Have you ever judge somebody just by looking at them? Who am I kidding , there goes a saying "1st impression made a lasting impression". But sometimes I just hate it when people have so much time in the world to try to read you, I mean how can you possibly know who am I, unless you're really in my shoes. The only conclusion you'll have is through your own experiences in life which obviously isn't mine, therefore it's not accurate!
But as always, that's the kind of place the world is.
To the "actors" out there, the world is a stage where if you're good in acting, you're set for fame, but if on the contrary you'll be subject to ridicule;
To the "conquerors", the world is a battlefield waiting to be conquered without mercy nor will you be given any mercy;
To the "players", the world is a fun place where you can have many spectators, but they're ONLY merely spectators;
To the "dreamers", the world could still be a better place...
There is a person who once told me this, "Life is just but a long act". When I was young I didn't know what he meant but now I know that he's an "actor" when genuine-ness is not an important subject. The most important thing is that people recognise his contributions and actions in every situation.
So if you follow me till now, you'll realise that:
Why is it some people only work when the boss is around...;
Why is it that some people go all out to gain victory without showing mercy to their co-workers/subordinates...;
Why is there a party-animal who seems to like to be in the centre of attention all the time even when it is something bad...;
Why is there some people who just don't know why he/she can't fit in...
I'm writing this in protest of people judging each other, but in the end I contradict myself in judging people specifically by categories! Well, just trying to understand the world a little more from my POV...
Poor people are "stupid". And by poor I mean ordinary people, middle-class, lower-middle class, upper middle-class, employee, self-employed, etc. I might have made lots of enemies by this statement alone but just follow through and see whether you agree with my deductions that brought me to this conclusion.
What better time to mention this in an era of economic uncertainties. The rich are definitely getting richer at the expense of the poor. The rich are becoming more and more opportunistic while the poor are getting more and more gullible.
Why do I say that? For starters, the trend that I see nowadays are the rich buying up most of the properties in the cities which in return rent out in high price to the poor. Then they set up businesses like factory, sales & marketing offices employing millions to do their bidding at a "controlled environment". When I say "controlled environment" I mean they gave the poor a salary that is just enough to get by in our day-to-day living. As if it were not yet enough, the rich sets up lifestyles products for us to consume using our already diminishing buying powers and they concoct plans with installment payments, false hope and pretty models as if the poor needed more of these. Hello! Did we forget about the rich? While the poor are slothing away their mundane lives, the rich are lavishing themselves in a way only imaginable by most people. The rich are on top of the "food-chain" where the poor are the shrimps in Happy Feet 2 that doesn't even know they're meant for food!
How much can you hold out of bad streaks in life? Some falls back to the security of their loved ones who offers support, some to the chemicals that made us euphoric and some just broke down that leads to suicidal thoughts or even action. What is exactly the factor of our whole being? Well, base on my own understanding of human psychology and from my reading of other famous motivational gurus' books, here goes.
We have our own beliefs system that supports our being. Imagine pillars. Each pillar represents a reason to our beliefs. For example, if a student thinks that he's smart, talented and well-liked, his pillars will be like this:
Pillar 1: I'm always top 10 in my school academically
Pillar 2: I was told by my parents and teachers that I'm talented
Pillar 3: Everybody likes to hang-out with me
These pillars can be anything which reinforce our being. It can be a blatant lie that the person created himself/herself or something that he/she perceived to be true but in actual fact it's not, or it can be from real life experiences.
So, what happens when tragedy befell him/her? A tragedy can be something like eg:
Tragedy 1: I'm no longer top 10 in school
Tragedy 2 : There is somebody who can sing better than me or was told by a judge in competition
Tragedy 3: I started hearing bad rumours about me from my friends's friend
These will lead to the breaking of the pillars that support our whole self being. Then our mind will naturally puts up a counter-measure to fall back to the closest pillar that makes us comfortable. It also can be an existing or a totally new pillar created during that incident of breaking. For instance using the example above:
Counter-measure 1: But I'm more mature in thinking then most
Counter-measure 2: But I'm still more talented because I know how to play musical instruments
Counter-measure 3: Nah, that guy who bad-mouth me always bad-mouthing someone else.
See, in our life our mind will be constantly creating and accumulating new pillars to replace broken ones. So, when all these counter-measure pillars are broken till the mind can no longer create new lies or accumulate experiences as a pillar, then the person's whole self-being is being challenged, and he/she will break down.
Now, why do I share this is because that's exactly how God break us, and after we're down to our lowest point and accepted the reality, then he can mould us and nuture us back to an even better person. Of course you can use this method negatively but beware because with knowledge, comes power and responsibility. (Spiderman)
Here's a person who is very good with psychology. I personally have not read Personal Power but have read his Awaken The Giant Within. So whatever I'm sharing here is from the understanding of a few other authors and my own life experiences. If you find this topic interesting, you might wanna give it a click.
Recently I have heard more and more good things about the rich giving more to society. Is it more of a self-preservation act or genuine interest, that I don't know but nevertheless, something is being put into action.
Kudos to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Among the things that they do:
- Fighting to eradicate Polio in Calcutta, India
- Improving crops in Africa to feed more than 40 million people
- Encourage education by increasing college completion
- Access to learning via Public Library in Greece
- East Africa Dairy Development Project
- etc.
Seriously, a person who had all the money in the world, could possibly spend it all? Can you spend USD500million on your own throughout your life? So, to those billionaires out there, would it hurt to fork-out USD500million to help the needy just like what Bill & Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet is doing. In fact they're giving more than that and they even proselytize for it. That's admirable. But how many are heeding their call? That I don't know. To know more please visit http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx for more information. Let's hope more and more will feel the genuine need to give back to the community rather than our own selfish interest. And that includes me as well.
Phew! Back to writing again. Was cought up between sweetness of gaming and shittiness of lousy workplace, rascals and finance. Thank God the weather has calmed down once again.. but for how long?
A thought came across my mind today, a question to be exact, what would I feel when I had it all? I heard a story about a person who said to a friend when he 1st bought his new car, "I'm so happy with myself and excited, I can't sleep for weeks!" But after a month, "It's just another car...". By the way his new car is a BMW.
Well, easy for him to say because he once had it and are still owning it. Did you ever think for a second for someone who yearned for it for years but still couldn't get that kind of car or even worse, can never fulfill his/her dream no matter how hard he/she tries? Would he/she be satisfied?
As I ponder about this issue, Solomon suddenly came across my mind. As most of us knew, Solomon, he was the most wealthy, influential, powerful, wise, respected, loved and horny king in his time. Imagine he had like more than 300 most beautiful women at his side (or is it 3000, can't remember), more gold in his kingdom that gold was as common as copper and everybody from everywhere came to seek his wisdom. But during the later stage of his life, he gave a quote in a book he wrote, "Everything is meaningless!"
Yeah right! Easy for him to say that because if given, anyone would like to be in his shoes.
What I'm trying to point out is this, yes, I know that all material things are temporary and meaningless when you're at the end of your life. Yes I also know that a relationship with God is the most important because it's the only thing that last for eternity. BUT if you live a full life like Solomon compare to a person with struggles all of his/her life, which life do you think is more meaningless?
I do not have the answer and I know most people in this world are struggling with life to just make ends meet. Yes, you can say it's a matter of expectations and necessities in life but if the Bible tells me to have faith in God for all my needs, then I will try to follow because it's the best thing to do compare to doing nothing or even worse, doing the wrong things that messed up our lives.
Been through another "vicious" cycle of work politics again. Petty squabbles at home again. Money not enough, inflation, job security & stability issue, demotivated, low self-esteem, depressed, angry for the unfairness, etc. Sound familiar? Welcome to the world - a world ruled by the "prince".
Have you ever wondered, when will all these struggling stop? Will there really be a time of calm or do we really need to learn to take time now and then to stop and smell the roses along the highway of mayhem? A word came to my mind, "Be still and know that I am God." That's why I need God in my life. Just awesome. Studying the Word of God is not just for show or by being religious. God's Word is totally relevant to our day-to-day life. By reading it, we accumulate the Word bank in our mind and heart, then when the time comes, it'll just popped out like what happened to me just now. Cheers!
There are times where I could not really understand friendship. It is a casual thing and yet sometimes it seems so complicated and delicate. I guess when it involves other human being, you would have guess that much.
Once, a smart person said, "A friend in the time of need is a friend indeed." How true!
Have you ever wondered where do all your friends go when your are nearing your waterloo? Or why do my friends suddenly show up when I'm successful? Can you be yourself when you're with friends or do you wear a mask?
Well, I guess I wouldn't know until I'm in their shoes. Probably I would react the same way or maybe I would not. Again it's a matter of circumstances, self-awareness and will.
A friend is a mother who believes in you,
A friend is a father who is strict with you,
A friend is a teacher who teaches you,
A friend is a son who loves you.
-Poem by Aditi Yadav-
