the calling

"Do you want me to help you to cut them? I would be happy to."
"No, it's fine. I can handle it. The worse is over; cutting the onions is not as painful as peeling its skin..."

Have we all been there before? The onion, represents life: you peel off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.. sharing the tears, the solemn moments... But most of the time, you silently suffer on your own. It stings, it may stink.. but it gets better. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of it. That hurting; it's fleeting, a passing dark cloud over what would be a majestic scenery. No, reality never quite match up to dreams. You may plan the "perfect getaway"... but nothing ever goes as planned. They are just two parallel, but contradicting paths of a timeline.

If you think about it, whatever dreams we conjure; it never satisfies. You envision yourself being the object of admiration of someone you fancy. Does it ever materialise? I think it doesn't. But even if it does, is it always enough? If we have everything; glory, power, money, brains... etc.. can our thirst honestly be quenched? Amidst my observation of the Boxing Day Madness, I see on the tele, we, humans, always want so much more. Different classes of people, people with different spending power, will always want something that is out of reach for them... Somehow we still feel empty, regardless of how fortunate we already are. It is a bit rather blase that some people recognise year end sales at the end of December rather than Christmas. I think it's hard to accept that there are certain gaps that cannot be filled... that these aches cannot be mended with anything that can be purchased. Satisfaction cannot be guaranteed, whether it's with an abundance of money, brains, or power.

Only by knowing The Creator, and after finding His favour, that you may escape this void. We are all design this way, to trod through adversaries and crisis, knowing Someone is watching over us, making sure we are alright. The life-giving water that He gives is enough to satisfy us for a lifetime. We would never need to feel parched anymore.

It's difficult to have to accept that there is only a hero for all mankind. After all, what can One Man do? But what if He is no man, but God. Would it make it any easier to believe? Everything you see is not made in China, it's made by God. For through the single random.. or not... act of kindness, the whole world was spared from condemnation but only if we accept and believe in Him. It isn't easy I am sure. We, humans, prefer that fate is in our hands. If something is out of our control, we naturally would be fearful, and that's not acceptable. Everything has to be within reach. "I want to be the want pulling the strings, not someone else to do for me!"

Not even if The Creator of the universe is on the other end of the string? Do we not trust in Him?
People nowadays, make no reference to God... they lead their life as they wish. They sit in the leather reclining "boss" chair, and direct commands. They feel perfected content, without a superior in their life. And most people feel that they are good enough, do charity, volunteer, and that they don't need anyone... even a God to judge them. Do we believe, if there's a heaven, that we would go there one day? Can all the good that we do - charities, lifestyle, volunteering we do in our lifetime earn us enough merit to go to heaven? Is it enough to offset the bad things we have ever done?

Imagine you are at a coffee shop, you notice that the barista accidentally sneezed into your coffee, and present you the cup.

"Excuse me, could you give me a new cup of coffee, that's just gross."
"Sorry about that, I would give you extra cream and sugar to offset the taste of the sneeze."

No matter how much good deeds you think you have done. It still wouldn't make you perfect any more if you have just a tiny bit of misdoing. It's not going to change the fact that you are now "gross".

So imagine if everything was laid out... including all our guilts and embarrassments, would you be ashamed? Can we all say that we have not committed any sins? Have you lied before? Have you steal anything before? Have you used God's name as a cuss before? Have you looked at a man/woman and have any form of lust? If yes to all, you are liar, thief, blasphemous, and a fornicator/adulterer. That's already breaking 4 out of the 10 commandments. If you stand before the judgement of God, do you think you deserve to pass the pearly gates? In any case, Someone has already vouch for you. You have already been saved even before you are born; that when Christ stretched His arms to show you how much He loves you, and died on the cross for your sins, it is like your debts have been cleared; it's like you have been given a "get out of jail free card"... it's like you are assured a place in His Kingdom, and be granted everlasting life.

You only need to trust in Him, and repent and turn away from your wrongdoings. And that if you keep your eyes focus on Him, everything will fall right into place...

And just to share something I have found over the internet :)

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, " I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things-your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal." Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

The Queen's Christmas Speech:

So, I hope you vacate that leather chair you may be sitting on, and let the Boss, our Boss perch on it instead. May you all have a blessed Christmas.. tis the day to remember the birth of our Saviour so that no more may die :)

the call of the bells

So Christmas is cominggg! My playlist is now looping on Christmas songs by default.. it reminds me of the caroling I went a few weeks back.. :)

But I was recently troubled. As I lie defeated from the possibilities of what life has handed me, I listen to the gentle hum of the wind. Somewhere out there, is my purpose, something that would make sense of everything. I wonder how many more anecdotes my life would accumulate. I wonder if I could ever recount them all.

If nothing should go as planned, would you be concerned? Sometimes I think I may have expected things to go as I wish a little bit too much. But I guess it's part and parcel of life, the excitement, the UNexpectedness. Perhaps we could dodge the lemons thrown at us, by just being random, take the route we decided only moments ago, avoid the adjustment bureau.

I think we are all born with desires that we seek to fulfill. When we are hungry, we buy/cook some food. When we want to relax, we seek the comfort of doing absolutely nothing with no regrets. When we want to do succeed, we work hard for it. When we want to be happy, we seek for what will, and we pursue it...

We are not BORN with desires, unless those desires exist. But what happens when we are UNBORN? What happen when we are no longer around? We desire to always be loved, have comfort, and security. Would it not satisfy our desire to know that there is life after life, and that we are meant for somewhere better? I hope when His Kingdom calls for you, your innate desire alarm bells will ring for Him..

Because we are all Children of God by default.

let these remain..

I still have vivid memories of that September day 10 years ago. When news of two planes crashed into the world trade center, it abruptly interrupted other programs on the news channels. It interrupted whatever the rest of us were doing. Around the world, people stuck in traffic tuned into their radios, office workers perhaps went online to get the latest scoops and news, even classes in schools might have been affected with absentees.

The world was largely at a standstill.

There was something so unreal about the captured images and videos by amateur cameramen. People were in a public panic pandemonium. They were running about, screaming, crying, disorientated, lost, with the look of disbelief in their eyes. No one knew what was going on.

Fire, and smog enveloped the city skyline, and dust shrouds visibility. Survivors covered in dirt and blood walked the streets in down town, aimlessly, confused as most of us were. I blinked blankly as the newscaster was presenting the report. It just seemed so unreal to me, like a nightmare. I was only there 5 years earlier for a holiday.

"What can we do?"

This is the questions most asked. People asked the rescue team. People asked the paramedics. People asked the police. People asked the politicians. People asked themselves.

"What can we do?"

As I have quoted in my previous post, we are all connected. At times, in times of need, when the world just needed help standing, when all people needed was hope, when we all needed something to believe in. We are all one. We are all united. We are all bound together.

People just want to help.

It's our nature, to step up and be counted. For that day, man's strength and faith were tested. For that day, when doubts were cast upon people's love for humanity, someone stood up to challenge and prove that we are not alone, that a hero can rise from the darkest of days.

That someone is each and every one of us.

For when the towers collapsed, amidst the rubble and ashes, two phoenix rose, and with them, the power of faith, hope and love.

out from sunshine

Something has struck me the other day, and I was thinking. When would the world ever be peaceful? What are the basis of humans' obsession for violence, till news channels are always over-flooded? The anger, the anguish, the fear... all too much to bear. Do we not have moral compasses when we do what we do? Are we all born to be self-righteous, selfish, and self-reliant?

Some cynics claim that there's no heaven on earth, and no utopia can exist with man...

There's a famous experiment conducted to test how altruistic a person could be, given some money a subject is presented to them. Alright, supposed you are given an orange. If you have a friend who didn't know you were given the orange, how many of the 10 slices (just an arbitrary value) would you have given, if any at all?

Most people would say they would give about 3-4 slices.

Okays. But say you are given an opportunity to charge your friend, say 1 slice of an orange. How many would you give, if any at all? Or would you rip your friend off?

Most people would say they would give about 1-2 slices.

In the third situation, if you are given an orange, and if you knew your friend also has an orange, how many slices would you give?

I guess it's none right? Or you might even take a slice or two from your friend. Suddenly, you are no more as generous.

C'est la vie. It's all about emotions and empathy.

I have been following lots of modern history of late. The struggles men had over one another, the greed and rise in power, usurpation, the murder of innocent lives; all are the cause of man's own downfall... our own downfall.

These were mankind at the very lowest depths, now only a reminder, and a warning to the rest of us. Were there not empathy then? Only the selfish kind of course. Apparently empathy is probably not extended to "aliens" or people who has no blood ties or relation to the perpetrators.

70 years later, and 10 years after black Tuesday on that September morning, the world still seemed in peril, a scary place to be in.

But there's always the other side of the card. Something good did came out of every disaster.. a silver lining. I believe that all man is good, that even the most diabolical one has a conscience, telling them what is right, and wrong. It may just be their judgement which may be misconstrued.

When the earthquake and nuclear disaster hit the shores of Japan, when the Russian hockey team was killed in a plane crash, when Lybia was liberating themselves from tyranny of their leader, those things got the world to empathise them. When people see those things happening, they feel the hurt those people are going through.

The world would then pour in their funds and aids, or any other forms of moral supports, and kind sympathies. People willingly feel the hurt when they see others in vulnerable situations, or going through a struggle. That's why we always have a strong feeling to root for the underdogs. That's why we can show we care for people who sometimes have doubts over themselves.

Also, why shouldn't empathy be extended to animals? They are our sub-bloodline. I feel warm deep down when I see videos of lions playfully wrestle with owners they have not seen in years. I feel touched when I see excited pets greeting soldiers who have come home from serving in the battlefields. I feel happy seeing chimpanzees who have been locked up all their lives, experience their first ever sunshine.

Technology has improved the way how we socialise with one another. As a result of Facebook, Twitter, etc, there are no more "aliens" now among us. We are all one. The six degrees of separation is even more true than ever. The world is getting smaller. As we all know, we came from the same two people. Maybe that's why we can and I believe if we try, experience brotherhood and sisterhood with one another. He never wanted us to feel different, as we are all created just the same.

May God's Love Be With You Always <3

come outside. it's spring!

The sun is out, colours have returned in place of grey,

Greyness soaked and dissipates away.
Shades are lit up, warmness overcomes gloom,
A flower never needs to know how to bloom.

-JL-