To Sheep.

What an unglam pic! But nevertheless I had a great time, having a fruitful talk with my sheep, Allan, today. Well, here’s the back story, he just came back from GC and he probably had a good time learning and getting to know new people from across the globe. Sounds exciting eh! But as a shepherd, it was even more exciting for me as Allan shared about the things he learnt through the GC, he has indeed grown!

I was really amazed by how much Allan took in during the GC and I’ve learnt so much from him just by listening to him! I honestly think that as a shepherd, one of the greatest joy you’d experience is when instead of you teaching your sheep, your sheep is able to teach you something new, and yes, Allan didn’t only teach me one thing new, he taught me so many other things that I’ve never really delved into deep thoughts about!

Well, I want to take this chance to thank Allan, having that pure heart to learn and to really help his leaders grow as well. I can truly see this part of him that says, “Hey, everyone, let’s grow together.” And I really thank God for placing this sheep in my life that I may see the areas I fall in, which he can point out. Here’s something Allan said which made so much sense, yet at the same time, I constantly miss out, “It doesn’t matter if you’re being unfairly treated, whatever you do, or whatever is being done, the most important thing that we’ve to think about is, if it benefits the Kingdom.” Isn’t it so true? Sometimes we get so caught up in our own struggles, we forget to think, “hey, is the way I’m trying to solve this situation beneficial to the Kingdom?”

Anyway, shepherds out there! It’s not always about yourself changing your sheep’s lives, its about the shepherd and the sheep influencing each others’ lives in Christ that may forge a stronger and biblical shepherd-sheep relationship! I encourage shepherds to encourage your sheep to speak up more often and in the process learn something from them! Oh, and did I mention, I love my sheep(s)!

Clubbed to Death.

I rarely post about the events of the day, but I just found it tempting to blog about the ‘M’ party yesterday. The idea of clubbing has always intrigued me, it definitely sounded fun and wild, so hey, there wasn’t harm trying out ‘clubbing’. Yesterday was the first time I’ve actually tried it, and we were just down at Zirca, just chilling, partying and checking things out.

But as a matter of fact, (I’m taken aback by my thoughts), I didn’t really enjoy it, nor did I exactly like ‘clubbing’. Well, probably because its an underage party, or simply because ‘clubbing’ just wasn’t my cup of tea. Sure, the atmosphere and ambiance was real good, the songs being played were hot (hot n’ cold, one of the songs being played, no pun intended!), the crowd was wild with excitement. But I just didn’t feel ‘in’, I just didn’t quite fit in. So I just sat around and watched as the crowd swayed to the music, to the hard hitting bass. (I thought it was quite cool despite not feeling ‘in it’.)

But as I sat, I couldn’t help, but to be dragged away by my train of thoughts. ‘Clubbing’ was a kind of ‘live for the moment’ activity, yeah sure, you do feel ‘high’ at that point of time, but the next day, one might just be left with emptiness again, feeling, “man, it was a great night, what now?” And probably club again the next day? Won’t they ever get tired of it? I thought it was a good experience, a little fun too, but doing it regularly, (I’m going to be harsh on this), it’s a complete waste of time and money! (Not trying to bash any clubbers here!)

I looked around, everyone was enjoying themselves, moving to the grooves, (and being a straight guy, I naturally scanned around to check out any attractive girls.) However, I wondered, how many people here actually do this on a regular basis, it seems like the majority does, judging by how they’re able to enjoy the experience as though they’re already ‘experts’ in it. Is it really meaningful? I mean, its totally alright to be chilling out with your friends at a club once in awhile, but is it meaningful to let it occupy most of your nights.

The conviction struck, “How many of these people know Jesus?” I looked around and really wandered to myself, “Are any of them my sisters or brothers in Christ?” I’m not trying to be a ‘holy man’ here, but I was just trying to rationalize the situation in a Christian’s point of view. My conviction and thoughts were then consolidated into this: I want to build a generation of Christians that will party, celebrating every birth of a new believer, not a generation of youths who will party meaninglessly each night, without a clue about their purpose and/or existence.

Disclaimer: I do not discriminate against clubbers. Clubbers are happening as a matter of fact. I’m just not as happening.

Walk a mile in his shoes.

When we think that we’re able to deal things in a fair and just manner, our preconceived notions just steps in; our desire for a certain outcome clouds our judgment and we start dealing with things in a biased way. We’re tricked into believing that we’re handling the situation in a fair manner.

When’s the last time you’ve settled a situation in which a resolution that was made was fair to everyone; where your own feelings toward any individual(about his past/present) did not seep even one bit into your judgment of any problems. Don’t delude yourself on this, it’s only human to err.

Whose to really judge what’s right or wrong?
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” – Atticus Finch

Poker Face.

You play it all the time, you play it everywhere, but you can’t win all the time. Life’s a game of poker; you’ve got to play with whatever you’re dealt with, be it with your Aces or your, well, low-value cards. It’s not as though you can actually reject your hand, however, the best alternative is to fold, in which you lose money! (Money in this sense, is time and effort!)

You can’t reject situations in your life, the best you can do is to play your best in them.

Situations which seem bleak(undesirable cards), may force you to fold, or “bluff”(in which you follow through the bets; remember money equals time and effort!) your way through the entire round. And if you do choose to follow through with the latter, you may very well have lady luck shining on you and win the round through the bluff, or just lose it all; which is much more of a loss as compared to if you had already folded at the beginning of the game.

On the contrary, even if you did have a good hand of cards, your opponent’s hand may be be superior. Your confidence advocates you to play on, leading to your ultimate demise as you throw in the bets with the thought of victory already playing into your hands. But the ugly truth is, you’re truly being played right into another’s hand. You lose.

Every choice you make carries a certain amount of risk.

But if you did fold at the beginning of the game, you may realize that towards the end of the game, the cards revealed would’ve enabled you to get a flush(etc) and give you victory, but it would be too late by then. You only have yourself to blame for your lack of judgment and perseverance. But you may also find out that your fold saved your cash big time as the cards revealed wouldn’t have made the situation any more beneficial towards your advantage; it was an excellent call.

Life’s not always about not giving up, there are moments when it is wiser to give up certain things.

If you’ve played poker, you’d realize, those that win are given an unseen “authority” to control the table. They can manipulate the game in anyway they want, and even if they lose, they don’t lose much(they have enough cash to allow them more folds until they get a desirable hand) and most importantly, they affect how the game flows the most, as they’ve got the most cash. But if they get overconfident and play haphazardly, failure is inevitable; they have failed at being in control

You call the shots when you win, but the ability to maintain the win is an important factor of how well you control.

Those that lose however, find it extremely hard to get a big break as the winners are already controlling the table, it seems as though their fate is fixed when they’ve lost the first few rounds. There’s only one or two chances for their lucky break, (that is if the table-controllers fumbles and makes a mistake), but if they’ve missed that chance to win, its hard to get another golden opportunity.

Life calls for opportunists; it is imperative to know when to bank in on chances to attain success.

Isn’t life like Poker?

Too much on my mind.

I think I was happier when I didn’t think too deeply into any matter. Gotta remove this tendency of complicating thoughts. I desire simplicity. “Early-life crisis.”

Power.

It’s one of the essay topics that caught my eye in the English O’s. And of course, I chose it. Here’s a short extract of it.

“It is imperative to understand that power is a catalyst. It changes everything around it, but it remains unchanged in the process; it is still a neutral force by itself. However, the ultimate determinant of whether power would be used as the panacea for pain and suffering or a weapon of destruction, would boil down to the wielder’s true motives.”

Hope that propels me to a decent score.

To Kill A Mockingbird.

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” -Atticus Finch/Harper Lee.

What are you made for?

A piece of clothing can’t possibly tell its maker, “I’m better at being a carpet.”

Why so serious?

Human existence isn’t all that long, and often, we do overestimate our mortality. I laugh, at the conceit we humans possess; we think we’re of utmost importance. I laugh, at how irrational human behavior can get; without thinking of the consequences of certain actions at times. I laugh, at how people often forget about the vulnerability of their mortality; they have this preconceived notion that death will never knock on their doors the next day. I laugh because I’m absolutely clueless as to knowing when my time here on earth would be over. I laugh because I’m human and flawed.

Our conceit, our irrationality, our silliness, our flaws result in problems, unpleasant circumstances. However, I fail to see what’s hindering us from taking a step back, looking at the situations/circumstances we’re in and have a good laugh at our own mistakes and the problem itself. If we can’t even begin to laugh through it, can we truly move on? One may claim that its easy to say, “laugh at yourself and move on” and its easier said then done, but one never knows if he never tries. After all, isn’t laughter the best medicine?

Our mortality, we overestimate it. No one knows when they’re gonna go ‘poof’ and be gone from the face of this earth, no one knows how long more their life clock can tick away. Life’s too short not to have a good laugh, I truly wonder how people can even remain stone-faced through it all! “What if I can never laugh again?” I shudder with such a thought. What if tomorrow never came, and you could never laugh again?

When’s the last time you’ve laughed at yourself, when’s the last time you’ve laughed at your own situation?
Love life, laugh life; why so serious?

Mind-control and Mind games.

Whatever your body does, it ultimately requires permission from your mind. Whatever you achieve, begins with your mind desiring it. Whatever you do, your mind wills it.

The mind is the most incredible ‘thing’ that everyone possesses! But that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone control their minds well. I’m rather convinced that there’s a reason why people exclaim, “Have they lost their minds?!” to criminals, wrongdoers etc.

How you control your mind determines your character; you are a product of your mind. You are your mind, your mind is you.

I think what truly separates the good from the best is their power/control over their minds. If you have enough control of the mind, your mind pushes you beyond limits(remember, you’re a product of your mind!) for whatever you strive to accomplish/achieve. It’s not at all complicated. What differentiates between you and someone better is the ability of ‘mind-control’.

Good people have good control over their minds; best people have best control over their minds.

I marvel at this simplicity, yet at the same time, we, as people, are constantly being tested with mind-games; only those that aren’t played out by the mind, succeeds. Training the control over your mind isn’t a simple feat, it takes herculean effort.

How could I ever forget what was told to me, “It’s all in the mind.“