A contented soul :)

Thoughts

Blinded by the Seen Thing

Lately I’ve noticed that we tend to live like a blind people. We are unable to see what’s beyond our future, just because the existence of the things right in front of our eyes. It could be anything – anything that halts us to see far beyond in the future. We tend to make decision by what is seen – trying to decide which of the best from the worst choices – since we’re too often doesn’t know what our real heart desire – too afraid to wait for the best to come, and with the reason of being realistic, we choose from the worst, and often we choose the worst from the bad choices. Too often we follow our flesh desires, which entrap us to the prison of the future.

What we decided in the past, create our present. And what we decide in this present time, will define how our future would be. Many of us trapped in the prison that we create in the past, and the prison seems like a ‘comfort zone’ in a way… it’s not really comfort in a real way, but it stop us to think beyond what we can see, because of the fears tricked us to be ‘realistic’. I imagine it like… we’re in the prison, however the door is unlock, but we believe we are in prison, our own mind and thoughts stop us to open the prison door and walk out… instead we stay inside while complaining and suffering at the same time… reasoning to ourselves and our surrounding… feel bitter about life, and again and again making the worst choices in life… while the prison door is actually unlock…

Only if we have the courage to open the prison door and walk out… we might not know what’s there outside the prison bar… some people are too afraid to face what’s outside the bars… so they stay inside with the seen  choices.

I feel that life is too precious to be spent inside my own prison. Somehow I feel what I have now starts to put me in the prison… if I try to break the door, I might hurt some people… the people, the material things, the situations I have now… somehow stop me from seeing beyond to the future, and stop me for being who I have to be.

It reminds me the story about the eagle that was mothered by a chicken. For so long in its life, the eagle believed that it’s a chicken, so that it acted like a chicken… and never believe that it’s actually an eagle. Only when the very hard pressure comes, the eagle pressured to act like one. This eagle blinded by the chicken in front of it. It is blinded by the environment and the seen “chicken choices” around it. It never knows that it has more choices beyond of what it knows from the chicken.

I know it’s hard to learn to believe that we’re the eagle, and not the chicken… sometimes it’s because of the fear… because we don’t know what will happen if we try to believe that we’re an eagle and start to do life like an eagle does… the fear of the unknown things ahead becomes the obstacle.

However it’s relieving to be able to see the people who have the faith beyond what the eyes can see… and it really breaks my heart to see the people I love repeatedly making the worst choices while I can see they have much better choices than what they can see. But I realize… everyone has to make their own decision… I just pray… those I love will one day open their eyes and can see beyond the obstacles that they have right now… and make a better choice :).

Does your past influence your present and future?

I received an email about this topic about a week or so ago, from the lady that I admire and respect :) - Swati Lee (we met at the counseling class last year, and have interesting discussions sometimes, and she’s one of the person who believes in me for the things I want to do).

Having the heart to help others in trouble – any kind of problems – we learn from the classes we attend and the books we read, that in a way the past must have an influence to the present time and the future time. But how should we relate the past to the present time and how should we position it to the present time? Should we always dig out someone’s past before we can help their present problems and help them to move to the future? Or is it still possible that when we deal with the present problem… we deal it that way, without have to dig out the past experience?

Regardless of the psychology theories provided by many great people – for example like Freud, it’s a bit difficult for me to give an opinion from their point of view, simply that I don’t have enough information about the approaches suggested by them, since my background is not psychology – I don’t have enough knowledge to explain whose point of view is more proper than the other. However I assume myself as the practitioner in life (everyone is a practitioner in fact)… it means as a human live in this world… I learn about people and problems and how to help others from experiences we face every day. Using the knowledge that I learn from live itself – experiences :).

The past really influence the present and the future. We are as who we are now is because of what we have experienced in the past. The past itself doesn’t stand alone to influence our present and future, there are a few other things, such as our beliefs, knowledge, mind set, etc. – which off course also influenced by our past in a way. We should consider the past as a stepping stone, not as reason to blame on what happen in our present time.

Therefore in any counseling session, or for the common people like me – I prefer to consider it as a sharing moments – to ‘listen’ about the matter of the current problem is very important, listening is not only hearing the words they say, but at the same time try to understand the feeling they have. Many times it helps me to understand the person very well, somehow it leads me to understand they way the person think or feel, and from that point then using the instinct (yes… female use this built in function within us :p) to decide whether I should ask about the past, or should I focus on the problem. And our experiences in live also helps us when we have sharing moments with other people. So, practically in any sharing moments I don’t use any specific method that I have read or learnt. It’s more to the willingness of my heart to listen to my friend. And sometimes I found out, that some people don’t really need any solution from us, they just need a friend to talk, someone who would lend the ears to hear what they feel and think.

About the traumatic experience in the past, I believe it has to be treated well, but I do really believe that certain therapy approach is not an assurance that someone can let go the past easily. I quote this from the book by Larry Crabb – Understanding People, chapter 4 – “In the minds of many, there is a difference between counseling and psychotherapy. Counseling, some would say, deals exclusively with here-and-now concerns, attempting to help people cope with their lives more effectively by offering warm support and wise advice. Interpersonal skills like empathy, genuineness, and the ability to clarify, coupled with sensitivity and common sense, are the necessary tools. Psychotherapy is very different, many say. It probes beneath present concerns (such as indecision regarding vocational choice) to expose an unconscious network of defenses, anxiety, and unacceptable or painful feelings which together generate the visible problem. Therapy deals with deeper issues than counseling because it looks beneath current complaints to the internal dynamics that really constitute the disorder needing correction. It is said that the therapy deals with internal dynamics, and counseling does not. And Freud is rightly credited with introducing the whole idea of psychodynamics to the modern mind. The term refers to the psychological forces within the personality (usually unconscious) that have the power to cause behavioral and emotional disturbance…

In the case of the past that brings the traumatic experience, I believe the therapy might have to be done depends on the level of the trauma, but there’s one thing that I have been thinking about for the last few months… there’s something more than just therapy and counseling session or sharing between friends. That’s why I read this book :), there’s a missing point from all the things we do to help others. And lately I find it… that it’s actually the ability to relate. To relate doesn’t mean just we know and try to pay attention, but genuinely relate from one soul to another soul (I learn this from other Larry’s book – Soultalk). And to relate we need to pay effort not to analyze others by our mind understanding (which sometimes lead us to judgement), but more to the act of love. The love that Jesus taught us :), the love that He gives to us. So that I believe that therapy and counseling still incomplete to help others, but the additional essence of the right love from the right heart will help the person that we help to let go the past and change the mindset for the future sake. Agape. That’s the type of love that we need to have to help others. And I do believe this type of love can be learnt and read through the bible. And we have to experience this type of love first before we can share it with the people around us. Some people arguing whether bible can be considered as the source for biblical counseling or not, and here I just want to say that I believe bible is one of the source we need to read and learn in helping others :), and it’s not limited to the counseling session only.

So, yes the past really influence the present and the future time. However it’s unnecessary to always dig out the past of everyone in each of the session. It depends on the occasion. Normally if I find certain pattern in belief or way of thinking, then I will try to ask a little bit about the past – combine it with the discernment from God to lead what to say or ask :). Therapy, counseling, the proper love with the right heart and the discernment from God - I believe would be a great combination to help many people.

And the future… the past is not really influencing the future compare to the present time, the past has the link to the future because of the present time. And in this present time, we can see and learn what was wrong in the past, and I believe that the present time has more influence for the future. The way we decide how we want to do our present time is designing our future. I can talk nonstop about this, but I better stop first now, I will try to think more… maybe there are a lot of missing point also in my belief about this :).

Knowledge and Understanding

Recently I keep on thinking about this topic. When I claim that I know something or have knowledge about something, it doesn’t mean that I understand it in the proper way. But most of the times – because of the habit :p – when I think I have the knowledge of something, then I assume that I know everything about it, and there’s where the pride sneak in unconsciously and I start to have personal opinion (judgment?) about certain thing/situation/condition.

But then I think… for example, I know there’s an animal called elephant – my knowledge about the elephant is that it is a big creature with 4 legs, 1 big trunk as a nose and slim tiny tail compared to the size of the body. à but I don’t understand why elephant shaped that way, and what is the other use of the long trunk beside for breathing and taking food, and why the tail is so slim compared to the size of the body?

Another example… I have the knowledge about salmon from the materials I read – salmon swims in a group (school of fish – that’s what they said) – and they swim against the tide. BUT I don’t understand why they swim against the tide? Does this type of fish like challenges? Or do they simply just following their behavior that has been taught by the elder salmon without knowing that it is easier to swim following the tide? Or do they crazy? – I simply don’t understand this.

I might have the knowledge – but it doesn’t mean I have enough understanding why certain thing happens, or certain people think certain way or even do certain things that are out of the value believed by most people in the society.

I’m working in the IT field, and sometimes I’m struck by people’s questions about the product I’m selling. I know how to answer explicitly about certain functionality, but then I realize there are a lot of times when I don’t understand why the functions created or developed in certain ways. I could have the knowledge I know to tell people about what it is all about, but I also face my own struggles sometimes to understand the reason behind why certain function designed in a certain way, and not in another way around.

The knowledge cannot be used as a guarantee that I understand certain things/situation. But the knowledge is only the beginning for me to learn to understand about certain things/situation.

This morning I woke up with a thought. This is applied in every area of my life. I live surrounded by other people. I might have knowledge about something – or certain situation – or about someone else – but I might not be able to understand fully why someone do something…

I have the knowledge that eating junk food is not good – because of many reasons shared by many people – but I don’t understand why many people still eating junk food even though they know that it’s not good for their health, and I find that me myself eating junk food also sometimes. The knowledge and the things we do sometimes on the opposite side :).

I end up with a conclusion that I shouldn’t have the habit to judge other people of what they are doing, because I might not understand the reason of so many things, why they do what they do. Moreover it is very possible that the knowledge that I know is not the most updated knowledge somehow ;).

And at one point, I even realize … sometimes I don’t understand myself about why I’m doing a certain things that is opposite of the knowledge that I know and believe :p.

This morning my reading is about Matthew – the tax collector who then become a disciple. When I read the story… I feel that Jesus is a very eccentric person… He passed near Matthew the tax collector, and out of the blue He offered him to be a disciple. My human mind and understanding cannot digest it clearly. From all the people around there by that time… why it should be the tax collector? And among the tax collector…why it was Matthew? There must be something that my human mind cannot understand for sure.

And I don’t understand also why Matthew accepted the offer right away, why he then agreed to become a disciple and left the job as the tax collector?

It shows that I simply don’t have enough understanding about life and everything about it… I might learn to gain the knowledge, but knowledge cannot be an assurance that I would have enough understanding for life.

Everyone has their own battle, everyone decide their own life story… sometimes we might want to help those we love so much to be out of the difficulties in their life, but sometimes there’s a boundary that everyone’s life is their own responsibility… what we can do for those we love… is to be there at anytime they need us when life seems get tough for them, and accept them as who they are… because we’re all the same… we’re human and we make mistake from day to day :).

Faith

Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” - St.  Augustine

What is faith?

I wonder whether faith is another type of illusion. Is it or isn’t it?

I learn from the resources I read that faith is actually the attitude of believing something is real – true – trusted – even though it’s not happening yet, or we cannot see yet that it’s going to happen.

And I learn from my daily life, that living in faith is sometimes a bit ambiguous – there’s a temptation in the mind whether it’s a real faith, or am I trying to deny the truth and live in an illusion? :)

For sometimes I have decided that I want to learn to live by faith… the faith that the God I trust will never leave me alone… no matter how ridiculous I’ve been. However several times in a day – everyday, I have to make a decision whether I should believe in faith or I should choose to believe with what I can see in reality. I learn that to live by faith is challenging.

The common thing that I learn to believe is about life partner… that God already has someone who will match me… even though I cannot see him yet… I don’t know who he is, and I might have not meet him yet, but I believe he’s there – somewhere around the corner, as what one of my friend has ever told me (to be honest I wonder in which corner is he now? :p). Some people will say that I live in an illusion with this faith :p, but I’m glad that certain friends that I’m close with believe it like a faith. It’s funny that this faith strengthens me not to accept less than what I have believed I will get. And the faith from my friends for me… in a way strengthens my own faith. I start to see the faith is like a chain reaction in chemistry :p.

The more people share the same faith in one thing, the stronger the belief that it is true and happening. I consider faith is a like substance inside the human soul that can grow. Like a human cell, it can grow stronger, and on the other side it can become weak too. If we nourish the faith it will get stronger, but if we neglect the faith it will become weaker and sooner or later we cannot find it in us anymore.

To believe in something that we cannot see… is a real challenge for a human. We tend to believe what we can see or predict, and we have difficulties to trust what we cannot see with our human eyes or what we cannot understand by our human brain.

Somehow I believe that faith is the weapon to fight the illusion of impossibility. The belief of the impossibility is caused by the understanding that things is limited –it is limited by the lack of understanding, limited by the value believed (obviously we have to choose what kind of value we want to believe) and limited by the ability of human mindset to think.

I have faith that I will write more about faith from now on ;).

The Last Supper

These days, I often think about ‘the last supper’. It’s a story in the bible where Jesus had His last supper with all the disciples. It was the last moment before He was captured. It was His last time to be with those He loves, and He served them and taught them what to do in life. The last supper is a precious moment, which should be spent only with those we appreciate as the precious in our life, honoured to be with us for our last supper. As the supper itself, must be something precious in our life.

Back a few months ago… my grandfather had his last supper in the hospital. The last supper he had was his favorite porridge, and he passed away the next morning. It was his last food. And it was his daughter who feed him for his last supper… what a precious moment…

Now I’m thinking… what will be my last supper before I pass this life to another zone. And it’s not only about my last supper… but what have I done before I really pass through the other zone. I’m wondering whether I have spent times wisely or unwisely so far. Well, I know I have spent some good times… but I also know that I have been wasting my times for something. In fact I have been wasting my past few months for something that’s not worth for my life.

As life is like a long road, where we can see many things at the both side of the road… I have been stopping from my journey, for something that tempted me. However I know that thing doesnt give me any good, and it’s just stopping me from moving forward while I need to reach my final goal before I will have my last supper. It’s difficult for me to stand up, start walking to the door, and leave it as it is… now and never turn back the head.

I’m afraid… that when I have my last supper… it’s not the supper that I deserve to have… and not with the person that deserve me… If that’s the case… I have been totally wasting my life.

On my last supper… I should have the best food I really love… and I should enjoy it with the one who loves me dearly… well that’s it… no more illusion… I’m moving… I’m forcing my feet to move along… move… move… never be afraid to lose anything… because I do believe that after my last supper, I will get something precious ever… than anything in this current zone.

Good by past time, good bye present time… I’m moving along, approaching my last supper… to have something precious, and be with someone precious… and not with the illusion.

A Decision Away

Have you ever been in a situation, that you know you should make a decision, and live with it? You know what decision should be made, and what you should do, but still you cannot do it, because you don’t feel like you’re ready to let go certain conditions and things as the consequences of the decision?For the last few weeks, I’ve been struggling with my indecisive manner. It trapped me emotionally for things that I know logically I have to let go, and by heart I feel heavy to let it go. Well, there’s no toll road between the brain to the heart. Though it might only less than 30cm away (from your head to your heart), I feel it as a very long distance.

I’ve been thinking lately, what made me unable to make the decision that logically I already have all the answer in mind. The only answer that I can find is only ‘the uncontrollable emotion’. I let my emotion rule over my head… I let my emotion to control everything I do, and I also find that once I follow what my emotion wants to do, I always feel worst than the moment before. Every action following the emotion will drag me one step lower.

To fight my mind to win over my emotion, feels like an effort to pull an elephant from its own position. The more I drag the elephant with my own strength, the more desperate I will be… since it will not move at all. Only with a smart move, whispering something to the elephant… instead of pulling or pushing it away.

These days, I keep on whispering to my emotion… to move… move forward… walk… walk ahead… don’t look back, instead see up there…. There’s a better thing waiting… instead of something seems like a precious thing, but it’s unreal.

When the emotion trapped with the illusion, it’s only God that can help me out of the dark, since the illusion makes me blind. The illusion and the emotion, they can be a very good friend, a deception to a life, guide me to the darkest and lowest part of the life, where hurts, jealousy, anger, and all the negative feeling stay.

Dear Lord,
I need Your help
To move the mountain in my heart
To swipe the illusion away
To wake the emotion again
To listen to the Words spoken
So that my heart can be healed
No matter how damage it is now…
Please move it away…
Cos I know, this mountain hurts the heart a lot
And it hinders a better tomorrow to come
It’s only a decision away…
Blow it away… from now on till ever after…
Puff… gone… and never come back to my life
Thank you Lord
Amen.

Walking out of the comfort zone…

Today I learn something new, about choices. In our lives, we tend to stay with our ‘usual condition’ - which we usually call as a comfort zone. Moving out from the comfort zone, is a not an easy thing. Sometimes we need to move out from the comfort zone, though we are not so sure about the situation and condition, we need a faith inside us to guide us moving out to a better situation which status is still unknown/unsure.

For example, change to a better job… sometimes we’re so comfortable in our current job, though we know we don’t really like it, but at least we know how to control the situation, we tend to avoid moving out, and be in the stagnant position, and kill our best chance to grow. Another example, in a certain relationship, though we know it’s not going anywhere, but we’re afraid to let it go and find a new better chance, since we have fear inside how to adjust with a new person, or sometimes we’re just too lazy to start all over again, and choose to stay in the ‘not going anywhere’ relationship instead.

And I learn, when I choose to stay in the comfort zone, which not the perfect zone also… I have stopped the chance to have a better life …

I also learn that evaluating the current situation is important, while learning how the situation out there, which choices we have to approach is also important.

Start moving on, and making my dreams come true… is also a choice to get out from the comfort zone.

Today is one of the best day in my life… I learn something new… to leave the old me, and change to a new me. Though sometimes I don’t know what I will face in the days ahead, but with the faith inside that God is taking care, I am walking forward from everything else behind.

My best friends reminding me today… that I can reach the dreams I have in mind, that I deserve a better partner in life, that I deserve to be love and respected in the correct way, that I deserve a better chances to grow in every aspect in my life.

With all the loves sent to me, encouragement, prayers and wishes… they remind me that I’m so loved… and today I have decided, to completely moving on from the past to the future, and I’m walking my life in the present, without turning my head back to the past again. I’m walking out of my comfort zone in some certain area… heading to the unknown surprises ahead… which I know some will be a great surprises from my Father in heaven… I’m taking the risk :)

Last night I wish that I will be able to move my feet forward… and keep on walking with my faith in God… I know I will walk in joy and blessing… and able to vision what God intend me to see and do…

Thank you Lord
For the years you have given me
For all the blessings
For all the angels in forms of my friends
For all the love you gave to me
For all the comforts when I’m in need

I receive a lot of prayers in form of wishes…
From those who love me the most
They are one of the best present in my life
Thank you for sending them to me today
Thank you for loving me

Thank you for teaching me to move my feet out of the comfort zone

Amen.

Heaven on earth

Recently I learn about ‘How to choose the right partner’, from CD series, by Rev. Kong Hee. 12 CDs, with 6 topics. Interesting, yet realistic, and also difficult to do… He was talking about the purpose of partnership (in terms of a man and a woman relationship which involve romance), 8 types of relationships that will not work, 8 fatal mistakes in the relationship, 5 time bombs in compatibility, 7 qualities to find in a partner, and the last one is about compatibility and commitment.I was reminded, that I have a choice… my own choice to choose my own partner… as well as the other person… they have their own choice… it’s all a matter of choice… the choice that will lead you to the commitment of a life time.

When you choose the right partner, then it will be a “heaven on earth
When you choose the wrong partner, then it will be a “living hell

Rev. Kong Hee also taught that… marriage or living together… need a certain depth of emotional attach, understanding, communication, availability to each other and some other efforts to do. While trust and respect is the main thing to be there together with love (just exactly like what I have thought for long time - trust and respect)

We are supposed to make intelligence love choice, that we need to be wise, and learn to make the right choice. There’s no a perfect choice… but there is a right choice.

After hearing the teaching, I’m thinking where I am now, and what I’m doing with this ‘looking for the right partner’ process.

The last couple weeks… I learn a new thing… that to make a right choice… it takes time, and it will takes a good consideration, and I shouldn’t be in a rush to choose. I”m slowing down myself as a result… giving a chance to myself to understand further about the whole situation… before I make my important decision to choose what to do…

To know that someone that I love really care about me… it’s a big relieve… and it gives me hopes… and I learn to trust him… that with his own way, he will try to choose fairly for himself… and for the one that he really loves… and that each of us will go towards the ‘heaven of earth’… either together or with different partner for each of us…

To love is a blessing
Though today I should love from a far
But I know that this is not an illusion
It’s a reality, since I can feel the pain
When tears coming out of my heart
Yet I can feel peaceful
To know that he cares
To know that he will be there for me
To know that he will always keeps his eyes on me
May God help each of us
To make each of our decision… on the right time… for the right choices…
So we will reach the ‘heaven on earth’ by the end
Thanks for letting me know that you care

Marriage and Commitment

Last year, I wrote my thought about marriage and commitment. By that time I didn’t know what exactly my point of view about marriage and commitment.

These days, the thought coming back to me, and I found something quite interesting, that in every marriage, there’s always a hardship, the cinderella story - forever and ever - is not there, and it needs a lot of effort from both side, awareness to work on the hardship coming should be there, or else.

To get married, or to stay in a long time commitment, is a big decision, where I think (as for myself) a careful thought should be made. I’ve seen people’s marriages. Some fails, some succeed, some struggling, and some others are great. From them I learn a lot of things, and the most important thing is that I need an equal partner. It means that both side, should have at least a basic fundamental agreement on how to walk on the journey together… such as how to solve the problems appear, how to understand each other, how to communicate to each other, etc. I also realize that there’s no instant equal partner, we all have to learn to grow together along the journey, understanding each other, and learn to adjust to each other. Love is needed, but I don’t think that I will get married just because of love.

I learn that love is the requirement for the marriage and commitment, because when you love someone, you will learn to give the best to the one you love. So I still have to review what kind of love offered… selfish love, or the pure love (though it’s very rare these days, I still believe it is exist somehow).

I’ve learnt from some close friends, by seeing their marriage lives, there are a common thing in their marriage:
- Trust is exist in their relationship
- Respect towards each other exist in their relationship
- Love - the type of giving love to each other also exist in their relationship
- Communication exist in a healthy way
- Vision - the couple has made a vision together as the goal of their journey together

And at the same time, I learn from those who have failed in their marriage:
- No trust to each other, or at least to one of the person
- No respect towards each other, or at least to one of the person
- No communication, everyone is talking, or one is keep on talking, and the other one rarely talk, or both rarely talk

The last one week, I’ve been thinking about whether I would like to participate myself in a marriage stage (life time commitment), the answer is YES, IF I can find someone who has the prospect of being an equal partner. And I also realize that I’m not in a hurry… well regarding my age which is over 30… I’m not afraid anymore, to spend more time to look carefully for the possible future equal partner for marriage, for it is a life time commitment. I have no time limit now, as I need to find someone that I can trust, respect, and have a good communication with, and able to learn to grow together. I know it will takes time to find one ;).

Marriage life doesn’t seem so scary anymore to me, and at the same time it is not an urgent thing to do :).

Love is a simple thing
Yet it feels so complicated
To commit to love in whatever situation
Need a faith that one is able

What is love without a trust?
What is love without a respect?
What is love without a good communication?
Love is nothing without cares

I do have the love for one
But I do not have a communication
While trust and respect still left unanswered
Should I wait?
Should I walk?
Still remain unanswered
Deep down inside something is whispering
To walk on faith
Let all alone

Recognizing Fear

Just recently I realize that I live in fear. Fear about so many things, those out of my control. The fear bridges me to insecurity. The insecure feelings bring a lot of negativity. And I become a control freak for things that I can control, and feel so depress for things that I cannot control. The fear led me to nowhere, inability to choose a path to go and commit myself to things I choose. For months I’m searching what has been wrong. With a help from a best friend, I dig out the root of the problem. The fear of losing the precious things I already have, and the fear of not being able to get the thing I wish to have in life. Including the fear to experience the unpleasant things that had happened to me in the past - trauma.

The fear… halt me to reach my future. It blocks my feet to step forward. Because I fear that I will step on the wrong side.

A few days ago, one morning as I was doing my daily devotion, I read the writing titled “The Only Right Kind of Fear”, written by Joyce Meyer (New Day, New You). Joyce wrote that there’s only one right kind of fear described in the bible - the reverential fear and awe of God. The fear of God. Fearing God doesn’t mean being afraid of Him or believing He is going to hurt you. It is a type of godly respect that involves reverential fear and awe. If you have a reverent and worshipful fear, you will obey. You will do what God says to do, and your confidence and trust in Him will continue to grow. Having a referential fear and awe of God has a positive effect on our relationships with other people.

Yesterday afternoon, while I’m enjoying my quiet time by reading one of Paulo Coelho’s book, Brida… I read a paragraph describing about fear. When Brida always thinking that she might regret the choices she has made. She’s afraid of committing herself, and she ended up following no paths in her life. Even in the most important area in her life, love, she has failed to commit herself. She feared the pain, loss and separation.

And today as I think over my life… I hardly move myself from the present time to the future… because of fear… just like Brida… I fear the pain, the loss and the separation. I fear that I have made the wrong choices.

In conclusion, I realize that I should only fear of God. A worshipful fear to God. Instead of fearing the uncontrollable things I face in life. I shouldn’t fear about what I have now that might gone one day… I shouldn’t fear about my job, money, love and life. For as long as I do my job as if I’m doing it for God… God will bless me with wonderful chances… as long as I manage my finance in the ‘right’ way, I shouldn’t be afraid that I will have no money… as long as I learn to love in the ‘right’ way, I shouldn’t be afraid that I will be hurt… and as long as I learn to listen to the secret that my soul whisper to me, I shouldn’t be afraid that I’m choosing the wrong path. I’m learning to live in faith… that God is in control.