My life as an open book

When I started blogging, I wondered what I should write about? I thought the best way would be to open up my heart to those who would read my blogs. So here goes....

18 Dec 2007

Changing priorities
I can't imagine how life is all about changing priorities. So quickly, another Christmas is around the corner. I can't believe how fast another year has passed. When I was 16 or 17 years old, I wished that time would come faster so that I could grow up and do the things I wanted to. Now it's a different set of feelings. Sometimes, we don't really mind time standing still. Little wonder that our priorities change with time.....

Life's uncertainties
Last month, I had 2 narrow encounters with death (read my blog: dreamsobig.blogspot). Unbelievable when the first escape was from a massive river tsunami and the second from a herd of wild elephants. Who could have thought that such things will happen? As someone who relish a life of adventure, I have no doubts that we must learn to love much and do what our heart desires all the time..... We so often think we have control over what happens to us. How foolish and futile are such thoughts! Yes, my priorities really changed with the 2 experiences.

Getting old is not optional
When I was young, I used to point out people who were just over 40 years old and say, "that old guy...." Now I am 57 and I can imagine people pointing me out and saying, "that old old guy"....... How ironic that what goes round come back full circle soon enough.

For the times they are a changing.......
I can't help but think of that song that goes, "Come Mothers and Fathers throughout all the land, And don't criticise what you can't understand; Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command..... and the things they are rapidly changing" How true it is! Older folks just have to learn that they must give understanding instead of thinking they can still command the thoughts and the decisions of the younger generation.....

Isn't it so true that life is like hopping from one stage to another. You don't want to look back. As for me, I am looking forward to what will come next.

Getting older - "change" is really the only change you need?
You certainly get wiser a bit more with age. You command more respect but as times change, you simply adapt or you become obsolete. More and more, young people simply can't bother themselves with the older ones. The reasons for such behaviors are frequently "self-inflicted" by the older ones. They demand for respect when no one cares about such demands. The rich ones who think their money can buy their way through every situation had better beware.

Arrogance - what a terrible "come-around"
Yes, those who are rich and affluent, who think their wealth and their position can buy loyalties and obedience had better think again. Time and again I have seen such people grow old completely disregarded and "cast aside" by those who serve them and even their own family members. The terrible consequence of arrogance is that it creates resentment and long-lasting anger in the hearts of those who are on the receiving end of arrogance.

The mental abuse of subordinates and the less fortunate can only bring consequences that come around. The end for such people is usually terrible. Those who simly condemn and abuse others through their behavior will end up with the same consequences. The call to change is NOW!

Brittle bones & bony brittles....
Yes, as age comes on a bit more, you would not be able to play games as proficiently as you once could. The aches come more quickly and go away more slowly. Recovery is certainly more tedious. People say you can't have sex as frequently or as vigorously but I beg to disagree. Sex simply gets better with age. You don't rush anymore and you take time to bring out the better things.

Still with age........

• You remember clearly things that happened many years ago but you can't remember things that happened yesterday
• You can see clearer much further but you can't see where you place your next step
• You doze off sitting down but can't sleep lying down
• You have the urge in your mind but you can't have the action where it matters
• You make a lot of noise but no one listens much to you
• You give your employees instructions but your grandchildren give you directions
  
  Laid back or laid out
  Still if you just lie back in your life and wait, you will be laid out soon enough. If you keep yourself fit and you watch out for your lifestyle, let me tell you that you can feel great, think great and be great. If you lived healthily, you will stay healthy until you die and what a blessing that will be.
  
  The sad tragedy of "resignation"
  Many people just resign themselves to what they are and what they are not. They say, I can't do this or that because I am not cut out for it. If I asked you to come climb Mount Kinabalu (South-East Asia's highest mountain at 4,093 meters) with me, would you hurriedly shake your head and say, "no way - such things are not cut out for me!" Or would you say, "I am not sure I can but I will gladly try!" To be resigned to your perceived situation is the saddest part of existence. Don't give in to resignation. Join me for my programs and you will see your whole perspective of life change...
  
  Me - I have no doubts.......
  Me, I have simply no doubts that I want to live my life in a great way. I know I will still play my games vigorously, run my races with glee, have great sex frequently, pursue new interests and hobbies (like playing the piano, playing the drums, learning lawn bowls, etc), start new ventures, spend great time with my family, love God even more......
  
  I am looking forward to the coming years with great anticipation. Are you?
  
  ON TIME
  Time is too slow for those who wait
  Too swift for those who fear
  Too long for those who grieve
  Too short for those who rejoice
  But for those who love
  Time is forever......
  
  Precious time - a lesson of goodness
  In 1968, one of my dearest friends in Form 6 was suddenly stricken with tumour of the brain. We were both 18. He played rugby for the state schools team and he was a strong young man coming into the prime of his life. Like me, he was a scout and we both represented the state and country in scouting.
  
  There can be no waiting time ... it just flows on
  As his condition deteriorated, I remember visiting him in hospital and sharing precious fleeting moments with him. Still he would encourage me to stay strong. On one of the last visits and I knew I would not see him alive again, I held his hands in mine and we both cried and cried. I cried for the years of the future that he would never experience. I cried for the end of a flower that would never come to full bloom. My heart was torn from side to side. I pleaded with God to spare him but it was not to be.....
  
  As I walked out of the hospital ward that final time, I turned to look back at my best pal, Kam Fatt. As I wiped the tears from my eyes, I could see that wistful smile on his face - he was telling me to stay strong and to live life to the fullest and to honor God. I remember the song that we used to sing together so often - "O Mr Wing, we'll sing-a-ling-a-ling with all our hearts to you; In winter, autumn, spring a-ling-a-ling and all our whole lives through....." In that short existence of his, he had sand with all his heart......
  
  Kam Fatt left me a call to live out my life to my fullest potential. It was a call to "live" my life in the best possible manner. For those of us who are privileged to be given life in its abundance, the great tragedy would be for us to live our lives in a defeated plot with hopelessness as our lot. Kam Fatt brought strength to my existence and he left an indelible legacy of hope and excellence with me. "Don't settle for the plains," is what I heard from him when we were young. "Go for the mountain tops!!"
  
  What about you my friends? Will you re-examine your life and see how you have been so blessed with the good things you have been given!!. If you are blessed, will you change and rise up to fulfill what you can become and do the things you once thought you cannot do? My friends, it is all about attitude and focus! Willyou go for the mountain tops of your life?