The Dash

By Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who love her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash. 

So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile…
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

That is an interesting article I came across many years back.

It makes one wonder how much one can accomplish in his lifetime? How much is actually MUCH?

Looking around me, there are people who heads organisations, who run their own business, who dedicated their life to making changes to this world, to make it a better place to live in. And I cannot help but wonder how are they able to accomplish so much more in the same amount of time.

Where did they get their energy from? they just seem like energiser bunny. 
How do they maximise their time to do so much more in the same amount of time?
How do they stay motivated all the way?

These questions always pops up in my head. For I always hope to do more in my life.
To be able to make changes and improvement to this world we live in. To be able to experience more in life.
To be able to bring joy and happiness to people around.

I look at the path ahead, the challenges that await. Almost all the time I just wish to jump on them imediately.
But as I grew older, I become more aware of my strengths and weaknesses, I begin to think if I am the best person for the job. It is no longer a question of how much I want to do it, but how suitable am I to the task?

Somehow, someday I still hope I can be someone that makes a difference. And make my dash a meaningful one.

I want to step out of my shell and start living a REAL life!

As simple as that.

Murphy’s Law version 2. Whatever bad things could happen will happen, all at the same time.

One can’t help wondering if the badness is ever coming to an end or if there is really a light at the other end of the tunnel.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Okay, I know the dragon is not really hidden)

 On a positive note, I ‘m still praying that all will come to an end soon.

Be back soon!

How can we live with SIN?

This is not a post to share my belief in Christianity, but just some random and humanly thoughts I have on this word -SIN. Someone ever shared with me that SIN is the least mentioned english word in the newspaper ever.

Yet everyday, we find SIN evidently in the articles, be it in stories of betrayal, murder, fraud etc. A common word to categorise them would be SIN.

I once thought (and probably still do think) that it’s okay to live with unethical, immoral acts of mine as long as I enjoy it. Instant gratification they call it. As I was reflecting through some of the events in my life, I realised there are many things that I do not dare to tell anyone about. These are my darkest secrets. And many of them I did it with enjoyment at the time of action.

I told myself it’s okay to indulge in these SINful activities once in a while, I know I wasn’t a hardcore villian deep at heart. It’s alright to be a bit wrong just to enjoy myself once in a while, nobody’s going to get killed or anything. However, I see it in different light now.

Why do I feel ashame to even let a single soul knows about these darkest secret of mine? It’s something unexplainable, it’s just so natural within us to feel ashame of these dark act of ours, isn’t it?

While I’m glad that these are over and I got away “scot-free”, I suppose these events/acts will remain as a deep scar within me. It probably not going to haunt me everyday, but once in a while in quiet days when I look back at my life, I am going to continue  feeling this tinge of hurt, sadness, guilt and disappointment with myself. Even when “victims” of such events/act forgive, I never will. I suppose this indirectly explain what conscience is.

My sincere prayer and cryout to God is to guide me in making righteous decision in life and to free myself from the heavy burden and guilt of these darkest secrets.

A long delayed post.

The last day of 2008 was spent at Expo for Church watch night dinner. And after that I rush down to meet Melvin and Lingzi at Clarke Quay. Was just outside City Hall when the clock hit 12 and the fireworks filled the skies of Marina Bay.

It’s been an eventful year and standing there watching the fireworks, I remembered the exact scene when I was watching the fireworks with my family at CWP in 2007. The feeling back then was so much different, filled with much happiness for the things that had happened thru out 2007. However, this time round, I’m just glad that a new year is here and I truly pray and hope that it will be a much better one.

Had been spending quite some time recently to help out with the BGB fancy drill training. It’s something that I have never expected to be so involved in. The initial plan was just to drop in and supervise what the old Boys had planned for them and see how their training goes. However, due to some reasons, the old Boys could not be involved and I thought I had better help them with the movement and trainings.

I must said this experience had been quite encouraging for me to see the commitment and passion these kids have in BBGB. It just so reminded me of the days when i was just a boy… not so long ago! *LOL! When we were all so commited and set out to achieve many things that none of us could have imagine we could.

However, today seeing their performance for the final rehearsal, was quite disappointed. Everyone knows the steps, the movement yet they keep making the same mistakes here and there repeatedly. Hopefully in the next few days to come, they will really take each practise more seriously and we may see a fantastic performance on saturday.

After this week, it’s really time to start catching up with work. Had been neglecting my work recently and it’s time to catch up and go full force for 2009! go go go!

“How many tomorrow do we have?” -Anonymous

“This is my life, how can I be casual about it?” – Anonymous

*WARNING*
Okay, this is going to be a self-praised post, a vanity post, so don’t read this if you cannot stand it! LOL!

Well, i’m impressed for the fact that despite not blogging for the past couple of months, there are visitors here daily! So maybe I do have some fans?! LOL! (If you are one of those who been faithfully visiting, i’m just kidding.. *i don’t want to lose you! haha)

A quick update on what had happened in the past couple of unrecorded months…

Growing closer with God
We had finally started a discipleship group (DG) in church with the few ex-BBGB members. It was started with the hope that we can keep each other accountable in our growth and walk with God.

Growing fatter with food
Have been working hard on this experiment and am proud to share the theory of…

Eat + Sleep after eat = Fat

So yup, been indulging in much suppers to prove this point and if you still have any doubts, feel free to meet me up to see the result! (that’s why no photo for this post.. haha)

Growing cobwebs in business!
Just kidding in this though! Have been facing challenges, both externally and internally at work. Of course, the recent spot light on the company does contribute partly, however the main contributor are still internal factors. I guess just as i was warned by people around before i enter into this industry, this is common and i just need to continue to push harder. Like my good friend pangster always say, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.. =)

Watch this and marvel at their love. =)

and they all happened to be oversea now!

I pray and i pray that she will be happy and find joy in everything she does,
I pray and i pray that she will be safe and sound while she’s enjoying her trip,
I pray and i pray that she will be positive and not be affected by people around her,
I pray and i pray that she will enjoy her first trip out, her first long trip, and her last moment before graduating,
I pray and i pray that God will continue to bless these relationships.

Amen.

After a long time of MIA-ing, I’m back and I’m back!

Will not go into the details of what happened but i’m good and back now! =) There’s indeed a lot of catching up to do, both work and personal life.

Today marks the end of the first half of the year, anyone realise? Just like a football match, i’m ever so excited about the second half for it means new energy, new opportunities and new surprises! Shall spend some time thinking thru and planning the second half today!

I have been watching Britain Got Talents (BGT), the British version of American Idol, on youtube. I must say Britain really GOT talents, and it’s not just in the mainstream pop music. There’s many surprise packages in the show indeed, and one particular performance i really like is this 22years old music student, Austin Blackburn who took a saw (yes, read me right, it’s a SAW!) and went for the audition.

When he told everyone that he wanted to promote the saw as proper musical instrument, everyone in the audience and judges laughed. Yet, he remain his cool and went on to impress everyone. Here’s the video, for everyone who need a bit of inspiration, abit of encouragement in life.. =)