PG 18

Friday, December 2, 2016

What is the purpose of your life?

I may not have the ultimate answer to the very first question
"Why do you think the human race exists in the first place?"

For that we would need to bring in
the evolutionary theory
the big bang theory
God's creation theory.

But at this point of my life I believe
that it's because of love, I survive
and it's for love that I live.

The love for Mother Nature
The love for beauty
The love for wonders
The love for humanity
The love for mystery
The love for truth.

It's for love, that I live.

闯关·后(社交婉语篇)

It’s okay. 
It’s okay.

这只不过是人生中很小很小的一个环节。
让这个环节深深烙印脑海的是你的感受。
记住你所经历的每一个感受,
细心咀嚼,探索自己的内心世界。

当你把诚意捧上,
法官冷眼对待,你的感受是什么?
当你屡战屡败,
士气受挫,你的态度是什么?
当你脑海浮现不同思维,
潜意识列出了不同方案,
你的决定是什么?

也许成功与否由不得你,
决定权落入他人手中,
可以选择的是自己的心境。

很多时候我们觉得自己有得选择人生,
随着岁月渐渐发现恰好相反。
很多时候我们觉得自己改变不了人生,
但却忽略了选择心境的权利。

看似渺小毫无威力的琐事,
卻是定夺人生的关键。

如老子曰:
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

似乎掌控了思绪,就能掌控命运。

但思绪,能与感受相盈吗?

Monday, August 15, 2016

Midnight Monologue

“很久以後,我明白到信仰是一場冒險。
當我竟然追到答案,感到平安毫無憂慮之時,正是我墜落之始。
Hey, 生命豈有一本天書提供所有答案予你,無須經歷跌倒與碰撞,仿佛Google map一樣為你定下清晰路線?

沒有沒有。
你會迷路,你會疼痛哭泣,但你會找到屬於你的信仰以及意義。
追隨耶穌意味背起你的十字架,學習認識自己認識生命認識愛與犧牲。
我不肯定這時候就是教會經常掛于口邊更豐盛的生命。
我只能說這是一條很精彩的路————如果你不甘於虛假的平安與喜悅的話。
讓我們同來一場循規蹈矩的信仰冒險吧!”
                  --洪麗芳
Screenshot了那麼久,反復咀嚼這段文字無數次,今晚竟然有一語點醒夢中人的感覺。
是剎那間想通了嗎?還是又是自以為的mind conditioning
說到mind conditioning,又是很值得探討的課題,下次吧。

“追隨”二字,有夾帶“相信”與“知道”嗎?
要知道了,相信了,才能追隨一件事/一個人嗎?

之前的猶豫與躊躇、不甘受洗、對於侍奉心有餘悸……都建立于“不相信”源於種種的疑問。
但,真的有那麼一個完整答案解開所有的疑惑嗎?就算有,我們有辦法解開所有的疑惑嗎?還是新疑惑只會不斷湧現?

曾經,把一些問題交到文人/領袖級人物手上,卻發現沒有人可以滿足你尋找的豁然開通明了的解答。是自己潛意識擬定了一個答案想尋求認同嗎?還是自己根本就不明白自己在尋找些什麼?

順道對最後第二句的回應:“如果你不甘於虛假的平安與喜悅的話”。
何謂“虛假的平安與喜悅”呢?
或許我能理解“虛假的平安”源於唯有得主赦免脫離死亡才是真平安,
那“虛假的喜悅”呢?
難道不相信耶和華,我的喜樂皆虛偽、不屬實嗎?

不過,今晚不談“虛假”。
今晚談“追隨”。

回歸正題。

“追隨耶穌意味背起你的十字架,學習認識自己認識生命認識愛與犧牲。”

難道不能嘗試跟隨,再尋找屬於你的信仰和意義嗎?
聽起來好瀟灑,好像很可行。

雖然知道自己的固執,即使問了也可能堅持己見。
但還是會問一下,給自己個定心丸,做好了本分再做決定總比忽視也許寶貴的意見來的恰當吧。

唔,有新領悟了喔。嗯,不錯不錯。
好,繼續加油!追根到底吧。

Thursday, July 14, 2016

給上帝的一封信

Link : 給上帝的一封信


無意間看見了這篇文章的題目,
瞬時按下左鍵,沉默了。

有時候就是那麼一首歌,有時候是那麼一篇文章

當他人把你的心情寫照
以音樂或文字
完美地詮釋了你的見解
坦然地說出了你的心聲

那份感動
猶如和陌生人在某些事上
草木震動,山鳴谷應

你會覺得,你不是獨樹一幟的怪人
你會發現,你的思維并沒那麼異於常人
你會欣慰,在世界的某個角落找到了共鳴


作者和我同姓,連名都只有一字只差
呵呵,好巧

Sunday, May 22, 2016

The College Soul For A University Student


I got this book as a Christmas present for last year but I only got it this year in February.

When I first opened the gift wrap, I laughed. 
I thought, how cute. I'm in my final year of university now.
I'm pretty sure most of the content won't be relevant to me now,
as I've passed those phases of 
identity-seeking, being chained to conformity and whatnot.

Then, I thought, oh well, I'll just read through 
and see how much resonance it has with the then me 
who had her first gingerly step into this new city, away from her parents' prying eyes.

I had read only 50% of the book and I completely changed my mind.
It wasn't that shallow as I thought it would be (how to find yourself a friend; how should you dress up; how to adapt to new surrounding; how to live harmoniously with your roommate etc)

Yes, the book does cover all of that.
But the way they are presented is much sophisticated and captivating.
As it focuses more on insights and inner feelings,
you can relate to it no matter what walks of life you're in.

It talks about growth, passion, society, love;
broad aspects that can strike a chord with anyone 
from having just started college to having graduated from college for years.

I thought it was going to be a series of how-tos,
like a Dummy guidebook for freshmen.
I am glad that I was so wrong.


Here's one of the many excerpts that ring a bell and
serve as a reflection of how we once were.


*********************************************

So, college is the perfect place to find---or redo---yourself. Suddenly, without parents and high-school friends who remember when you tripped down the stairs at junior prom, it's a level playing field. The time is ripe to explore that long-concealed interest in pre-Cambrian fossils or to date a goateed poet type.

But once you have to the chance to be anything you want, you face the really tough questions: What do you want?

It's harder than it sounds. What you think you want when you're surrounded by familiar faces looks different in a new place. Things you thought were cool suddenly appeared dorky, irrelevant or simply wrong. In high school, I was sure I'd fall in love with the first man who wanted to talk about Hemingway; but when I met that person, I hated his guts. I thought I'd find my voice in a college classroom; but in the end I was much happier scribbling down my thoughts and discussing them in the relaxed atmosphere at a coffee shop.

In other words, if you yearn to be someone quite unlike your high-school self, be fearless. Try whatever you can imagine until you find something that really fits. But in the meantime, go easy on yourself and others who are shopping for a new identity.

...it finally became clear to me why I'd come all these miles. It wasn't to become a completely different person. It was simply to figure out how to be comfortable with the person I was---not only at a huge university in an edgy city, but inside my own skin.


-Wendy Marston-

Sunday, May 1, 2016

When Curtains Fall

I always enjoy reading my seniors' posts about the experiences they had with their students and am amazed by how normal mundane things they shared had inspired me and gave me insight on certain things. Now, I have a piece of my life to share as well.

This is not an article to boast of how I’d impacted pupils’ lives, rather, how they had taught me life lessons (even shaped my direction in life) in ways beyond imagination.

I sincerely hope you would be patient and read through the article for it's a firsthand testimony of how life shows love and appreciation through different means. =)

*************************************************************************************************

    He sat there, staring at his friends, one by one, as they lined up to give me salam, sobbing and shedding tears. His facial expression was neutral, not showing any sign of emotions. His friends took turn to give me a farewell hug. He sat there, staring blankly while he watched the presents slowly piled up in front of him.

  He was seated directly in front of the teacher’s table for he required extra attention from the teacher to ensure he didn’t misbehave. He was described ‘crazy’ by other teachers in the sense that he often did something unexpected that disrupt the class. He once took off his clothes in my class with the excuse of being too hot and he would sometimes stood behind me, not wanting me to see him, while I was teaching in front.

  He did not come forth to give me salam. The bell rang and I walked out of the classroom. It was my last day teaching in the school after three and a half months.


  Moments later, when stepping out of the staff room, I was surrounded by a group of weeping pupils. A voice caught my attention. “Maaf cikgu saya tak pernah jadi murid yang baik. Sorry cikgu....sorry...”, the boy who I thought would feel nothing about my departure uttered while sobbing. The boy who I thought finding pleasure in making me frown was his goal in my lesson cried like a little boy yearning for a mother’s cuddle.   

  My eyebrows raised and my heart throbbed with soreness. I was lost for words. Every neuron in my brain flitted about in search for the right word to comfort the broken heart. I managed to extend my arms, hug him tight and say “No, you are good”. How unconvincing. I hate myself for not being able to come out with better words.   

  He must be thinking I was disappointed in him for he always topped the chart of the most ill-behaved. The truth was, I enjoyed teaching him, still. I knew his thirst for love and care and the root of his attention-seeking behaviour. I knew he was one brilliant boy, if only he was given a better learning environment.


  Facing this bunch of children, I had always reminded myself to put forth a more motherly love than teacherly love. I naively wished that I could compensate, even a little, the lack of love in their life. I felt they deserved more love than they were having.   

  Out of 49 pupils, at least 10 were from single-parent family, 1 found abandoned then adopted, 1 had no idea where her siblings were, a few not knowing when their birthday was and a bunch who craved for attention and care. I was overwhelmed by the imperfections of their childhood and the things they had to go through at such a young age. They were losing out in so many aspects, I thought.   

  But they astonished me with their imperturbable mindset in dealing with the hurdles in their lives. They did not feel ashamed or think less of themselves, as how many kids would think, when telling me how he had never met his biological parents and another telling how his mother decided to abandon him with the father after divorce et cetera. The kids did not yearn for sympathy, nor they thought their lives ought to be better in the past and that they did not deserve the life they had. Their faces sent you a message saying, “This is my life and I am handling just fine. I am surviving well”.


  I’ve gone through two practicums and this was the first time I got all stressed up. I struggled for the first two months. I cried. I lost motivation. I was at the verge of abandoning my professionalism as an educator. I thought to myself, “Oh well, I’ll just embrace laissez faire. I won’t have to burden myself with their level of competency. I’m not in charge of their lives anyway. My life will be less miserable”. I thought the two classes I was teaching were beyond redemption.   

  Now, don’t get me wrong. I had no major problem in controlling classroom discipline. I had no problem getting pupils to listen but I crumbled when trying to make pupils understand the knowledge I put forth.

   I was convinced that I could do nothing to bring them up from where they were to where they should be in three and a half months. I was at a time devastated when they could not comprehend what I was trying to put forth when I thought I had explained in the simplest form it could be. This was my third school, yet I knew little about setting the right expectations for right group of people.


  For the past two schools that I had taught in, I was given pupils who had basic level of proficiency and they had a rich amount of exposure in life. Many of them were from wealthy family and they certainly did not lack of knowledge of the world. It intrigued me for I was able to put forth a lesson which required the pupils to think critically on life questions. I could easily carry out tasks where the pupils had to create something or come out with an elaborated answer to why-questions. I enjoyed challenging their perspectives and prompted them to speak up for their stand in life. But these pupils were special. They were sent to teach me a life lesson : how to love.

  They had taught me how love should be present in every deed and how love would persevere and how love calls out to another love. They had opened up my eyes to how pupils, despite their age and limited cognitive ability, would be able to see a teacher’s effort and feel a teacher’s love underneath the reprimanding. They showered me with their gratitude and love through gifts, heart-felt notes, passionate hugs and tears. They had put me to shame every time I reflected upon the times I gave up on them.


  Another confession : I don’t like kids. No, a more appropriate manner of saying it is I don’t like handling kids. Friends with younger siblings had witnessed how I got fed up and annoyed easily by their younger sister/brother. I dislike having to take care of them.  

  Children tend to get all attached and thirst for attention. I am one person who can’t be bothered. It’s okay if you come bugging me once in a fortnight to entertain you but don’t expect me to always be your playmate.   

  I don’t like talking to kids. I find their topic of conversation shallow (I know they can’t be blamed) and boring. I like talking about ideas, perspectives, bigger issues... I find myself too impatient to be engaged in conversations on what toys you have in your room, how your friends not befriending you or how your Princess Sofia/Ben 10 saved the day. Thus, teaching primary school had never sounded appealing or appeared noble enough to me.   


  Five years of theories learning and practical training had altered my perspective on primary school teaching. It’s not so much about putting forth worldly knowledge but your personality to show them firsthand knowledge in dealing with life. Giving them a fishing rod to fish should not be the ultimate goal but the heart to teach others to fish. 

  I was amazed by how much life lessons I had learnt from pre-teens (I still cannot tahan Year 1 and 2 though, sorry ah). They had brought out the better in me more than I did vice versa. They had showed me how teaching primary school kids was more noble than I deemed and how much skills needed than I thought. It is the platform to touch lives and shape thoughts. It is the vessel that provides you the most opportunity to instill good will. Personally, education is the most rewarding pathway one can have : seeing others grow and bear fruits of their own.


  Teaching was never my first option in life. I asked myself countless time if I really wanted to do this for the rest of my life. I even had escape plans once I finished the bond. But now I am changed. I have cast away my Plan Bs. I have decided this profession suits me and my personality suits the profession.

   These chipmunks, once again, convince me that education is the noble path I want to march on.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Well done, Fang

Often I wonder why have I allowed expectations to sink on my shoulders and let the weight suffocate me. Nonetheless, the feeling when I proudly give myself a pat on the shoulder in the end and say, "Well done, Fang" is simply incredible.

The journey of my third phase practicum which lasts for 3 and a half months is coming to an end. I had my last joined evaluation for my major and this was what I wrote for my reflection :




Thursday, February 25, 2016

如果......没关系

如果是液体,没关系。
如果是固体,没关系。

如果让人百思不解,没关系。
如果让人掏心掏肺,没关系。

如果难以回报,没关系。
如果难以启齿,没关系。

如果懒于反抗,没关系。
如果面于冷哼,没关系。

如果犹豫不决,没关系。
如果摸不着头脑,没关系。

如果想待安全地带,没关系。
如果希望顶天立地,没关系。

如果想做自己,
如果可以做自己,
如果舒服做自己,
如果无恙,就没关系。





真的觉得,好庆幸。

Friday, February 19, 2016

Relationship - Religious Discrimination

Before preaching of love and fairness in treatment, how much do you actually practise them?

Yes, generosity, great patience and tolerance are required when opening up your welcoming arms to people who do not share the same belief or perspective in life. It is undeniably a munificence in accepting one into your life to share the moments, but will you bring someone across that border to be in your life?

From a religious perspective, be it quoting from the Bible or al-Quran or other holy books in the world, a large percentage includes a verse that basically says, "love is for all". Despite being the 'chosen ones', you are taught/commanded to love everyone, both lovable and unlovable. Ask yourself this question, would you be in a relationship/marry a person who does not seem to share the same beliefs and practices with you?

Let's narrow down the terms 'belief' and 'perspective' to the religion aspect.

If you are a monotheist, would you prefer going after a person who shares the same religion, who attends to the same practice, who thinks God should/shouldn't be put priority before anything? If either one is missing, would you doubt if that person's mindset resonate with yours and if it would cause a fissure in your relationship?

There are two main religions that I would like to highlight here :
Let's say you're a Christian, would you go after a person who has not baptized even though one is open to the practices?

Let's say you're a Muslim, would you go after a person who does not cover her head or not dressing according to how the Quran has taught even though one believes in the prophet Muhammad and Allah S.W.T?

Compromising can be hazardous sometimes.
When you compromise the little things that seemingly harmless despite sharing the core foundation of belief, you would find the little things eventually being magnified and irritable. You might start thinking why can't one fulfill the little commands when one has believed in something so majestic?

People with a religious pillar seems to have a paranormal strength to lean on but they are, too, the ones that receive more jibe and slander having to stand up for their faith and live up to their beliefs.

Religion seems to be preaching a love that the world shares.
But at times when I ponder and reflect on the various people I have met, they seem to be sharing the same religious discrimination and apparently they are unconsciously preaching the ideology to the next generation.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

似是而非

如果有一天你发现...
我被写在你的故事里,
而你却不曾出现在我的场景里,
可以不要难过吗?

因为我发现,
你是本打开着的书,
而我,
畏畏缩缩,
启开的钥匙紧握手里。

你跟我坦白过你的过去,
但你不知道我的过去。
你没问,
我也没想说。

曾经有个男孩像你一样,
付出的真心一摞摞。
可是把鱼饵丢进了弃湖里,
徒劳无功。

稚气懵懂的我,
以最恶劣的方式
快刀斩乱麻,
结果害得双方偏体鳞伤。

感情不是越有经验,
就一定懂得处理状况。

我只希望
历史   不再重演。
Lonely Snowman