Something to Die for

“There are clearly many different ways of looking at success and it is only the poverty of the English language which provides us with but a single word for them. Perhaps, the simplest definition is ‘to set out to do something and to succeed in doing it’.” –Edward de Bono


Francesca Schiavone is a successful tennis player as she set out to win the French Open final and succeeded in doing it on 5th of June 2010 by beating Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).

Moreover, she became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam tennis title.

As reported by the Associated Press: “On winning, Schiavone fell onto her back, then rolled over and kissed the clay. She rose covered with dirt, hugged Stosur and broke into a winner’s grin, then trotted over to the wall behind the baseline and climbed it for a group hug with her supporters.” She loves the very terre battue (French for “beaten earth”) on which she played her game, and played it so resoundingly well.

And, in the same report, the following comment by 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova struck me: “She wanted it. She wanted it badly. She was going to die on the court if she had to.”

Tis’ so true that to be successful, we have to have a purpose that is bigger than the sum of our parts. Something noble, something so big that it would take sacrifices such as unrelenting hard work, focus, determination, dedication, and discipline to achieve. It’s the same whether one is an unheralded homemaker, aspiring Olympian, struggling artiste, dejected businessman or a visionary leader-in-the-making.

Yes, something, for which, we are willing to die for. When we find it, life will take on a whole new level of meaning and drive.

Love of Bread

“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.” – Mother Teresa

LOVE and appreciation are in short supplies. You could just hear the silent cry of slogging stay-at-home spouses, overworked employees, or constantly-harassed civil servants, with teachers being the prime example.

Thankfully, in part, the merchandisers have sniffed out a golden opportunity to cajole shoppers to dole out gifts on people-centric days such as Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day, Teachers’ Day, Secretaries’ Week, Bosses’ Day, and the whole gamut of it all.

People or rather the love for people is what makes the world go around. You can hear the refrain of ‘We are the world’ in the background or recall the following opening monologue from William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” where ‘All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts,’.

So, at first inning, it’s all up to us to step up and stretch forth with love and appreciation.

However, as a gifted baker you may take a witty slant that the hungry hadn’t tasted your morsels of bread yet. Had they tasted it, you await eagerly to see whether they would swoon or break into a celebratory dance.

For example, BreadTalk (http://www.breadtalk.com) was, in my opinion, a first-mover which succeeded famously to raise the dough (pun intended) and changed the landscape of bread in Singapore, forever. Then, there is Barcook Bakery (http://barcookbakery.com) with its fresh-and-hot from the oven servings of exquisite buns filled with mashed-potatoes-cum-oozing-Cheddar-cheese or melting-cream-cheese-cum-tantalizing- raisins for its queue of hungry-looking customers, of which I am one.

Moving even further on the breadline, I hear the cry of Isaiah the prophet of Christendom,

1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David. “(Isaiah 55:1-3a; NKJV)

Isaiah spoke of the One who would give us bread that truly satisfies our inner man. So, for our last inning, I pray that you would obtain a revelation of the Bread of Life from the word of God as contained in the Holy Bible.

“ 1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:1-4; NKJV)

And, who is this Son that God spoke of? The answer my friend is not unattainable. He is Jesus Christ - the One “who was and is and is to come!” (See Revelation 4:8; NKJV)

“33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:33-35; NKJV)


Let’s live it up with love and appreciation, enjoy our bread and find the Bread of Life!

Be Ready for Change

Change, they say, is one of the constant in life. Usually, nobody likes to face change as it would entail us having to leave our comfort zone.

While we may overcome the intial apprehension of getting into a new swim of things and actually get into the mood for the thrill of what's in the offing, we will quite likely 'suffer' as we actually  undergo the painful process of change and transformation proper. For examples: shifting to a new office, going for an overseas military posting or deepening relationship with new counterparts.

But, change, we must. In his Life's Little Instruction Book, H. Jackson Brown said, "You pay a price for getting stronger. You pay a price for getting faster. You pay a price for jumping higher. [But also] you pay a price for staying just the same."

Now is the time for us to shake off the dust of change, and step up to a more challenging, enriching and fulfilling life. Life is not meant to be a bore; it's a series of events to make us a better and greater person!

Don't Sit On a Problem

Sitting on a problem will not make it go away. It is like sweeping the problem under a carpet or locking up some skeletons in a closet.

Unlike worrying -- which by majority count is virtual or imaginary, problems are real. Once a problem is identified -- which in and by itself contributes half of the full solution, we can choose either a ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response.

Taking a screen-view from many a computer game -- where we keep getting up and fight, again and again, albeit with the help of the reset button, we ought to choose to fight a good fight of faith and not throw in the towel, so to speak.

If our mind is not thinking straight and we could sense an impending headache on account of the problem, then do ourselves a big favour by getting some sleep. More often than not, we will find that by the morrow our mind would have worked out something.

Another solution to our problem, if it concerns other interest parties, would be to convey the problem to them. Quite often by speaking out, our inner ear will hear what we have been thinking and gives an added dimension to our perception of the problem and brings us closer to a solution even if our ‘interested’ persons are switched off.

If it’s an e-mail, then just forward it to the relevant parties with due discretion without any adverse implication to our person. Like they say, a problem shared is a problem halved.

And, if we are fortunate enough to have some of these a-friend-who-loves-at-all-times, then wait no longer but get our problem to them via telephone, e-mail, et cetera. They will be pleased to assist us! It is one of their life purposes!!

So, while we may sleep over our problem, let’s not be caught sitting on it.

P/S: Btw, i've got just these two little problems: Does anyone has any idea on how we can recycle the short end of pencils as well as keys which are no longer in use?

Why do birds fly?

My answer would be that "Birds are designed to fly."

However, the offspring of a bird does not start out flying. It has to let its wings develop fully and get the hang of them with much flapping exercises while watching on the sideline as its parents take their daily flights, before launching-off on its own maiden flight.

Likewise, we need to know what we are designed for. The book of Isaiah in the Holy Bible says to the effect that they that wait on the LORD (their Creator), shall mount up with wings like the eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint. It's not waiting for something to happen, but waiting upon our Maker to commune with us. The answer for both our general and specific designs rest with the Immortal One who made us all.

Thus, we need to draw near and get to know Him (so that we can know what He already knows about us!). No wonder in the book of Psalm (chapter 46 verse 10 - New International Version), we are urged by the word of God to: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

That said, a bird cannot fly if its wings are broken. Likewise for us we are to: "Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly, Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams go, Life is a barren field, Frozen with snow." -- Langston Hughes

We must learn to fly by the by. It's already built-in. Even if our wings are broken, they can mend and be healed so that we can soar to the sky, again. Heads up, we aren't grounded chickens!

Life is sad, but not all sad

Recently, where I live (sunny Singapore), a prominent property tycoon, a relatively young Managing Director, and an elderly friend of mine, passed away, amongst others. Everything stops for us when, like a swan, we complete our song.

All the days of our life till death is a gift for us to cherish while it lasts. Yes, even before death, there is much sadness that we can see around us: poverty, hunger, crime, injustice, and so on and so forth. So much so that any glimmer of goodness is both a bonus and a cause for us to break into laughters, or invoke some merriment.

Life may be sad but, for our own well-being, we must press on with our plans for a better tomorrow and do what we can to make this world a better place to live in. With sadness comes happiness on the better side of the same coin of life.

Let's keep our dancing shoes on and dance to the music of life!

Happiness is a choice!

Choose to be happy; happiness is a choice!

 

If we allow our happiness to depend on happenings then we are at the mercy of, oh, so many things that are beyond our control.

So, the wise thing for us to do is to choose to be happy in spite of and despite our circumstances.

It's up to us to fight off every possible robbers of our happiness by making a personal choice. And, spread some cheers (in a subdued manner so as not to get on the nerves of killjoys).

Try it and experience a world of difference. Remember, "You can choose to be happy!"