I believe many of you have heard "Live life as if it's our last day". But how many of us really ABLE to do so? Worse, how many of us really BOTHER to do so?
Recently, one of my close friend had just passed away (suddenly). She is just 32, with no sickness (as far as I know). What caused her death is still not clear to me, as her family does not really want to reveal it. But for sure, 6 months before her death she looked to be in her pink of health. Also, few days before her death (on 18th Nov 2005) she did not mention anything about any health problem in her emails and she sounded perfectly fine.
The reason I'm sharing this is because that event sent a strong reminder to me that life is fragile and unpredictable. We REALLY cannot take days for granted. Live life as if it's our last day. Do not die as if we have not lived! Live a BALANCED life, you and your family is important, but you have capablities to do EVEN MORE for people other than your familiy. If you live only for yourself or your family, it's NOT a balanced life (i think now you probably will come out with lot of EXCUSES for not living for others, but please be truly honest with yourself). Be humble, and KEEP IN TOUCH with God and He will give us the power we need!
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Saturday, August 20, 2005
What on Earth Am I here for?
Have you ever asked this question before? Most likely "yes". Have you found the answer? Does your answer change every now and then? Do you truely sure about the answer? Well, I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts on that, and I hope you could use them in your own search for the answers.
The first question that we need to answer: Does it matter? Does it matter to know what am i here for? I truly pray and hope that you will NOT answer "NO". On this point I can assure you that "YES, it does matter". And the following thoughts will only be relevant if you believe that the answer to the above question is "YES".
Some of the common answers that I found when asking such question:
1. I'm here for my kids
2. I never think about that (too busy, etc.)
3. What for? (no use...)
I believe there are plenty more answers to it. I'm here not to say that those answers are right or wrong. What I'm trying to share with you is an answer that will be true for now and then (and not only true for certain period of time or under certain circumstances).
The answer is: (1) to learn (2) to give/practise
You might ask, is it really that simple? My answer is yes, however we need to define learn and give with their BROADEST possible sense.
EVERYTHING (and not just formal education/training) that makes you wiser is part of learning process. So the whole purpose of point no.1 is to ATTAIN WISDOM (and hence to become a BETTER SOUL). A wisdom to be ABLE to do RIGHT things at ANY situation. The words ABLE, RIGHT and ANY are crucial. ABLE & ANY could be easily understood, but RIGHT is too subjective. What I call right is: if the MOTIVES/INTENTIONS are to benefit others rather than ourselves, to benefit all rather than a small group of people. ABLE is no less important than RIGHT, because without having certain abilities/knowledge we will NOT be able to participate. Each of us are given different talents and wasting those talents by being lazy to learn (or ignorant) is WRONG.
The second point of the answer is to give/practise. We could not give or practise without first learning and understanding. Learning leads to understanding, and understanding leads to capablity of giving.
Let's just take a very SIMPLIFIED example: Ability to donate money. For most of us, in order to make money we need to work, and to work we need knowledge, and to acquire knowledge we need to put in effort to learn.
I'd like to stress that GIVE should be defined in its broadest sense. Which means not only giving money, but ANYTHING that could BENEFIT human and everthing else in this world, for example: giving time and skills (sharing knowledge, curing sick patients, etc.).
From the moment I found the answer to the above question, learning and giving have been my internal compass that is leading me in all sort of scenario of life that I've ever encountered. What I've achieved is a life filled with MORE peace, love and fulfillment. And that is precisely why finding an answer to "What on earth am I here for?" is important and worth the time. It does matter.
There is one book that I'll like to recommend to you: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (http://www.purposedrivenlife.com). There is no conflict at all between what Rick Warren said and what I've mentioned to you here (if you could define learn and give at their broadest sense).
And if you read my other blogs, many of them are related to learning ("Why continuous learing?" ) and "giving/practising" ("How to reach Heaven?", "How to Live a Meaningful Life?", "Finding the true meaning of your life?").
Wishing you all the best in your search.
The first question that we need to answer: Does it matter? Does it matter to know what am i here for? I truly pray and hope that you will NOT answer "NO". On this point I can assure you that "YES, it does matter". And the following thoughts will only be relevant if you believe that the answer to the above question is "YES".
Some of the common answers that I found when asking such question:
1. I'm here for my kids
2. I never think about that (too busy, etc.)
3. What for? (no use...)
I believe there are plenty more answers to it. I'm here not to say that those answers are right or wrong. What I'm trying to share with you is an answer that will be true for now and then (and not only true for certain period of time or under certain circumstances).
The answer is: (1) to learn (2) to give/practise
You might ask, is it really that simple? My answer is yes, however we need to define learn and give with their BROADEST possible sense.
EVERYTHING (and not just formal education/training) that makes you wiser is part of learning process. So the whole purpose of point no.1 is to ATTAIN WISDOM (and hence to become a BETTER SOUL). A wisdom to be ABLE to do RIGHT things at ANY situation. The words ABLE, RIGHT and ANY are crucial. ABLE & ANY could be easily understood, but RIGHT is too subjective. What I call right is: if the MOTIVES/INTENTIONS are to benefit others rather than ourselves, to benefit all rather than a small group of people. ABLE is no less important than RIGHT, because without having certain abilities/knowledge we will NOT be able to participate. Each of us are given different talents and wasting those talents by being lazy to learn (or ignorant) is WRONG.
The second point of the answer is to give/practise. We could not give or practise without first learning and understanding. Learning leads to understanding, and understanding leads to capablity of giving.
Let's just take a very SIMPLIFIED example: Ability to donate money. For most of us, in order to make money we need to work, and to work we need knowledge, and to acquire knowledge we need to put in effort to learn.
I'd like to stress that GIVE should be defined in its broadest sense. Which means not only giving money, but ANYTHING that could BENEFIT human and everthing else in this world, for example: giving time and skills (sharing knowledge, curing sick patients, etc.).
From the moment I found the answer to the above question, learning and giving have been my internal compass that is leading me in all sort of scenario of life that I've ever encountered. What I've achieved is a life filled with MORE peace, love and fulfillment. And that is precisely why finding an answer to "What on earth am I here for?" is important and worth the time. It does matter.
There is one book that I'll like to recommend to you: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (http://www.purposedrivenlife.com). There is no conflict at all between what Rick Warren said and what I've mentioned to you here (if you could define learn and give at their broadest sense).
And if you read my other blogs, many of them are related to learning ("Why continuous learing?" ) and "giving/practising" ("How to reach Heaven?", "How to Live a Meaningful Life?", "Finding the true meaning of your life?").
Wishing you all the best in your search.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
How to reach Heaven?
What is Heaven? According to Webster "Christian Science : a state of thought in which sin is absent and the harmony of divine Mind is manifest". I think this is the best definition of "Heaven" found in webster. However I'd like to add my own version: "Heaven is for those who have attained WISDOM of God and successfully practise it in their life".
There are two important things in reaching Heaven:
1. Attaining the WISDOM or the RIGHT understanding of God wills.
2. The POWER to practise such understanding in our own life.
Wisdom can be found if we seek for it. Our live experiences are teaching us a lot about it. The important thing to watch for when looking for it, is to be COMPLETELY honest with ourselves, with our motives and have courage to admit our wrongdoings and weaknesses. If you do read my blogs here, I'm sure your soul is seeking for the wisdom. My blogs are not meant to teach anyone, but just some sharing for you to consider in your search.
Having a RIGHT understanding (or Wisdom or the TRUTH), is not enough. We need to have POWER to practise it. The good thing is we accumulate more POWER as we continue to practise the TRUTH. To accumulate power we must :
1. Practise the TRUTH (bit by bit) daily
2. Always keep our soul in touch with God (example via prayer or meditation)
The PATH is NOT an easy one, but it's definitely a POSSIBLE one.
There are two important things in reaching Heaven:
1. Attaining the WISDOM or the RIGHT understanding of God wills.
2. The POWER to practise such understanding in our own life.
Wisdom can be found if we seek for it. Our live experiences are teaching us a lot about it. The important thing to watch for when looking for it, is to be COMPLETELY honest with ourselves, with our motives and have courage to admit our wrongdoings and weaknesses. If you do read my blogs here, I'm sure your soul is seeking for the wisdom. My blogs are not meant to teach anyone, but just some sharing for you to consider in your search.
Having a RIGHT understanding (or Wisdom or the TRUTH), is not enough. We need to have POWER to practise it. The good thing is we accumulate more POWER as we continue to practise the TRUTH. To accumulate power we must :
1. Practise the TRUTH (bit by bit) daily
2. Always keep our soul in touch with God (example via prayer or meditation)
The PATH is NOT an easy one, but it's definitely a POSSIBLE one.
Friday, January 07, 2005
How to Live a Meaningful Life?
If you have somewhat understood why you exist, or are merely looking for some guidance on how to live a meaningful life, think of these ways of life:
1. Spend what you have earned on you and your family wisely.
If you earned a lot, do not spend too much of the extras on you or your family pleasures. It's fine to spend some to relax your mind and body, but NEVER too often or too much. Even if you need to save for your future, do not save until you cannot help others.
2. Make a commitment to donate your savings to others on monthly basis.
Do not be stingy on this. Do not give yourself excuses not to make such commitment. You will have thousands reason to save for yourself or your family, but remember that you are living in the present, and not for the future. Your meaningful life is determined by what you have done in the past and what you do now, NOT what you are going to do in the future. Do not be too worry about your future and have faith in God that He will give what is best for you.
3. Use your talents to the max.
Give the best out of your talents. Do not waste the talents given to you. It does not matter whether your talents earn you a lot of money or not. But if your talents can bring a lot of money to you, go for it, do not hesitate (as long as you are earning it in a righteous way). But after you earned so much, remember point no.1 and no.2.
1. Spend what you have earned on you and your family wisely.
If you earned a lot, do not spend too much of the extras on you or your family pleasures. It's fine to spend some to relax your mind and body, but NEVER too often or too much. Even if you need to save for your future, do not save until you cannot help others.
2. Make a commitment to donate your savings to others on monthly basis.
Do not be stingy on this. Do not give yourself excuses not to make such commitment. You will have thousands reason to save for yourself or your family, but remember that you are living in the present, and not for the future. Your meaningful life is determined by what you have done in the past and what you do now, NOT what you are going to do in the future. Do not be too worry about your future and have faith in God that He will give what is best for you.
3. Use your talents to the max.
Give the best out of your talents. Do not waste the talents given to you. It does not matter whether your talents earn you a lot of money or not. But if your talents can bring a lot of money to you, go for it, do not hesitate (as long as you are earning it in a righteous way). But after you earned so much, remember point no.1 and no.2.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Finding the true meaning of your life?
This writing is only meaningful if you believe that God exist.
Q: Who am I living for?
A: I'm living for God.
Q: How should I live the life for God?
A: Love thy neighbors. This means to love people around me, including but not limited to my family. This part is hard and has never been easy, but it is not impossible. One thing that I've been keeping in mind is that all of us are the children of God, so we are actually brothers and sisters. So treat others like member of the family.
****
Life is actually quite simple, if we are able to see through all the complex illusions.
Here are the key thinking that could help us see through the complexity of such illusions:
1. Life is temporary; there is a fix amount of time given to each and everyone. We MUST die one day. So we HAVE TO be really WISE in using our time, remember: the amount of time given is FINITE.
2. Basically what we are really looking for is happiness. Money seems to be the only key. But the truth is we need money ONLY to survive (i.e to have just enough food and shelter). To be happy, money is not needed. Look at the people and things (animals, flowers, green grass, buildings, etc.) around you, appreciate and enjoy their goodness and you will be able to find happiness there.
3. If there is one thing in this world that we can ask from God, we should ask for a GRACE EXIT (i.e. to die in peace and without any physical suffering). That is the greatest bless. Many of us are working for monies and saving hard just because we are afraid of the sickness in old days.
So pray to Him for such "EXIT" and put in conscious efforts to achieve it (that is to take good care of your health by eating correctly and exercise enough). The key here is really to BALANCE what you need to save for your sickness LATER and what you need to contribute to help others NOW(while you are healthy and young).
You should live your MEANINGFUL life NOW and NOT for the future.
Q: Who am I living for?
A: I'm living for God.
Q: How should I live the life for God?
A: Love thy neighbors. This means to love people around me, including but not limited to my family. This part is hard and has never been easy, but it is not impossible. One thing that I've been keeping in mind is that all of us are the children of God, so we are actually brothers and sisters. So treat others like member of the family.
****
Life is actually quite simple, if we are able to see through all the complex illusions.
Here are the key thinking that could help us see through the complexity of such illusions:
1. Life is temporary; there is a fix amount of time given to each and everyone. We MUST die one day. So we HAVE TO be really WISE in using our time, remember: the amount of time given is FINITE.
2. Basically what we are really looking for is happiness. Money seems to be the only key. But the truth is we need money ONLY to survive (i.e to have just enough food and shelter). To be happy, money is not needed. Look at the people and things (animals, flowers, green grass, buildings, etc.) around you, appreciate and enjoy their goodness and you will be able to find happiness there.
3. If there is one thing in this world that we can ask from God, we should ask for a GRACE EXIT (i.e. to die in peace and without any physical suffering). That is the greatest bless. Many of us are working for monies and saving hard just because we are afraid of the sickness in old days.
So pray to Him for such "EXIT" and put in conscious efforts to achieve it (that is to take good care of your health by eating correctly and exercise enough). The key here is really to BALANCE what you need to save for your sickness LATER and what you need to contribute to help others NOW(while you are healthy and young).
You should live your MEANINGFUL life NOW and NOT for the future.
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