THE NEXT ACT

There were times when I was pushed and pulled down on the ground by the cruelty of people who have twisted intentions. To fight back is hard sometimes. But there is the urge to do it. When and where? Only God can tell. My strength always tells me to back off. My anxiety tells me that the storm is too big for me to handle. The Lord is asleep during the storm as if He doesn't care. The battle is on and I am not in my complete gear. I need the Lord to complete me. The Lord is asleep not because he does not care. He is at peace during the storm because no one can move Him in low or high waters. I too should be at peace with Him. I too should not be weary during the storm. My strength may tell me otherwise but Lord is too big for any Tsunami that comes my way. Sometimes all I need to do is nothing but to let it ride and trust The Almighty. Sometimes I don't need to close my fist, to raise my voice, to complain, to rant nor to curse. All the time I need to be at peace. There is ...

I accept the fact that I cannot stop people from contributing to the fall of mankind. I should stop ranting at people who do bad things to good people. These are people who have so many wicked ways under their sleeves whose mission is to annihilate the good guys specially those who are getting in their way in serving their self-centred ego. In my mind I thought they should not do that and it’s wrong. Now I have a clearer understanding that our minds wired differently. It seems that they don’t care if they are certified a-holes in the site of whoever has the right senses. I guess I was brought up differently valuing more on giving and find happiness in it rather receiving, focusing more on what I can do and how I can harness it and finding achievement in working on a task rather than claiming credits on what I did not work on. People on the opposite extreme of me may not understand my concept of happiness, focus and achievement and may find it odd for the reason that they a...

I was having my lunch one day with other colleagues in the council.   I had my “pancit” (A quick-to-cook noodle) which a leftover food on my bday celeb last Sunday and two my colleagues in front of me were having instant noodles with all the opened sachets on the table.   I asked, “Did you cook the noodle just in the microwave oven?”   “Yes”, said one of my colleagues, “it was a lazy thing to do.”   “Yeah and some of it popped out and made a big mess inside the oven”, commented the other colleague.   “That is not true,” he objected.   “I have been working on being tidy and organised for a long time and I think I become good at it.   And hearing one comment like that makes everything about me different and my achievement all gone.”   At that moment, I froze.   And then it made me ponder about the power of words.   One word in an instant can change a hundred years of facts.   A word can make a differe...

I am a humorous person. I love cracking jokes. I like making people laugh or smile. Sometimes I succeed and it makes me smile inside when I am hearing genuine laugh after a deliver a punch line. A TV host asked the Topp Twins, NZ great comedians, “What is the secret of how you make people laugh.” The Topp Twins look at each other and answered in unison, “Timing”. It is true. The punch line has to be delivered in the right time or else you blew it. However there is a kind of humor that I believe would never be in the right timing and that is BITING HUMOR. Biting Humor is a kind of humour that is funny and painful at the same time. It is a humour gained at someone else’s expense. There was a time that I was not so conscious about the kind of humour that I deliver as long as it’s a joke. “It’s just a joke.” But then when I get to see the importance of connections to people and to see a better view of the reason that I am no different from them and we have all feelings, I learned to b...

While my wife and my son were doing usual stuff in the living room, I thought of going to bedroom for some reason. I sat on the bed and saw the bible in the side shelves. I picked up and open a page. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me. – Matthew 5: 10-11. O yeah. These verses are what I need to get me going. There is a reason for me to be steadfast in doing good even in the midst of being persecuted at times. The reward is great because I am blessed. And then I prayed and asked God, “Have I done something to harm You or harm anyone?” I stayed quiet for a while. And then I said to myself, “I am ok.” I know that I have been transformed for the better for doing good. And then I went back and joined my family in the living room.

I first saw the video of Casey fighting back against a bully in school when someone posted it on FB. My first impression would likely that I am more on clinging on the Hero Material of Casey. And then there was the interview with Casey which added up to the image of the boy hero. I have been hesitating on making comments on what I perceived so far till I saw the interview of the bully and his family which is but fair to them who has been demonized a bit from the whole commercialized stories. The network was so descent enough to lay all the cards on the table and let people decide what to pick. The footage shows 12-year-old Richard approaching 16-year-old Casey and then punching him in the face and then 3 or 4 times in the stomach. On the next swing, Casey snapped, grabbed and slammed Richard to the ground like a rag doll. In the interview Casey told that he has been bullied over the past three years. He had once been duct-taped across the eyes and taped to a pole and what have yo...