Today we had a good chance to reflect on the wonders of Chinese English. Here are some gems:
- If you no three no four, I'll give you some colour see see!!
- Horse horse tiger tiger
- Good good study, day day up!
- Five talks four beauties
Heh, I guess these are just common ones that you can find from the web as well. Maybe I'll post some text later about the depth and vividness of Chinese language and culture. :)
A drop there and a drop here, drops of life run into vast oceans of life. This is a place for thoughts and ideas, questions and answers, experiences and expressions, a place to be cherished.
Google Website Translator Gadget
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Success and pain
Simply by looking at the title, one should expect this to become a painful entry. Why? I guess nobody tends to assume successful entries in blogs, ever. Right? :)
It is a hard task to define success, and sometimes also very hard to define pain. If someone is enjoying success, it might not feel like anything extraordinary, and one still asks: what is success? If someone is experiencing pain, it might not feel that bad, thus asking: why people are afraid of pain?
I've had the poll open asking the question about which one would you chose, success or pain, if success is just keeping you in ok-level relationship with God, whereas the pain would really put you into His embrace. It's not a fair question, necessarily, as good Kathryn has pointed out. However the question arose from a moment of pain, and it is certainly valid in many people's lives.
I'll explore the conditions first: it has become clear to me that the saying "no pain no gain" is very much true, in many areas of life. If my life is successful in its simplest meaning: no disasters, nice work, nice home, nice everything, I can say that I am not in pain. Often in this case I feel that my life is ok, I have plenty of meaningful things to do and I am leading a purposeful life. However, the time seems to be rushing by, I work and achieve, but don't really feel that I am living. It feels just like fulfilling my responsibilities and counting the days that are passing by.
On the other hand, whenever I become sick (physically) or troubled over some human relationships or family issues, or I stand (or sit) face-to-face with someone who is experiencing or has experienced the darkest sides of human life; or when I read a true story of such dark experiences, I feel pain and compassion. Or, I want to feel pain and compassion. At those moments, those flashing moments, I feel that I am living. I can stop and ponder life, seek guidance, feel pain, shed tears, curl up in Daddy's embrace... At those moments I realize that only God matters, only the invisible matters, the visible world will be gone, and there will be a future with no pain, no tears, no hunger, no cold, no heat, no war, no sorrows ...
But it is of course wrong to purposely seek pain, because that's not our "calling". Rather, the challenge seems to be, how to live in such a way that success will not block my sight to the Source of Life? How can I stay true to my God and the invisible reality, while fully committing to the responsibilities and duties of visible? Also, too much theoretical pondering does not take anyone anywhere, so how is the balance of theory and practice? How can I help others to reach balance and really live out my own talk?
I guess there is no definite answers, but I believe, I trust, that there is a Golden Way, a clear target about how we humans are supposed to lead our lives. This Golden Way contains not only theoretical guidance but also practical instructions; it is comprehensive in covering all areas of life and conduct; it would be such a mirror to our soul that the truth about us will be revealed; it would also be clear enough for us to see, at the same time the perfection we can never reach. Jesus has shown us the way, He wants us to walk through the pain and the success with the same attitude and character He has. He doesn't expect anything less from us, at the same time He fully accepts us and our failures.
Coming back to the moment of pain that ignited the thoughts. I want to experience pain, boldly, bluntly, but humbly. At the same time I strive for success, because it is good and God-given. If I'm not in pain, I want to be ready to part-take in other people's pain. I believe this is also the "calling" of every Christian in this world. If we are experiencing success, we should live with the people who are in pain and through their sufferings experience the embrace of God. This automatically include charity, help, compassion, time, resources. And when taking into consideration that the success is often a "relative" concept, we who are living in the Western world are abundantly successful just by being here. It's no small blessing, and we will be accountable for how we use the blessings we've received.
To finish this long posting with perhaps "deep" thoughts, I'd like to quote two very well know sayings:
- Knowledge adds pain
- Ignorance is a bliss
The first one can be found in the Bible, the second one is not found in the Bible. Correct me if I'm wrong.
--> Conclusion to the matter: each of us human beings has been blessed with much, at least the Love of God. We should seek balance in our lives, regarding success and pain, attitude and ways of life. In all areas of life and all issues, the most important would be to "be faithful to God, practice justice, and stay humble".
It is a hard task to define success, and sometimes also very hard to define pain. If someone is enjoying success, it might not feel like anything extraordinary, and one still asks: what is success? If someone is experiencing pain, it might not feel that bad, thus asking: why people are afraid of pain?
I've had the poll open asking the question about which one would you chose, success or pain, if success is just keeping you in ok-level relationship with God, whereas the pain would really put you into His embrace. It's not a fair question, necessarily, as good Kathryn has pointed out. However the question arose from a moment of pain, and it is certainly valid in many people's lives.
I'll explore the conditions first: it has become clear to me that the saying "no pain no gain" is very much true, in many areas of life. If my life is successful in its simplest meaning: no disasters, nice work, nice home, nice everything, I can say that I am not in pain. Often in this case I feel that my life is ok, I have plenty of meaningful things to do and I am leading a purposeful life. However, the time seems to be rushing by, I work and achieve, but don't really feel that I am living. It feels just like fulfilling my responsibilities and counting the days that are passing by.
On the other hand, whenever I become sick (physically) or troubled over some human relationships or family issues, or I stand (or sit) face-to-face with someone who is experiencing or has experienced the darkest sides of human life; or when I read a true story of such dark experiences, I feel pain and compassion. Or, I want to feel pain and compassion. At those moments, those flashing moments, I feel that I am living. I can stop and ponder life, seek guidance, feel pain, shed tears, curl up in Daddy's embrace... At those moments I realize that only God matters, only the invisible matters, the visible world will be gone, and there will be a future with no pain, no tears, no hunger, no cold, no heat, no war, no sorrows ...
But it is of course wrong to purposely seek pain, because that's not our "calling". Rather, the challenge seems to be, how to live in such a way that success will not block my sight to the Source of Life? How can I stay true to my God and the invisible reality, while fully committing to the responsibilities and duties of visible? Also, too much theoretical pondering does not take anyone anywhere, so how is the balance of theory and practice? How can I help others to reach balance and really live out my own talk?
I guess there is no definite answers, but I believe, I trust, that there is a Golden Way, a clear target about how we humans are supposed to lead our lives. This Golden Way contains not only theoretical guidance but also practical instructions; it is comprehensive in covering all areas of life and conduct; it would be such a mirror to our soul that the truth about us will be revealed; it would also be clear enough for us to see, at the same time the perfection we can never reach. Jesus has shown us the way, He wants us to walk through the pain and the success with the same attitude and character He has. He doesn't expect anything less from us, at the same time He fully accepts us and our failures.
Coming back to the moment of pain that ignited the thoughts. I want to experience pain, boldly, bluntly, but humbly. At the same time I strive for success, because it is good and God-given. If I'm not in pain, I want to be ready to part-take in other people's pain. I believe this is also the "calling" of every Christian in this world. If we are experiencing success, we should live with the people who are in pain and through their sufferings experience the embrace of God. This automatically include charity, help, compassion, time, resources. And when taking into consideration that the success is often a "relative" concept, we who are living in the Western world are abundantly successful just by being here. It's no small blessing, and we will be accountable for how we use the blessings we've received.
To finish this long posting with perhaps "deep" thoughts, I'd like to quote two very well know sayings:
- Knowledge adds pain
- Ignorance is a bliss
The first one can be found in the Bible, the second one is not found in the Bible. Correct me if I'm wrong.
--> Conclusion to the matter: each of us human beings has been blessed with much, at least the Love of God. We should seek balance in our lives, regarding success and pain, attitude and ways of life. In all areas of life and all issues, the most important would be to "be faithful to God, practice justice, and stay humble".
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