Wednesday, September 9, 2009

09.09.09 nice date

09.09.09

nice date...auspicious day...

What have i done today?

Taken my father out for birthday celebration with the rest of the family...

That's all....:( nothing especially extraordinary...

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Pursue what you love...

Pursue what you love.
Pursue the career and the job that you love. You will enjoy doing it. You feel good doing the job/career that you love.
Pursue the hobbies and activities that you love. This will enrich your life. You feel happy being engrossed in it.

In my observation, some District Governor enjoy being DG so much...that he never seem to be tired, frustrated, etc. On the other hand, some DG before actually becoming DG (while serving as VDG) had began feeling tired, feeling "I have to do it because I have been successfully elected. I am DUTY-bound."

In life, we must know ourselves, understand ourselves truly well. We must know our love, our penchant and our passion. All these 3 are rather synonymous but different.

Too often we just don't appreciate what we have "in hand" now; when we eventually lose what we have, we live to regret later.

This is the story of a girl...which she related to me.

There was this guy that she loves/loved most. He was her first love. She was 18 then. They were both very much in love. Due to certain interference from the guy's mum, they later separated. But she had never forgotten him.
"Why can't lovers be together?", she sighed.
Although she had another boyfriend later, and a third boyfriend whom she eventually married, the first boyfriend was the one she deeply loved.
She regretted that they did not solve their issues at that time. (After all, she was so young then.) She blamed it on herself to have suggested separation. At 18, how could one make a very wise decision?
(My comment: Now I am 42. I also wonder if I consistently make good/wise decisions.)

She also told me...."Love is a funny thing."
There is a married man who is pursuing her now. He comes to meet her several times a week, after her working hours...to take her out for supper. When he was free, he would take her out for brunch/lunch. He had been nice to her consistently for the past one year plus. He claimed to be willing to divorce his wife to marry her (if she could divorce her husband too).
She said that he was her very good friend...short of being "intimate." Her colleagues also encouraged her on, since he was a caring gentleman.
I asked her "Why don't you go one more step with him? Why not be intimate?"
She had no answer to that...but insisted that she treats him as a very close friend, and a confidante.
I asked her, "Is it that you like him but you don't love him?" She replied, "Yes. He is so nice, so good. But that is just it. The love for him just isn't there."
She added, "Love is a funny thing. The heart does not seem to always agree with the mind."

That is the fact of life. Isn't it?
Our mind may very wisely decide what is best. However, our heart may prefer something very different.

To be honest.....
My mind is 99% saying that I should pursue for academic excellence, business success, family happiness. All the RIGHT things! All the CORRECT things to prioritise on!
But I also....deep down in my heart.....
I still desire to be VERY ACTIVE in the Lions movement. I still have the heart to want to "climb the mountain." My heart still desires to be at the helm for one year. My heart still desires to go around visiting my Lions friends at their region/zone/club's projects. I still love to go around meeting many Lions friends, enjoy good fellowship and treasure friendship...

Should I follow my wise Mind? Should I follow my "foolish" Heart?
Can you advise me???

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Sour Grapes


The Fox and The Grapes.

A hungry fox noticed a juicy bunch of grapes growing high on a grapevine. He leaped. He snapped. Drooling, he jumped to reach them, but try as he might, he could not obtain the tasty prize.
Disappointed by the fruitless efforts he'd made to get the grapes that day, he said, with a shrug, to comfort himself, "Oh, they were probably sour anyway!"

What does this story tell you? Are you sometimes like the fox? You cannot attain what you wish. To comfort yourself, you tell yourself that what you desire is not good, too expensive, not worth the effort, etc.

There are PROs and CONs to this "Sour Grapes" response.

Benefits:
1. Avoid from becoming depressed to due to unattained desire.
2. Able to convince oneself from continually seeking to achieve something that is not attainable.
3. Persuade oneself to be more realistic, mentally or emotionally.

Weaknesses:
1. Not wanting to try harder to achieve the desired.
2. Make oneself contented, hence not seeking for excellence.

Personally, have I experienced "sour grapes" syndrome?
Of course, I have.