Assignment: Keep a new acquaintance talking about himself or herself without allowing him to become conscious of it.
Completed: Talked to a cab driver tonight. Found out about his family, his values, his perspective on marriage, the cost of living in Singapore, what he used to work as before he became a cab driver, how much load a cement mixer truck carries (6 m3), how the construction industry was dying a slow death (and consequently cement mixer truck drivers) before the casinos, the two most common ailments of cab drivers (high blood pressure and kidney-related disease), how his wife was more scared of his gambling habit than his having affairs, the stress of providing for a family of four, how he got sweet-talked into buying $40-worth of Taiwanese pudding desserts during CNY at Chinatown last year and why he is avoiding the area this year, how old his two daughters are, and so on and so forth. It was nice for me to learn so many things from this elderly cab driver, who told me to remember his licence plate number and his cab company.
February
“Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
- Mark Twain
March
Rejoice in hope,
be patient in tribulation,
be constant in prayer.
(Romans 12:12)
April
Hope, faith and love
“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.
Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”
― Reinhold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History
May
Moving onA sad day.
June
Muddy waters, if left alone and given time, will turn clear.
Be a curator of life. Edit. Leave out the junky parts. Don’t be afraid to say no – but when you find something worth saying yes to – treasure it. Enjoy it. Hang it on the walls of your museum and be proud of it.
- Jeffrey Tang
July
Gave some time to this 15-year-old who was drinking a cup of tea and hanging around in the YWCA pantry while I and two other ministry mates were having our dinner before the children's workshop. One of them asked him to sit down and join us. He sat down next to me and placed his cup of tea and a Marvel comic book on the table. He was still in his school uniform. He was drinking his tea, while he was looking at me eat my yong tau foo. He told me that he had overheard me saying earlier that I had eaten cheese with a bread roll the night before. I explained to him that at my age, it's tough to maintain one's weight, much less lose weight, because our metabolic rate slows rapidly beyond a certain age. And how I was trying to avoid eating carbs at night. He then said that brown rice was nutritious but he didn't like eating it because it was super dry. I chatted with him about how I loved graphic novels, especially V for Vendetta and the Sandman Series. He quipped that it was so nice for him to be in a situation whereby it's like a grandmother telling him that she was reading comics (do I look like a grandmother?!). I corrected him and said "auntie, auntie; not grandmother!" I carried on talking with him. He told me why he was there and then he said that he would hang around before heading home. I wondered why he wasn't keen to go home but I didn't ask him about it. He shared about school, what he did that day, his family and so on. Soon, it was close to 7.30pm and we had to leave the pantry to go into a room for the workshop. I told him that we had to leave, and that was when he introduced himself and I told him my name. My parting shot to him was "don't hang around too late before going home, okay?" And I said bye to him.
My reflection: Very often, all that another person needs from us is just time and company.
August
Another birthday has passed, and I am reminded again of how blessed I am. Reflected on the many wishes, lunches, dinners and all the company, and came up with this image. My birthday wish was a long and fulfilling life for everyone who is connected to me in this life.
September
Stay and Wait - Hillsong
Who spoke the Earth and sky to form
Who sets the sun and calls the dawn
Who breathed me out of dust to life
With the will to trust or run and hide
I will stay should the world by me fold
Lift up Your name as the darkness falls
I will wait and hold fast to Your word
Heart on Your heart and my eyes on You
Who loved me through my rebel way
Who chose to carry all my shame
Who breaths in me with endless life
The king of glory Jesus Christ
I will stay should the world by me fold
Lift up Your name as the darkness falls
I will wait and hold fast to Your word
Heart on Your heart and my eyes on You
God of wonder and God of grace
Let my soul stand always to praise You
Fix my eyes on Your perfect way
And I'll never look back
I will stay should the world by me fold
Lift up Your name as the darkness falls
I will wait and hold fast to Your word
Heart on Your heart and my eyes on You
Who lifts the poor and heals the blind
Who trampled death for all mankind
Who stands for all with arms stretched wide
My King forever Jesus Christ
October
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 ESV
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
"That breath that you just took...that's a gift."
- Rob Bell
December
“We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere.”
― Tim McGraw
Ethical living – and leading – takes courage and conviction. It means
doing the right thing, even when the right thing isn't popular or easy.
But when you make decisions based on your core values, then you tell the
world that you can't be bought. Actions always speak louder than words,
so make sure you do as you would wish others to do.
