The Life Overdose

Sometimes, we experience extreme and unexpected trials in our lives such as terminal illness or a crippling condition, or worse, it could happen to someone else leading to the sudden loss of loved one. Undoubtedly, it could be one of the greatest and unbearable pains one could ever feel in life. When this happens, we feel like we don't deserve such pain, or we question God: why did you let this happen to us? We are good people, we help people and we pray everyday.. why? Imagine a vast forest full of trees of different types and sizes. All of them are rooted on the same soil, gaining access to the same water when it rains, and thriving under the same weather conditions, whether its hot, cold, rainy or sunny. Now imagine a strong, destructive typhoon sweeping across this forest. Some of the trees with larger trunks and strong deep roots will stay upright, while smaller, weaker trees will fall. Some will have their leaves and branches blown off by the roaring wind.  We

As I was engaging in a very interesting and casual conversation today on the topic of God's heavenly government and existing human earth rulership, a question was asked by one of the leading participants: " Do you think there will ever be peace on Earth? "  The other participant answered, "Who wouldn't want peace and everlasting life? But CLEARLY, the answer is NO , because violence is inherently human nature . People will always look for an excuse to create war. Imagine a world that has no violence or just peace, it will be really boring for everyone." Just as he was saying this, his wildly enthusiastic son ran across the living room where we sat - and then he added, "Just look at my son, his favorite toy is a GUN. Just this morning, he created two replica toy guns with wood. He likes playing war video games. Violence is just part of our human nature and you cannot change that. "  Obviously, I am loosely paraphrasing here, but

A befitting thought that I gratefully chanced upon on  Belle de Jour Power Planner' s Facebook wall to start with  - "Being Successful means something different to each person. Respect that."  Society has this notion that success means having lots of money, driving expensive cars, having the latest gadgets and bags, or being able to spend like there's no tomorrow. Of course, that's perfectly okay and respectable. I totally admire those people who have reached this level of wealth because of hard work and ingenuity.  However, there are those people who feel they have reached their "success" when they have a small humble business, with lots of their time each day being spent with family, and peace of mind - even without having lots and lots of money in their bank accounts. Some people have attained their success by achieving a level of spirituality that allows them to live simply, breathing in life's often unnoticed small joys.  Let'

Dec. 21, 2012...the date that, supposedly, was the date that we would all witness great fireballs hurling from the thundering sky, or devastating intensity 9.5 earthquakes that would topple down everything standing on Earth coupled with kilometer high tsunamis. Thousands of people, I read, prepared Apocalypse shelters, ransacked grocery stores, and probably even spent all their money. Many people even renewed their faiths.  Well, at least in our part of the world, that didn't happen. Last Dec 22, 2012, I still woke up to a world where I would still go to the office after the holidays, where I still battle with trying to lose holiday weight from overeating, and laboriously deal with the busyness of life. Yes, our delicate, fragile mortal lives would still go on indefinitely.  Despite convincing Youtube videos (the "Gangnam Style" prophecy) and Facebook doomsday posts, I could say I was pretty confident that the world wasn't going to end that day.  But

[around midnight. a few thoughts before shut down.] You get to this certain point in your life when you realize that there are only a few essential things which makes you feel "uncomplicated" and "blissful" - and in parallel, there are things you need to eliminate in order to get to that positive state of mind the fastest way possible.  And I am, undoubtedly, at this stage.  It's not an easy task - in fact, it's rather  apocalyptic .  From a launchpad of an old system of things - and propel myself to a new one. Long years of society-prescribed ambition, worldly desires, and peer expectations have turned me into what I am today. It is, in reality, just human, to want to accumulate wealth and recognition. But we can't bring these to our graves. In the ideal world, we have to spend as much time doing what we love, also spend this time with loved ones, and spend more time doing God's work. Storing spiritual treasures than riches. 

As I think about it, I might put the clicheic goal " conquering the world " on stand by, and just focus on being contented. Believe me, it may seem easier to do, but actually it's not. It's actually more complicated to simplify life. Found the perfect irony. How often do we struggle to delete unnecessary files from our hard drive just so we can clean it up? Does our home get filled up with so much useless junk because we can't seem to let go of stuff, even if at the back of our heads, we know we have to get rid of them? As I wrote this entry, I thought of creating a formula that could guide me forming the way I live next year. The goal is to be contented and have peace of mind. And in the most mathematical and simple way I can put it: Contentment = Life MINUS unnecessary things PLUS things that matter MULTIPLIED by God. DIVIDE everything by people you love. I made a little graphic of it below for everyone to share, if they find it useful as a guide. MINUS all t