The Paradox of the Cross

          If I may ask you a question, " How would you perceive the image of the cross? Is it a sign of victory or a defeat? Is it a sign of hope or a sign of failure?" These are but some of the questions we can raise in our mind in relation to the example of our Lord Jesus Christ when He offered Himself to die on the cross. 

         Personally I would say that we should always be grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for His preparedness to sacrifice His own life to merit our salvation. With this in mind and in heart, I unceasingly put my prayer that may our minds be enlightened by the power of the Holy Spirit, the source of truth so that any decision that we will make especially those which will affect others could be honest and sincere.

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If we can live by the principles of truth then we will be able to contribute to the peace and harmony in our society no matter where we are in. 

         Consequently the image of the cross is a paradox of what it meant to be for others. The cross where Jesus Christ died becomes a complete manifestation of His triumph over our wickedness and sinfulness. When humanity suffers insults and rejection because of the desire to follow Jesus Christ, the image of Mary comes out as a spiritual mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who while witnessing the humiliation of her son, pleaded to God the Father for the forgiveness of His executioners and also for our own conversion. 

         As a result, the cross at this time becomes a symbol of good being triumphant over evil. May we then continue to imitate all these examples in our life in spite of all the odds out there, witnessing and believing in the concrete sacrificial act done by our Lord Jesus Christ this day. 

                                            

Being an Example to Others

          Examples in life- that is exactly what we need at times so that we can have proper guidance on how to manage our lives. And when we grow up, that now is the challenge that befalls us- how to become, in our own way, examples to others especially to the younger generation before us.  As I reflected on this reality, I then realised that for us to be able to come up as one, we need to be more committed to life. 

         We all know that it is not always easy to be  a good example to others,  to always show to those around us that we care for them especially if our own personal needs come into the picture. Apart from this one, there are other considerations so that we could serve as noteworthy examples for others: fulfilment, conversation, honesty, commitment, admiration and other forms of support.

         Fulfilment comes to us when we are able to act and say those proper things for our children and for others. Others most notably the kids always look up on those adults around them for models.

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This is very critical in a sense that if they will see bad things in us, they would still follow them without thinking about their consequences. 

          Conversation also means being able to show charity with regard to one's time for our kids.  Can we count by our fingers those times where we set aside personal activities so as to play and to be present to them? Can we sacrifice our time allotted to our peers and other friends in order to spend moments with the kids? If our answer is not, then there is still time for us to re- align our priorities in life.  

          Finally, to serve as "mirrors" of positive things for our children means learning faithfully to sacrifice our time and our self-centred activities  and rather focus our significant time to them. If this is done, they would also tell this one day to themselves and to others that "Thanks Dad/Mom for setting yourself as a concrete example of what it is to be a good individual. " 

                                      

Commitment to Self- Development

          Being a gift from Somebody, each one of us has the responsibility to proceed to self-development and never to self-destruction. Life is such a complicated yet much more of that a wonderful gift. Every single day, you trek a tougher road ahead of you. And you never know what the future holds for you. Yet  when you look back and reflect on your past events, you can be very proud to say that indeed, you made some tough decisions in life and somehow, what counts most especially for you is that you made the right decisions.

          Life, for some people, is often associated with pain however, never stop there. Try to flip the coin and you will discover the other side of it- the other side of life. Always tell yourself, " I'm in charge of my whole life." and refrain from allowing anybody to dictate you what to do with it. It doesn't stop there for the next essential thing for you to do is to accept 

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the consequence of all your actions.

         At times, there is that temptation to put the blame on others when something is not right yet as a mature and a responsible individual, accept all the accolades as well as the pain (if failure comes in the way) of any decision. Similarly, speak to yourself and say that you are an exact reflection of all your hard work or the lack of it. Acknowledge all your giftedness and your weaknesses. Be committed to be a better person. 

          Always bear in mind, life is a constant change and whatever state you are in, be happy for it is in your true happiness that you can also experience the true meaning of success. Again, life is a precious gift and don't forget to share it with your loved ones and with others. 

                                                   

Be Present to the Here and Now Reality of Life

         Just like in any book, be constantly aware that life is made up of various chapters.  Sometimes, one chapter closes down while others may have just started. And I believe that life as it is, we must learn how to be present to the HERE and NOW moment. If not, then we might end losing plenty of those chapter's pages.

          Quoting Buddha, " The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, but to live in the present wisely and earnestly." What then is striking on this quote is its invitation for us to befriend our present moment and never to worry on what has been considered as the past.  We somehow divert all positive energies on the present moment. 

          Sadly, as reality tells us, many transactions in a day merely pass unnoticed.What usually happens is that we tend to say sorry for things in the past (we don't have control over them anymore) and on the other hand, we put enormous worry on things that are still to come.

         Hence, if we only learn to appreciate life's every  moment then the more that we will appreciate it. Citing one of those missed precious moment would be our meal times with family members, that instead of giving attention to our loved ones by listening to their stories and empathising with them, we stay silent while allowing our minds to wander somewhere else like worrying so much on the possible outcome of a project. 

         As a consequence, our loved ones will feel unloved and rejected (contrary to LOVE and ACCEPTANCE- two basic needs of man) and they will resort to something else that might not be productive or helpful to their growth. Finally, learn to be sensitive to the presence of others in your life and be aware of the NOW moment to feel that life indeed is such a precious gift.  

      

Intellectually Giant but Emotionally Dwarf

          While attending a service today, I was struck when the presider said that many among the young children of today grow as intellectually giants but emotionally pygmies. And while I was listening to him, I slowly nodded my head in affirmation. And to add to that, I think the only legacy that any parent can leave to his children is the examples of being a good and kindhearted individual. 

          Sometime last week, I remember reading it online that a son of a very well known intellectual family committed suicide since he did not find any consolation anymore in the family. What were normally brought during table conversations were topics on achievements, figures, big amount of money, etc. and he was feeling left out since at that very moment, he was already sensing like being choked in the neck. What he needed at that time was a breather and not all those accomplishments, greatness, incentives etc..

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         On the other hand, there was another sad story of a very intelligent man who became so famous in the world of entrepreneurship yet due to later pressures in his life, decided to abandon his family to prove to his detractors that he was right with his theories in the business. These are but just two examples of people who have enormous intelligence yet they ultimately failed for they were not able to cling to what is essential in life.    

         Thus for parents and for other adults, you perform a crucial role to the total formation of your children and the other young ones around you. The best examples then that you can give to them is by living all those good ideals and values in life. Constantly teach your children well and let them realise that being successful in life is not merely gauged by medals and awards but also on how you treat other people especially those who seem to be lower than you in social, financial, psychological and other status in life.    

                                                

A Reflection on Life

          Nearing to the culmination of this year, I made a reflection on what has transpired to me all throughout those months starting from January this year up till the end. I was surprised to realise how blessed am I as I recalled back all my activities this year. And everything boils down to this reality that life is such a precious gift. And it just come and go hence we need to embrace every second of it. 

Consequently, I can compare life with a three-legged stool in the following components: 

photo credit: Windmill 'De Berk', Veenpark, Netherlands - 1534 via photopin (license)

-just like the stool which relies on its three legs for strength, we also need various support systems in life. Hence we need to establish as many friends as we can for they can journey with us no matter what kind of surface that we are trekking.

-while on top of a stool is a space for a comfortable sitting, we also have spaces in our life that allows others to feel comfortable with us. In relation to this, it is therefore impossible for us to live just by our lonesome. We can't hide or deny the fact that we need others. 

- finally, the stool also are supporting each other thus they are intertwined with each other. Similar with life, we need to have a space at times but we also need to extend ourselves to others. We need to establish that equal footing among us and as such, we are all invited to render equal respect for each other notwithstanding differences in terms of race, status, age, or gender.