A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.
Jack London (1876 - 1916)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Charity
A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.
Jack London (1876 - 1916)
Friday, June 13, 2008
Five dollars for humanity
Uncomfortable with beggars coming up to you when you’re having a meal or merely passing by along the road? Yes, I know. Most of us, myself included, would readily turn a blind eye and scurry along the way before anyone could even make an attempt to say “please”.
At the back of our minds, we’ll go “it’s all a syndicate and it’s better to give your dollar to a legitimate charity organization” while some others would have it as “we must not encourage this as it’s quite a lucrative business for them (to beg)”.
But let’s be real. How many will actually take the effort and time to make regular or even irregular contributions to any charitable organization? It’ll be another “I’ll have to scrutinize” the organisation’s accounts first because…”
The truth is, we aren’t the least interested to help out anyone else but ourselves.
Having said that, I am often troubled by the Biblical words that some who help the poor are not even aware that they are helping angels in disguise. Ouch, that hurts! Yes, vivid thoughts of how that’s going to hurt my pocket more than my humanitarian self (haha… like there’s one!) start flowing and my waking hours become nightmares.
So, if you’re anything like me, what do you do?
Well, I now make it a point to have at least one five dollar note in my wallet at all times, the price of a meal, reserved for anyone begging for a little handout. Now, I know it’s not a whole lot of money, but at least it’ll get me started on being a little kinder without having to question the world and God for an explanation for everything.
Now come on. How much a difference does it make to your life to give away five, 10 or even 50 bucks to the occasional beggar or homeless chap that can ill afford to live, much less work? If we really want to, we can force ourselves to be a little more charitable. After all, we don’t come across scores or hordes of beggars everyday or even every week.
Heck, we spend more than that everyday just for parking or toll charges. And while that same amount may not mean much to you, it sure means the world to someone who needs it for his/her next meal. Seriously folk, who in their right mind would want to beg for a living if he/she can help it? You’ll have to tear out all of your self-dignity and whatever little honour you have left to do that.
So, please… let’s just be a little kinder. Your five dollar is what’s standing between a meal and another day of starvation for someone else.
At the back of our minds, we’ll go “it’s all a syndicate and it’s better to give your dollar to a legitimate charity organization” while some others would have it as “we must not encourage this as it’s quite a lucrative business for them (to beg)”.
But let’s be real. How many will actually take the effort and time to make regular or even irregular contributions to any charitable organization? It’ll be another “I’ll have to scrutinize” the organisation’s accounts first because…”
The truth is, we aren’t the least interested to help out anyone else but ourselves.
Having said that, I am often troubled by the Biblical words that some who help the poor are not even aware that they are helping angels in disguise. Ouch, that hurts! Yes, vivid thoughts of how that’s going to hurt my pocket more than my humanitarian self (haha… like there’s one!) start flowing and my waking hours become nightmares.
So, if you’re anything like me, what do you do?
Well, I now make it a point to have at least one five dollar note in my wallet at all times, the price of a meal, reserved for anyone begging for a little handout. Now, I know it’s not a whole lot of money, but at least it’ll get me started on being a little kinder without having to question the world and God for an explanation for everything.
Now come on. How much a difference does it make to your life to give away five, 10 or even 50 bucks to the occasional beggar or homeless chap that can ill afford to live, much less work? If we really want to, we can force ourselves to be a little more charitable. After all, we don’t come across scores or hordes of beggars everyday or even every week.
Heck, we spend more than that everyday just for parking or toll charges. And while that same amount may not mean much to you, it sure means the world to someone who needs it for his/her next meal. Seriously folk, who in their right mind would want to beg for a living if he/she can help it? You’ll have to tear out all of your self-dignity and whatever little honour you have left to do that.
So, please… let’s just be a little kinder. Your five dollar is what’s standing between a meal and another day of starvation for someone else.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
MLMs
Generally, I don’t like to hang around multi-level marketing (MLM) people (or insurance and unit trusts salesmen). They are always trying to either recruit you or sell you something and many honestly don’t have simple courtesies of listening to you. Their only goal is to make that sale regardless and think that the more words they can get into one breath, it’ll impress the daylights off anyone.
Well, many are not impressed, especially when hailstorms of saliva start heading towards one’s face and do waves of bad breath.
However, this is not to knock MLM per se, for I have seen how powerful it can be. Yet, I would just like to draw a parallel (if you can call it that) with who must be the greatest MLMer the world has ever seen. No, it’s not those Amway fellas. They were only apprentices to the real master.
Not wanting to sound religious (haha… me religious? I’m fortunate that I’ve not been stoned to death as a sacrilege sod), I still can’t help admiring Jesus’ approach to perfecting MLM.
Investing time, energy and literally his life for “members” (a.k.a. Christians), definitely knew a thing or two about the impact of his relentless investment in humanity itself. The only difference, however, is that his format of MLM is not just a downward linear equation like how every MLM works these days with downlines concerting more downlines for a piece of the pie.
His model was spread in all directions. See, the impact of his teachings spread not just through a “downline” of followers, but it had the impact of influencing his follower’s own uplines. Their parents and their parent’s parents… in addition to children and the children’s children. Heck, it even goes sideways to friends, acquaintances and even some that are mere observers.
So what am I getting at? Well, MLM is a good start. But what really separates the master from the students is this – he listened well and truly care enough.
Care? Well, every MLMer will always tell you they care. Really? Try making a claim on your insurance or something like that and hey, presto! I’ve never seen people vanish faster than the speed of light. Heck, when I stopped my insurance policy some time ago, my so called good insurance “friend” even had the audacity to tell me that I would be affecting his sales target!
Naturally, I have since excommunicated him. With “friends” like that, who really needs enemies?
Well, many are not impressed, especially when hailstorms of saliva start heading towards one’s face and do waves of bad breath.
However, this is not to knock MLM per se, for I have seen how powerful it can be. Yet, I would just like to draw a parallel (if you can call it that) with who must be the greatest MLMer the world has ever seen. No, it’s not those Amway fellas. They were only apprentices to the real master.
Not wanting to sound religious (haha… me religious? I’m fortunate that I’ve not been stoned to death as a sacrilege sod), I still can’t help admiring Jesus’ approach to perfecting MLM.
Investing time, energy and literally his life for “members” (a.k.a. Christians), definitely knew a thing or two about the impact of his relentless investment in humanity itself. The only difference, however, is that his format of MLM is not just a downward linear equation like how every MLM works these days with downlines concerting more downlines for a piece of the pie.
His model was spread in all directions. See, the impact of his teachings spread not just through a “downline” of followers, but it had the impact of influencing his follower’s own uplines. Their parents and their parent’s parents… in addition to children and the children’s children. Heck, it even goes sideways to friends, acquaintances and even some that are mere observers.
So what am I getting at? Well, MLM is a good start. But what really separates the master from the students is this – he listened well and truly care enough.
Care? Well, every MLMer will always tell you they care. Really? Try making a claim on your insurance or something like that and hey, presto! I’ve never seen people vanish faster than the speed of light. Heck, when I stopped my insurance policy some time ago, my so called good insurance “friend” even had the audacity to tell me that I would be affecting his sales target!
Naturally, I have since excommunicated him. With “friends” like that, who really needs enemies?
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Envy
Actors (and “actresses” for the politically-correct uninitiated crowd)… we all envy them, hate and love them as though they were ourselves. Yes, we all see ourselves in the many characters that they play. We follow their every move, news and scandal in the papers as though they really mattered.
Well, I guess in a way, they mattered. Their movies and TV shows are what keep us sane in these days of social madness and upheavals, almost always providing us a place of refuge to hide our daily frustrations and unending sorrows for at least an hour or two to be lost in lives of fantasies and possibilities.
Lest we start condemning actors as sordid characters that have nothing but money packed to the hilt and attitudes as horrendous and the depth of one’s imaginations, I believe that there are lots of good things we’ve failed to see, especially so for those with a regular 9-to-5 office job.
I have seen how hard they work under very tiring conditions for what amounts to nothing more than a few minutes of screen time. If you’ve had the opportunity to be on a set, you’ll definitely know what I mean. Sometimes, I even wondered whether they were human to begin with, what with the amount of mental and physical endurance needed to act.
In addition, many would go the extra mile just to get into character. Whether it be bulking up twice of one’s body mass or trimming down to skeletal frames, doing one’s own stunts or even to sleep and experience homeless street life for months on end, actors are prepared to put their mental, physical and emotional selves through a roller-coaster of sorts.
Now, how many of us are truly willing to do that? We talk about wanting to lose 10 pounds in the next six months, only to resolve it by adding another two, refusing exercise, diet or any form of regiment. Likewise, we talk about the homeless and how we have a grandiose plan to “save” them from their predicaments, only to tell the infrequent beggar to shove off as they’re disturbing our mealtime by haggling us for a handout.
Yes, we talk a whole lot and bitch a lot more about others whom we envy but do almost nothing to improve ourselves to become better human beings. In fact, we often pick the most disgusting and downright inhuman ways to try and get what we want, without paying a whim to the many others that we have to “bury” to obtain our treasures.
Well, I guess in a way, they mattered. Their movies and TV shows are what keep us sane in these days of social madness and upheavals, almost always providing us a place of refuge to hide our daily frustrations and unending sorrows for at least an hour or two to be lost in lives of fantasies and possibilities.
Lest we start condemning actors as sordid characters that have nothing but money packed to the hilt and attitudes as horrendous and the depth of one’s imaginations, I believe that there are lots of good things we’ve failed to see, especially so for those with a regular 9-to-5 office job.
I have seen how hard they work under very tiring conditions for what amounts to nothing more than a few minutes of screen time. If you’ve had the opportunity to be on a set, you’ll definitely know what I mean. Sometimes, I even wondered whether they were human to begin with, what with the amount of mental and physical endurance needed to act.
In addition, many would go the extra mile just to get into character. Whether it be bulking up twice of one’s body mass or trimming down to skeletal frames, doing one’s own stunts or even to sleep and experience homeless street life for months on end, actors are prepared to put their mental, physical and emotional selves through a roller-coaster of sorts.
Now, how many of us are truly willing to do that? We talk about wanting to lose 10 pounds in the next six months, only to resolve it by adding another two, refusing exercise, diet or any form of regiment. Likewise, we talk about the homeless and how we have a grandiose plan to “save” them from their predicaments, only to tell the infrequent beggar to shove off as they’re disturbing our mealtime by haggling us for a handout.
Yes, we talk a whole lot and bitch a lot more about others whom we envy but do almost nothing to improve ourselves to become better human beings. In fact, we often pick the most disgusting and downright inhuman ways to try and get what we want, without paying a whim to the many others that we have to “bury” to obtain our treasures.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Oriental courtsies
The nagging habit of Asians to play to rhetorics can sometimes be truly stifling. On the pretext of politeness or courtesy, we almost never express how we truly feel. Instead, we put on a masks of false modesty and waive all offers of help when we really need them.
And while this may be seen as an Oriental character for politeness which many in the West would like to label (and thereby adding to their already misconception of the eastern “mystique”), it is nothing more than an inability to admit to certain inadequacies.
Yes, I said inadequacies and no, I make no apologies for that.
See, the very act of not being able to accept defeats, regardless of how small they may seem, is what stands between us admitting that we need help at times and refusing help even when offered.
Here, I must commend our neighbours in the West that will literally “tell you to your face” what they really think and their reciprocal ability to accept in-your-face criticisms and comments without having to resort to an endless cycle to “get back” at each other for “face lost”. Yes, we are a vengeful bunch that cannot accept words that mean what they mean.
Honestly, after more than 5,000 years of Oriental civilisation, I think it’s high time that we learn from those who have surpassed us despite having only a third of the time to build their civilisations. It’s time we got off our high horses and come to the realisation that yes, we may have had a longer history to begin with, but we also buggered up along the way, resulting in others having better developments, both from the standpoint of humanity as well as economic advancements.
For the sooner we come to accepting our inadequacies and shortcomings, we earlier we’ll start on moulding a more advanced civilisation. Well, perhaps we can start here then. Just the simple act of saying what we mean even if it means hurting another in the face because at least then, they’ll start respecting us for being straight-forward. At least then, we’ll also be able to stop hiding behind the mask of “politeness”.
And while this may be seen as an Oriental character for politeness which many in the West would like to label (and thereby adding to their already misconception of the eastern “mystique”), it is nothing more than an inability to admit to certain inadequacies.
Yes, I said inadequacies and no, I make no apologies for that.
See, the very act of not being able to accept defeats, regardless of how small they may seem, is what stands between us admitting that we need help at times and refusing help even when offered.
Here, I must commend our neighbours in the West that will literally “tell you to your face” what they really think and their reciprocal ability to accept in-your-face criticisms and comments without having to resort to an endless cycle to “get back” at each other for “face lost”. Yes, we are a vengeful bunch that cannot accept words that mean what they mean.
Honestly, after more than 5,000 years of Oriental civilisation, I think it’s high time that we learn from those who have surpassed us despite having only a third of the time to build their civilisations. It’s time we got off our high horses and come to the realisation that yes, we may have had a longer history to begin with, but we also buggered up along the way, resulting in others having better developments, both from the standpoint of humanity as well as economic advancements.
For the sooner we come to accepting our inadequacies and shortcomings, we earlier we’ll start on moulding a more advanced civilisation. Well, perhaps we can start here then. Just the simple act of saying what we mean even if it means hurting another in the face because at least then, they’ll start respecting us for being straight-forward. At least then, we’ll also be able to stop hiding behind the mask of “politeness”.
Friday, June 6, 2008
When the world caves in
So, yes, crap happens all the time. Some days are okay while others are total disasters that doesn’t seem to end with the day, much like a waking nightmare. You know, the kind that seems to churn your stomach inside out.
What do you do on these days then?
Well, if you’re like most, myself included, you either have an option to scram for cover under the thickest protective blanket you can get a hold off and wait it out till the weekend for a breather or drink yourself silly to wart off the feelings of anxiety and general “shittiness” that seems to hover everywhere about you.
Honestly, I don’t know which one to recommend, but I do know that I’ll likely choose the latter, although not really drinking myself silly. Just two cans of nice cold beer and a good friend to hang loose with certainly helps to while away the time without having to be “in the zone” of worrying my nuts off about problems of the day.
Having said that, I have comes across another solution, which is very much in the head kinda answer.
See, the human brain has a capacity to induce and produce neuro-chemicals that dictate moods. That is, at least in theory, the brain can order for the secretion of the happy-feeling chemical, Serotonin.
Hmm… so how does one go about to have that done without having years of meditative expertise to help in the process? After all, them Tibetan monks spent a good part of their lives just meditating day in and day out to achieve some of the most amazing feats you can ever imagine.
Well, here’s one little trick I’ve found that helps me avoid being reeled over by the doldrums of depression.
I begin imagining myself as some great general such as Napoleon or MacArthur and then proceed to hype myself up with questions on what they would do under such circumstances, how they would react. I would then tell myself that I too, am a general like them and all of a sudden, I find that I would be planning for things ahead as well as strategising manoeuvres to overcome these problems one by one.
Logical steps and next course of action are then rationalized. I would then take a seat back to have a look at the whole picture and ask myself again… is this what great generals would do?
Yes, I know it’s very much playing a fantasy role, but on the other hand, if it helps, why not? Besides, anything would still feel better than that stomach churn. So, go ahead and try it. Let me know if it works for you as well.
What do you do on these days then?
Well, if you’re like most, myself included, you either have an option to scram for cover under the thickest protective blanket you can get a hold off and wait it out till the weekend for a breather or drink yourself silly to wart off the feelings of anxiety and general “shittiness” that seems to hover everywhere about you.
Honestly, I don’t know which one to recommend, but I do know that I’ll likely choose the latter, although not really drinking myself silly. Just two cans of nice cold beer and a good friend to hang loose with certainly helps to while away the time without having to be “in the zone” of worrying my nuts off about problems of the day.
Having said that, I have comes across another solution, which is very much in the head kinda answer.
See, the human brain has a capacity to induce and produce neuro-chemicals that dictate moods. That is, at least in theory, the brain can order for the secretion of the happy-feeling chemical, Serotonin.
Hmm… so how does one go about to have that done without having years of meditative expertise to help in the process? After all, them Tibetan monks spent a good part of their lives just meditating day in and day out to achieve some of the most amazing feats you can ever imagine.
Well, here’s one little trick I’ve found that helps me avoid being reeled over by the doldrums of depression.
I begin imagining myself as some great general such as Napoleon or MacArthur and then proceed to hype myself up with questions on what they would do under such circumstances, how they would react. I would then tell myself that I too, am a general like them and all of a sudden, I find that I would be planning for things ahead as well as strategising manoeuvres to overcome these problems one by one.
Logical steps and next course of action are then rationalized. I would then take a seat back to have a look at the whole picture and ask myself again… is this what great generals would do?
Yes, I know it’s very much playing a fantasy role, but on the other hand, if it helps, why not? Besides, anything would still feel better than that stomach churn. So, go ahead and try it. Let me know if it works for you as well.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Evilness
Truly, the heart of man knows no limits to the depth of his evil intents. At times, that even makes the devil look like a saint in comparison.
Here’s a quick case in point.
Ever noticed how some people would rather spend their energy and time to bring others down so that they could appear to be indispensable? It seems like their every waking moment is spent on scheming and gossiping just so that others would look quite useless.
Oh yes, we all recognize them. These are the ones that have nothing but sweet honey flowing from their lips with the bosses and tongues that would put the devil to shame when it came to dealing with their peers or subordinates.
These days, the degradation of society and values is such that these people don’t even bother to cover their shifting characters. I have seen how both the saint look can turn to something that’s far more uglier than you can ever imagine within a split second when the bosses are away.
But the thing that really gets me is how they can live with themselves. To torment themselves day and night with having to live with ill intent through their waking moments. Yes, schemes and such may sound intelligent and “hip” in the beginning, but that’s soon short lived.
See, everyone, that is, every human being is made with mechanisms that’s in-built to their systems. And while it’s hard to define this system, its manifestation is similar. Everyone have a need to feel clean, to be able to rest in contentment that they are living lives that are godly.
This is the very same essence when the Bible mentions that God created human in his own likeness. Yes, there is a flame, however bright or dim it may get, that demands for godliness and when evil is allowed to reign, makes one feel about the worst uneasiness he/she will ever feel.
Now, I’ve seen how people either does some charity work to make up for the countless times that they’ve harmed others as well as those that really can’t get a good night’s sleep, literally, where obsessive compulsion has taken full hold of their lives.
Yet, on the same token, once some form of penance have been paid, these fools reverts back to another cycle of evilness, setting them into an endless cycle to screw everyone just so that they can once again appear to be the world’s saint. Hey, remember Lucifer? He wasn’t the ugly devil to begin with, he was the most beautiful of all God’s angels. Evil comes from the heart, not from appearance.
Here’s a quick case in point.
Ever noticed how some people would rather spend their energy and time to bring others down so that they could appear to be indispensable? It seems like their every waking moment is spent on scheming and gossiping just so that others would look quite useless.
Oh yes, we all recognize them. These are the ones that have nothing but sweet honey flowing from their lips with the bosses and tongues that would put the devil to shame when it came to dealing with their peers or subordinates.
These days, the degradation of society and values is such that these people don’t even bother to cover their shifting characters. I have seen how both the saint look can turn to something that’s far more uglier than you can ever imagine within a split second when the bosses are away.
But the thing that really gets me is how they can live with themselves. To torment themselves day and night with having to live with ill intent through their waking moments. Yes, schemes and such may sound intelligent and “hip” in the beginning, but that’s soon short lived.
See, everyone, that is, every human being is made with mechanisms that’s in-built to their systems. And while it’s hard to define this system, its manifestation is similar. Everyone have a need to feel clean, to be able to rest in contentment that they are living lives that are godly.
This is the very same essence when the Bible mentions that God created human in his own likeness. Yes, there is a flame, however bright or dim it may get, that demands for godliness and when evil is allowed to reign, makes one feel about the worst uneasiness he/she will ever feel.
Now, I’ve seen how people either does some charity work to make up for the countless times that they’ve harmed others as well as those that really can’t get a good night’s sleep, literally, where obsessive compulsion has taken full hold of their lives.
Yet, on the same token, once some form of penance have been paid, these fools reverts back to another cycle of evilness, setting them into an endless cycle to screw everyone just so that they can once again appear to be the world’s saint. Hey, remember Lucifer? He wasn’t the ugly devil to begin with, he was the most beautiful of all God’s angels. Evil comes from the heart, not from appearance.
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