read heavy stuff books. Light reading is the best. 
4. Check your Social Media Settings and test them out. Sometimes, settings have been changed and you have forgotten you have linked Facebook to Twitter or once you pin something in Pinterest, it will show up in Facebook. Or you post in Blog through Ipad, it directly post in your Google + account. Things that you have no time to check, this is the best time to check, provided you have internet access. 
5. Catch up with all "Likes", "Saved" and "Share" linkages in your Facebook or videos and messages given in Whatsapp. Those that you like, you could download them or reshare them somewhere. Those that you do not like, it is time to delete them. Time to catch up with the reading too. For recipes on Facebook or Internet, its time to copy them down so that when you wish to cook or bake, you can find them in hardcopy.  
6. Clear out the Draft posts in your blogs (if you are a blogger). Sometimes you started to write something, then the idea just left and the blog post would be left hanging as draft for years. Its time to tidy them up and delete where necessary. 
7. This one requires some deep thinking but not really mindless tasks but it can be rather mundane tasks for busy people. To go through life and plan for the next 5 to 15 years to come. It can be just simple, list them for each child or spouse, what you like them to be doing in the next 5-10 years time, what activities to do together with you and what are realistic to achieve. After a while, you get an entire life mapped out with time frame and objectives. It is certainly very eye-opening to realise as your child is growing up, you are aging along the path. Doing an exercise like this, help us to realise how vulnerable life is and how fast our kids grow. They will soon out-grow us. 

Life between the Dash

So much musings over our arrival on earth
Clinic visits and hospital stays
The day finally came we breathed our first
We came into the world screaming out loud
We were crying but everyone was smiling
Mum and dad, Aunts and uncles
All cant wait to see us
We were their bundle of joy
From then on life is like living
In between the dash
We are trained to run
Life between the dash

Our life is often lived like
Life between the dash
We dash from bed to get ready
for the challenges of the new day
Daily chores a load of care
We even dash through lunch time
and forget to eat
Evening comes, the dust settles down
We dash to come home
With a heavy weary soul
Our body tired to its core
Now I lay me down to sleep

As we dash from here to there
Sometimes we forget
to watch the beauty of the earth
We dash to get things done
Tuitons, Games, Movie nights
We dash through the events
We could hardly enjoy
all the moments with people
We dash through the traffic
Try to make it on time
Just to find we are worn out
From the dash of the day

As the years gone by
At last we find time to rest
Slow down and we could finally enjoy

But alas we have no more energy to dash

Just as well we could take it all in slowly
Living one day at a time
The true meaning of life
The true purpose of living
Slowly become clearer to us
Although life is about living in between the dash
We do not need to dash through
Then we have truly lived

The Dash Between

by Ron Tranmer©

I knelt there at the headstone

of one I love and cried.

Name, with dates of birth and death

were perfectly inscribed.

I pondered these two dates

and how little they both mean

when compared to the tiny dash

that lies there in between.

The dash serves as an emblem

of our time here on the earth,

and although small, it stands for all

our years of life, and worth.

                 

And our worth will be determined

by how we live each day.

We can fill our dash with goodness,

or waste our life away.

To ourselves, as well as others,

let’s be honest, kind and true,

   and every day, live the way

we know God wants us to.

May we look for opportunities

to do a worthy deed,

and reach out with compassion

to those who are in need.

For If our hearts are full of love

throughout our journey here,

we’ll be loved by all who knew us

and our memory they’ll hold dear.

And when we die, these memories

will bring grateful, loving tears,

to all whose lives were touched

by the dash between our years.

http://www.rontranmer.com/the-dash-between

​The Dash
by Linda Ellis copyright 1996

​I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before. 

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

​So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?

http://www.linda-ellis.com/the-dash-the-dash-poem-by-linda-ellis-.html

Being Impregnated with Ideas

My brain works in a funny way. I could have spells of dryness like desert, there is nothing in my life that has life. All seem dead or dying. Those are the lifeless moments which thankfully are not that many. It most likely happened when I am ill or hospitalised or incapacitated to think due to the event at that time like I was hospitalised.

But on most days, I woke up with a To-Do List in my mind, whether I get to write them down or memorise them, they be on my mind the whole day. I might forget the key ones which I often do, but I recall them in the evening full with regrets. Sometimes, the one thing as Urgent and Important that I set up to remind myself to do, reminded myself as I entered my office, that be the one thing I forgot as much as my computer is fired up. Social media interesting readings, whatsapp messages demanding replies, some daily routine tasks will quickly fill up my mind and my time and I get to concentrate on them.

Still, there are days, I am fully concious of my To-Do List, I keep calling them to mind but the mind just decide to do the next most urgent thing on the list. Sometimes, everything looks equally important until I realise time is running out on the most urgent item, which often, its too late.

Typically though, I will feel impregnated with those ideas, those key concepts of things to do, those that are urgent and important or very important though not urgent, I could feel those ideas impregnated within my mind, body and soul. They keep me concious of their existence, importance and urgency. I will call to mind again and again as I drive out in the morning to work and remind myself again as I drive back home in the evening. They bug me like no other.

For example, towards the end of February 2016, I have the following ideas in my mind, they keep floating and reminding me the whole time :-

1. Exercise regimes for me to loose weight
2. Diet programmes and menu for my body to loose weight
3. Blogging regularly
4. Kitchen Storage Cabinets make over - Ingredient audit
5. Menu Re-do and make over
6. PhD research methodology finalised
7. Exam papers for Malcolm
8. Dealing GCU for Wallace (another nightmare)

I got lots of ideas inside my head, just insufficient time to google them and sort them out especially items that cannot be done digitally and must be manually. Such is the digital life taking over. 

Habits To Get Rid off in 2016

As January 2016 is zooming fast into the third week of the new year, this is the last week to say "Happy New Year!" as the has finally set in fully into our midst. There are habits that we all wish we could get rid of as part of our New Year Resolutions. Here are my list for 2016. 

1. Dwelling on Past Issues

The past is gone and is no more here although the impacts of those faults and mistakes are still being felt today. They are like fresh wounds if we recall them in our memory, we are just digging those wounds afresh. The way to deal with the past issues is to move on no matter what. Put them aside as very likely, there is nothing we can do about the past. We still cannot turn back time. 

2. Giving Excuses

The excuses are all legitimate and legit ones, too tired, too stress, too painful, too busy, anything just to avoid doing the one thing that we need to do, exercises and taking care of our own health. When it comes to health issues and weight management, a lot of the battles are in the mind and the body is just a follower of the mind's decision. So, it goes a long way to have a mindful heart, set our heart to achieve our health milestones and go for it. 

3. Being Overloaded with Chores and Cares

When we are not careful, things, events, and issues are being thrown to us for us to take up. We can never say No to some of the good ideas given to us. It is so tempting to have them all. After all, we would like to have an abundant life. As Steve Job said, "People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” So, learn to say no to those good ideas that are not meant to be yours.

4. Keeping Lousy Sleep Habits

Sleeping to some is such a waste of time especially when you are running out of time for deadlines. Sleep is often the easiest item to compromise, there is a thought that it can be recovered tonight or later. The truth is it takes a lot more time and day to recover from lost hours in sleep. Organise evening sleeps time well and ensure that most things get done and aim to have a restful sleep, not one with a lot of cares and burdens.

5. Keeping Old And Unusable Things

Living a clutter-free and minimised lifestyle is the latest trend. It is just a lot of wastage if we are not mindful of making use or eating up the things and stuff we have bought during promotion or special deals. There is no short cut but to go through each and every cabinet and cupboard systematically and savage whatever that we can still use and eat, and the rest have just got to be thrown away. 

~ 546 Words

Thinking about How to start the New Year 

Christmas without mum

Missing a person is a continuous tense. You miss her all the time, most of the time and somehow it is impossible to forget her. This will be the first Christmas without mum. We could almost feel that she is still around, giving suggestions and ideas on menu and gifts. We feel that she is part of us, among us. Just that she is invisible to our eyes but we all can feel her in our heart.

I will miss mum for every festive seasons. She is the anchor for festival celebrations for our families. In fact, she used to be the life of the family parties in that she planned, financed, shopped, cooked, entertained and made sure all were included and had a good time. Her menu was a long list. She could cook up a storm in no time. Sometimes she enlisted my Aunt Tsin to help and most of the time, she cooked alone. There was a period, dad would cook his famous Beef Rendang dish, the award winning dish, famous among the BCCM KK congregations !

Even when she was ill and unwell, she remembered to remind us to celebrate. Even when she could not eat much, she still wanted us to have certain food ready. It is difficult to grow up not liking food in my household. It is hard not to be hospitable when you have been trained by your own mum to show endless hospitality. She is almost like a goddess of hospitality. She never thought about her living room as too small to entertain certain number of guests, she could count on overflow to the car porch. She never thought of protocol and what happened when a VVIP showed up and we did not have a proper sofa seat for him or her. She never really worried about the food was not good enough for certain VVIP guests. To her, she entertained from her heart, her passion and her best.

So, this is the first Christmas without mum, there is a sense of soberness in the air. In honour of her, I have asked my kids to tone down our Christmas decorations in our home. We picked White as our theme and we tried not to put up too many. The results was great. We all like it. Simple and White. Not too elaborate.

I remember the cakes she would ask me to prepare so that she could give them to her friends, nurses and doctors who looked after her. She even suggested to pay me for those gifts and I would declined as it is only right to bless those who have blessed her so much.

And so, mum's Christmas Legacy and Traditions linger on in our family, to us as Children, we miss after celebrating Christmas with her for the past 40 plus years. For dad, it is a void that nothing can fill as he missed her after 51 years of Christmas celebrations. For a memory like this, I will drink to it. Cheers, mum, we all love you very much. You are just part of us. Your legacy will live on within us.

Christmas 2015

~ 525 Words

Youth's Call for Entitlement

Youth's Call for Entitlement

Spaces you need, lots of it, bigger blocks, chunks of it,

Confined to a room in hall lies your ticket to freedom

Bound by the rules of the hall is your starting point to grown up life

Having your own bank account is your start to financial planning

But then do you know that your desire of privacy space pushes us away

The spatial spaces of your private room in a hall is your living space limits

The rules and laws calls for discipline and responsibility of grown up world

The bank account is just your privileges out of hard earned savings.

Youth is calling for independence, freedom and privacy space

Youth is trying to claim their entitlement

To what they think belongs to them which they should use up

To what they think is the utopia of transcend into young adulthood 

To what they think is one of their last major draw out before they reach maturity by law

But what is entitlement that they think they can claim ? 

What could they possibly claim as if the world owes them something ? 

What parents should release to them that is our own now ? 

When as  parents gave birth to you, you are our child

When we care for and nature you, we are parenting you

When we set rules and restrictions, we are disciplining you

When we tell you life stories of our family, we are coaching you 

When we repeat grandpa folk tales to you, we are telling you the family legacy

When we plan to give you the best of education, we are preparing to build your own career

When we give you financial support, we are supporting you while you learn responsibility

When we give you until we have no more, what remains is our love for you.

When you reach 18 and then finally 21, you learn to grow up

With your own room, you have to be responsible for it

With privacy space, you have to cope with loneliness

With living on your own, you have to learn communal sharing with others

With your own bank account, you have to plan to live sensibly

With your living away from home, you have to learn rules and laws

With living on your own, you are responsible for your health

With your daily routines, you have to set out your very own self-discipline

Your entitlement is your birthrights as our child

As your parents, you have our love forever

As your parents, we will coach you like nagging

As your parents, we will provide for you from limited finances 

As your parents, we will discipline you with boundaries

As your parents, we are not immortal

And when we are gone, we hope you find your legacy to live on

The day you start living for yourself you understand what entitlement really means

Footnote :-

How this came to be ?

I had a good sharing with Jane and Yong about youth and the challenges of youth keep claiming entitlement in our family lives. I wrote most part of this while waiting for Jane to make her new pair of spectacles. 

Brentford, 12 September 2015

Lessons from The Emperor's New Clothes

"The Emperor's New Clothes" has been one of the fairy tales that stuck in my mind since I first read of it as a child. It is not one of my favourites because of the obvious. Such a silly story, and I was pretty sure it would not happen in real life. It has left a deep impression on a child's mind. It has been a moral compass in my life warning me about the price we pay for our vanity. To my mind, the emperor has paid a high price for being vain. He became the victim of his own vanity and greed. He finally became the worst public humiliation. How could one make so many mistakes, one greater than the other until he was in public shame ? It was a story that I labelled as "Exhibit A - Do not follow his way of doing" and it is definitely hanged in the Hall of Shame so that I do not fall prey to such stupidity.

As I grew up and starting to work, I realised that there are such "emperors" around us. They thrived on people's fake praises and went on thinking all is ok just because a few of the team members are Yes Men. In the corporate world, this has become a catch phrase for colleagues to dare one another to challenge the bosses' ideas which may be folly or unsound. Whenever the top management proposed something that do not sound right, do we have the guts to stand up and tell them directly that it will not work or we just join in the band wangan to support the management when we know that we are lying that it will be a success. It be a challenge among colleagues who are sincere to post the question "Who is going to tell the boss that this may become the case like the Emperor's New Clothes?"

It turns out that we can have a few good lessons learnt from this fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes" and they all serve as good reminder of how life should be :-

1. Never trust your subordinates to do things for you entirely. You should delegate but supervise and be very involved.
2. Be engaging with all your support lines. They will tell you the truth, listen to them. After all, they cannot be jealous of you, they are from a different league.
3. Stake is high for trying out new things. How willing are you to bear with it ? What is the cost to pay for being the first to achieve something ? It is worth the risk ?
4. Be weary of Yes men who praise you too much for they could just be fake towards you. Everything they say or do to you is a lie. Watch out those who support your back, they may fail you sometimes.
5. In case of doubt, seek for wise men's opinions. I am sure there were wise men in the kingdom but the king did not ask them for their opinion. He decided to trust his own judgement.
6. Vanity is a very costly deal. 

The saddest part of the story was the ending, despite the little child in the crowd alerted everyone that the king was indeed not wearing anything glamourous that only the clever people could see, he decided to carry on the parade while in naked mode. How sad. once the truth is out, one does not choose to listen.

From Bad to Worse

What do you say when you see things getting from bad to worse ?
Say nothing and suffer quietly ?
Take the anger to Facebook and Twitter ?
Some days are just bad days
When the Economic is bad
All Businesses suffer badly
The poor really has nothing to eat
The rich has to tighten the spending
These are days to endure, they will pass
Brighter days are coming
surely no matter how slowly
The brighter days belong to those who can wait


What can you say when things get out of hands ?
Something that you cannot control.
Something beyond your reach.
Some days are getting from bad to worse.
You watch with helpless dismay
As the drama unfolds into worse nightmare
Every episode getting worse than before.
Predictable evils proceed to be winning.
There are days to pray and grieve
We must resist the evils
No matter how bad
The hopeful days belong to those who can preserve


Some days we made it to the world news
Not once or twice but many times over
The nations speak of us in disbelief
We are made mockery of a great crime
Many have empathy towards us
We have been violated and shamed before the nations
Our voice has become dim
Our cry is not audible
We mourn in silence
Like the lambs led to slaughter
We die a quiet death
These are the days we fight our war

Today our eyes have seen the wicked doing evils upon others
Today our ears have heard the anguish cry of the people
Today we read the impossible evils schemed and executed
Today we bear witness to the suffering of people hurting people
Today we know evil face to face, biting our face and leave us to bleed
Today we endure the sufferings brought about by greed
When will we say enough is enough and fight back ?
When is our silence to end ?
When can we speak out and be heard ?
When can we be united and resist as one ?
When is the time for vengeance?
When can justice be served ?

Story of my feet

My feet have seen quite an assorted arrays of days in my lives,
They have seen the best of me
They have seen the worst of me
In any case, they have carried me through, quite literally, all my days
I am ever grateful for my strong feet
From the day I started crawling, they have been active for my sake.
From the day I started walking, they have been there for me.
I could not have gone to the places that I have visited
I could not have walked the earth where I left my footprints
I could not climbed our prestige Mountain Kinabalu a total of four time !
My feet is my one solid assets on earth.
They gives me stability and strength
They hold my body together in one piece
They gives me speed and freedom to roam or run
They let me swim in the water, free as fishes

I can't thank my feet enough for my colorful life

They play a mega part in my life

I owe it to myself to take good care of my health

To reduce the stress I give to my feet

Although they may be deformed due to age

I must take good care of them

Never give up to keep doing good exercise routines

It's never too late to start a health regime

The whole body and me will benefit through and through

19句话震撼句子

This is a repost from internet Chinese Website, these quotations in Chinese are amazingly crisps and sharp. 
My favourite are No 1, 3, 7, 15, 16
Most funny are No 3, 6
高人19句话震撼全中国 只看1句就晕了
【第一句】被恨的人没有痛苦，恨人的人却终将遍体鳞伤，所以，绝不去恨人。
【第二句】缘分是本书，翻得不经意会错过，读得太认真会流泪。
【第三句】不同傻子争辩，否则就搞不清谁是傻子了。
【第四句】学历是铜牌，能力是银牌，人脉是金牌，思维是王牌。
【第五句】成功的人不是赢在起点，而是赢在转折点。
【第六句】钱有两种：花掉的是钱，是财产；没花掉的是〝纸〞，是遗产。
【第七句】把脾气拿出来，那叫本能；把脾气压下去，那叫本事。
【第八句】简单的事重复做，你就是专家；重复的事用心做，你就是赢家。
【第九句】长得那么美那么帅气，自己却不知道，这就是气质；那么有钱那么有才华，别人却不知道，这就是修养。
【第十句】管好自的嘴，讲话不要图一时痛快、信口开河，〝良言一句三冬暖，伤人一语六月寒〞，说话要用脑子，敏事慎言，话多无益，不扬人恶，自然就能化敌为友。
【第十一句】没有爱的生活就像一片荒漠，赠人玫瑰，手有余香，要〝学会爱别人其实就是爱自己〞，让爱如同午后阳光温暖每个人的心房。
【第十二句】多去理解尊重别人，常怀宽容感激之心，宽容是一种美德是一种智慧，海纳百川是多么广阔，感激你的朋友，是他们给了你帮助；感激你的敌人，是他们让你变的坚强。
【第十三句】这个世界，有两件事我们不能不做：一是赶路，二是停下来看看自己是否拥有一份好心态，好心态是一生的好伴侣，让人愉悦健康。
【第十四句】人情，人情，人之常情，要乐善好施，长于交往，〝平时不烧香，急时抱佛脚〞是行不通的，所以，〝人的情绪要储存〞，就像银行存款，存的越多，时间越长，红利就越大。
【第十五句】遇事不要急躁。不要急于下结论，尤其生气时不要做决断，要学会换位思考，大事化小、小事化了，把复杂的事情尽量简单处理，千万不要把简单的事情复杂化。
【第十六句】学会知足，人生最大的烦恼是从最没有意义的比较开始，这世界总有不如你的人，也总有比你强的人，当我哭泣我没有鞋子穿的时候，我发现有人却没有了脚。
【第十七句】如果敌人让你生气，那说明你还没有胜他的把握，根本不必回头去看咒骂你的人是谁？如果有一条疯狗咬了你一口，难道你也要趴下去反咬他一口吗？不要太在乎别人的咒骂。
【第十八句】别把工作当负担，与其生气埋怨，不如积极快乐的去面对，当你把工作当作生活和艺术，你就会享受到工作的乐趣。
【第十九句】人活着一天，就是有福气，就应该珍惜，人生短短几十年，不要给自己留下更多的遗憾，日出东海落西山，愁也一天，喜也一天；遇事不钻牛角尖，人也舒坦，心也舒坦。