May you never steal, lie or cheat
But if you must steal... steal away my sorrows
And if you must lie... lie with me all the nights of my life
And if you must cheat, then please cheat death
Because I couldnt live a day without you...
(by unknown)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Forgiveness - Part One
All of us have been hurt by people... sometimes to the extent that we want to retaliate and forgiveness is the last thing on our mind.
Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you (by Lewis B Smedes)..
Two friends were walking through the desert. At some point of the journey, they had an argument. One friend slapped the other on in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE. They keep on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him,"After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied, "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it." (source unknown)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy
- Francis of Assisi
Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite a virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.
- Reinhold Niebu
Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you (by Lewis B Smedes)..
Two friends were walking through the desert. At some point of the journey, they had an argument. One friend slapped the other on in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE. They keep on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him,"After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied, "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it." (source unknown)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy
- Francis of Assisi
Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite a virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.
- Reinhold Niebu
Humility greater than Achievement
Hmmm..my first thought was how can I write this piece so well that you will be impressive. It hits me that the difference between humility and accomplishment is EGO..I say it again EGO…..E….G….O……
All my life, I have been in the quest for recognition from people around me - my parents, my friends, my teachers. I remember at the age of 15, I wrote an essay. The teacher thought it was so good that she read it out in the class. Recalling now, I must be in heaven for weeks. And it must been the starting point for me to desire recognition because I have ‘tasted’ it. All my accomplishments were more ‘satisfying’ if there are people around to appreciate them. Yes, it drives me to be where I am today. If you ask me if I felt good, I say YES ….
Before CV, I would most probably say I know about humility. But if I am honest with myself, do I really know the difference? For example, I would ‘ACT’ to make other believe (but most of all myself believe) that the intention is with humbleness. The fact is I want recognition for being humble.
Humility is a virtue until one becomes proud of it…(by unknown)
Recognition can often be bought. For example a title like Datuk. Pay a certain amount of money, one can easily get a Datukship. Or donate a million dollar and you get a plague embedded to the wall of the building somewhere. And if you request, the plague can even come with your photograph.
Accomplishment is about success. It usually comes without any thoughts for others. Perhaps stepping on others in the process. Often, it is at a price - one too high to pay..
But humility…..this is different ball game. For me, humility is not about signing a cheque for one million dollar. It is about giving our time and ourselves to serve to the best of our ability - to visit the poor, the homeless and the hungry, giving them love and care, taking the time to connect with them, …it is about ‘getting our hands and feet dirty’ without any thoughts of recognition or reward….
When we give or achieve something without any thoughts for credits, that is much more gratifying. And this feeling is something that MONEY cannot buy. Recognition can often be bought. But the heartwarming and poignant feeling is much more fulfilling both mentally and spiritually..
To me, humility is achieving something with a higher purpose, without expectation and most of all, NO recognition for our effort. In short, humility is greater than accomplishment....
"I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet." - Nikos Kazantzakis –
In our greatness, remain humble..
All my life, I have been in the quest for recognition from people around me - my parents, my friends, my teachers. I remember at the age of 15, I wrote an essay. The teacher thought it was so good that she read it out in the class. Recalling now, I must be in heaven for weeks. And it must been the starting point for me to desire recognition because I have ‘tasted’ it. All my accomplishments were more ‘satisfying’ if there are people around to appreciate them. Yes, it drives me to be where I am today. If you ask me if I felt good, I say YES ….
Before CV, I would most probably say I know about humility. But if I am honest with myself, do I really know the difference? For example, I would ‘ACT’ to make other believe (but most of all myself believe) that the intention is with humbleness. The fact is I want recognition for being humble.
Humility is a virtue until one becomes proud of it…(by unknown)
Recognition can often be bought. For example a title like Datuk. Pay a certain amount of money, one can easily get a Datukship. Or donate a million dollar and you get a plague embedded to the wall of the building somewhere. And if you request, the plague can even come with your photograph.
Accomplishment is about success. It usually comes without any thoughts for others. Perhaps stepping on others in the process. Often, it is at a price - one too high to pay..
But humility…..this is different ball game. For me, humility is not about signing a cheque for one million dollar. It is about giving our time and ourselves to serve to the best of our ability - to visit the poor, the homeless and the hungry, giving them love and care, taking the time to connect with them, …it is about ‘getting our hands and feet dirty’ without any thoughts of recognition or reward….
When we give or achieve something without any thoughts for credits, that is much more gratifying. And this feeling is something that MONEY cannot buy. Recognition can often be bought. But the heartwarming and poignant feeling is much more fulfilling both mentally and spiritually..
To me, humility is achieving something with a higher purpose, without expectation and most of all, NO recognition for our effort. In short, humility is greater than accomplishment....
"I cried because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet." - Nikos Kazantzakis –
In our greatness, remain humble..
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