A new beginning

As 2007 has closed, 2008 dawns to a new beginning. But before I will go on and make my extraordinary new year resolutions, let's see how God's grace has been sufficient for me to complete my 2007 goals.

The 2007 goals were:

1. Blog about latest personal events and thoughts ASAP.
2. Apply to MENSA and take their IQ test.
3. Join MUSC in SS2.
4. Keep up to date with friends, online presence and relatives (not in that order).
5. Be fluent in Cantonese/Mandarin (this might not happen though).
6. Get a regular QT and be active in church.
7. Build a good personal timetable and stick to it as much as possible.
8. Do what I say I'll do ASAP.
9. Concentrate on the Important, not the Urgent.

The blogging thing is still not taking off so that's 1 failure. Haven't even sniffed a MENSA member so that's another one for the year. MUSC hasn't heard from me yet so that's another miss. Kept up to date? Not really. More like the opposite actually. At least I can say I knew I'd not pick up Cantonese. My church activities are on the rise so that's a halfer... No personal timetable though that will be goal no. 1 for the new year. No. 8 is a bit vague so I've nothing to say about that. Same with no. 9.

And now, the good part! Goals for 2008 that will be accomplished!!

1. Read the whole Bible.
2. Sleep at 10 and wake up at 6 everyday.
3. Get more involved with God's work.
4. Keep a personal journal.
5. Blog frequently as and when thoughts come in.

And now, goals that will be nice to accomplish.

1. Take the MENSA IQ test.
2. Join MUSC.
3. Be fluent in Cantonese or Mandarin.
4. Finish building the Eunos Roadster.

9 failures last year, 9 success this year. How about that?

Time

What is the most valuable thing you have? How do we define what is most important to us? What is the most precious commodity that we can ever own? It's not wealth, it's not health, it's time.

With time, we can bless the world. With time, we can change things for the better. Time heals all wounds. Time is what we need to do the things we want. Time flows throughout our lives. When we regret, we wish we could change time.

Psychologists have said before that it's actually the quantity of the time spent with kids rather than the quality. There is an old saying: "a family that eats together, stays together". The emphasis there isn't the eating, it's the time spent with the ones we love. How do we know when a guy and a girl is a couple? When they spend most of their time with one another. How do people judge what others value? It's by what things they spend the most time on.

Time is a very valuable thing. It is constantly flowing, always forward never backward. We can't buy time nor can we sell it. It's the one thing that's equal for everyone, whether you be the richest person on Earth or the poorest. It's also the one thing that we all seem to lack all the time.

But why do we lack enough time? Did God make it flow too fast? Surely not, for He is perfect. So, why then? Probably it's because we are all distracted.

We are distracted by the things around us. Adverts are always trying to grab our attention. TV shows are planned to keep people glued to the idiot box out of the curiousity of "what happens next". News tell of the worries of the world, keep us distractedly worried. The world throws so many things that we "should do" or is "interesting to try" that we are kept busy by the unimportant.

And of course, there's work. Sometimes, bosses make demands on our time. Sometimes, the job requires long hours. The worse one though, is us spending all our time at work!

Now, there's nothing wrong with working. And hey, if working is what you wanna do with your time, by all means do so! It's just that, many seem to work long hours but claim to want to do other things in their life! If you have other things that is a bigger priority, spend more time on those activities!

The most common excuse I know which people give as to why they don't do what they like/love/want is, "I don't have the time." I say, if you don't have the time, make time! Isn't the thing you love the most important thing? So why should you not be spending the most time doing it?

Most popular answer to that is: not enough money. I need to get cash to live. I believe that God has a purpose for each and everyone of us. He gives us a purpose, and He gives us a passion for that purpose. To know what you are meant to do in life, it's usually what you are most passionate about and what stirs you up the most. And God has promised that when we do as He says, He will in turn take care of us! So, the excuse of needing cash to live is no longer valid. We may not see how our passion will translate into money. The world may say it's not possible. But God says, "all things are possible with me". He has taken care of everything!

Therefore, what are you waiting for? Seek out your passion, spend time doing what's important, not what seems to be important. Learn the truth, claim the promises and the blessings set apart for your life. For at the end of the day, what greater life is there?

Challenge the status quo

Let me first say this: I'm not anti-tradition. I'm also not anti-family. Nor do I hate peace. Heck, I also would love the whole world to get along! But the truth of the matter is, the world doesn't get along. People fight. Sometimes, we don't see eye to eye. There's no happily ever after. Perfection doesn't exist.

And the reason why the world is like that is: that's how it's design to be! Everyone has a warped idea of perfection. Everyone has a warped idea of peace. Everyone is so afraid of being anti anything because they have a warped idea of going against the grain!! People think the world would be perfect if we all got what we all wanted. They think peace means no more fighting. They are afraid of going against normality because they are scared they are the "bad guys".

There is a very nice quote which I believe is very profound. It's a line from the 1994 movie; "Street Fighter". As said by Dr. Dhalsim,

"If good men do nothing, that is evil enough."

Notice, it doesn't take much to be evil, just don't stop it! Let those who are breaking the law continue to break the law! Don't help victims of crimes! Continue to let your friends do stuff you know is wrong!

Hitler manage to expand much of his early empire due to the failure of the League of Nations to stop him. If Japan had not attack Pearl Harbour, the US may never have joined WW II and we may all be speaking Japanese now. But we don't have to go that far... everyday, we see people cut queues, break traffic law, lie, cheat and steal. Why do they continue to do that? It's not because they are brave enough to defy the system, it's because no one has step up to stop them! If we all started ticking off people who cut the queues, wouldn't they stop? They'll be embarrassed into following the rules!

But that's not what I wanna talk about. I wanna talk about rules set up that needs to be changed but no one does because no one dares. I'm all for rules. I believe they help keep us in line. I believe they help keep us safe. But sometimes, some rules need a change. As we learn more about the world and more about the humanity in it, we need to modify rules to signify new rules that makes the world a better place.

I believe that behind every rule, every tradition, every law, there must be a meaning. There is a reason behind the creation of such limitations. We outlawed stealing because it isn't nice to take other people's stuff without permission. Classes do not allow talking when the teacher is talking because it distracts everyone from the lesson at hand. Chinese weddings have a tea ceremony to pay homage to the groom's parents.

What I am saying is that sometimes, the meaning behind the rules have changed or are gone. Thus, the rules themselves need to change or be abolish. Chinese newlyweds used to pay homage to an altar but nowadays, Christian Chinese newlyweds don't do that because it's against their religion. Offices used to have a rule that the worker must wear proper attire but most companies now taken that away because they realize people are more productive in clothing they are comfortable in. Feudalism worked well until they discover corruption in the system that led to it's demise.

You see, there was nothing wrong with the Feudal system. It worked! The peasants maybe at the lower caste but they were taken care of by the knights. Everyone served the king who, in turn, took care of the people at the highest levels. The problem with the system was when they discovered that

A) there's no difference between a king and a peasant. They are both humans.
B) the upper caste proved to be corruptible therefore, they need to be held accountable.

Hence, the democracy system was set up. It abolish the caste which was proven meaningless and a provided an accountability for the government. And so, the rules of governance has changed.

That's the first part. The second part relates to peace and how it is a misnomer. We all want peace but what we don't realize is the sacrifice it takes to have peace. Peace can only be enjoyed when the group/community/country is in sync and in agreement. It doesn't mean that we all think the same way, far from it! It means we all agree on the same goals and are in sync in what we want to see happen in the group/community/country. In order for us to understand one another and have peace, sometimes we have to fight or argue with one another. It's not that we're trying to be disruptive, it's that they see one side of the argument while we see the other. By arguing, we slowly see each others point of view and how both point of view are actually towards the same goals.

People fight when they are unsatisfied with something. At times, we have to fight to do what is right. Most of the times, we fight because we both believe we are right and can't see how the other party can be right. Now, wouldn't making everyone see the same views make life so much easier? Yes, it will but then everyone would be a clone, not a human. The world will just move in one way and I can't think of a more boring world. We need differences of opinion. We need people who see things in polar opposites to others. That way, we can really enjoy each others company and help us grow as people.

You see, we were created perfectly by God. So seeing 1 view isn't a negative. Instead, it's a positive! It gives us the opportunity to socialize and to learn. It makes life interesting. We have a purpose in life.

What people don't seem to get is that to keep the peace, we end up sacrificing something. We choose to sacrifice our happiness and (possibly) other people's happiness just to make sure everything stays the same. If God wanted the world to stay exactly the same always, He wouldn't have make us want to change things nor would the earth's plates move. From time to time, we all need to change. We need to challenge the status quo.

The world is perfect as it is. Humans are perfect already. We just have to learn to see what perfection truly is and to fight against the traditions, the rules and the laws that sought to keep us from it. Just because something has always been done or going on, doesn't mean it's not wrong.

Give before you can receive

It's funny how life works: you have to give, before you can expect to receive.

The river Jordan flows through 2 seas; the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Both receive the same water but one is a thriving lake with plenty of life and the other, is dead as it's name reveals. The difference? The Sea of Galilee doesn't keep the River Jordan; it allows it to flow through and onto the Dead Sea. Whereas the Dead Sea has no outlet. So all the water will just sit in the sea till it evaporates.

I like this story because it reflect uncannily on life itself. We all know life is not constant but the reason why life isn't constant is because everything that has life, that is thriving will give! Springs give water to the rivers and rivers flow to the sea. Seawater is given to the sky who then returns it to the springs via rain. Carnivores may eat other animals but when they die, they will rot and become the nutrition-packed earth that plants need. The herbivore in turn eat these plants. Other than cycles, plants give out pollen so bees will come and pollinate them. Spiders must produce thread before they can catch flies. Seeds push out roots before they can grow tall.

Even in the marketplace, this give and take policy is so true. Companies that are most desirable are the ones who are most active (i.e. stock bought and sold a lot). Not the biggest gainers. An exciting game of football is when there's a lot of goals involve (i.e. lots of giving in). Cars move when you 'give' the accelerator a push. Airplanes create lift by making the air above the wing 'give' way to the greater pressure from below. To get into a packed train, someone has to give way and leave the train first.

Even many self help books teach this: you have to give in order to receive. You have to give praise to receive praise. Give a smile and people smile back at you. You respect others, they in turn respect you. When you lift people up, they will in turn lift you up. How we react to others shows how others will react to us in turn.

It's really weird how everyone is always so interested in take, take, take when the world clearly shows that the way forward is to give, give, give. Asking commuters to allow those getting off the train/bus to go first is the logical idea, not only because it's good manners. Being nice to others and helping them in every way isn't just about doing good; it's also about gaining. So for all those who don't follow these ideas, they're not only rude, they're dumb as well!

And definitely, it is more blessed to give, than to receive. - Acts 20:35

Knowledge is Power

Calling this the Information Age is really apt. Though technology continues to revolutionize our world and as much as industry is still vital, the world today belongs to those who have wisdom and information at their fingertips.

Knowledge has always been the key towards enhancing life. Armed with the knowledge that lightning is a big electric spark in the sky, lightning conductors were created to efficiently negate it's harmful effects on buildings. Understanding of the human body allows doctors to recognize obscure symptoms and nip harmful diseases in the bud. As we learn more about life, we know better how to live a more productive life.

Information also makes life easier. As we learn more about the raw materials around us and their properties, we use that knowledge to build cheaper, more durable and more user-friendly products. In fact, the more manufacturers know about how users use their products, the better they can design their products to match user usage. Such innovation include but are not limited to the QWERTY layout on keyboards and typewriters, car seat contours, lift button positioning for disabled people and many more. After all, we all enjoy products that work with little or no effort on our part.

Having more knowledge also is a HUGE advantage. Here's a good example which I observed: a tourist coming to town will have to depend on someone to show him around; giving the them the advantage of showing the tourist their chosen places. A tourist who repeatedly visits town will know better and can find his way around better. However, a local will know much more, shortcuts to get to places and better routes other than the main one . In addition to that, a really seasoned local will know even more, such as obscure good spots for eatery and/or recreation instead of just the popular ones. As one can see, each knows more about one place; thus giving them the advantage of flexibility.

In business, knowledge is truly power. Knowing about the latest deals in the market allows businesses to profit from it. Knowing about the latest deals earlier than everyone else allows businesses to profit first before anyone else does. A businessman who knows more about a certain business will be better place to make sound judgment on company movement. In short, the more you know, the better your business will be.

In today's times, knowledge is a bigger factor in success than ever. With the advent of the internet, the world is truly connected to one another. What one creates in his home can be available to another halfway across the world in an instant. Information is being transmitted and shared at an incredible rate. People can meet and collaborate with each other anytime, anywhere. This makes those who search for knowledge the true masters of the age.

In short, knowledge is the key to the power in today's world. Without it, business can boom, innovation cannot happen. Information is the means towards success in everything that we do. With it, we have the power to change the world.