World Class Passion And Enthusiasm

I guess I should give myself a pat on my back for just passing the mark of 100 postings on my blog. Although some of them are shorter in length than the others, they are all the same, my babies. Writing is a gift - a gift of self-healing, self-analysing and self-learning. And it should be put to good use for the benefit of all.

I don't have to look much further than vocal expression - or rather public speaking - as an alternative medium that I delight in, although sadly, I cannot claim to excel in. There are too many similarities between the two but are not exactly the points of this entry.

I had the fortune of attending a workshop, "Survival skills for the future" conducted by a gentleman, Mr. Jeffrey Goh. Jeffrey is an ex-military man, a wonderful speaker and an ardent Christian, I must say. Especially the last bit about him being a Christian; he was firmly against pre-marital sex and all for chastity - putting me to shame - although I wasn't too sure he meant it for men too. But that is another story. One of Jeffrey's greatest strength was not his storytelling skills - although it was by no means mediocre - but his ability to motivate. From the start, Jeffery came on us hard on the subject of self-worth. Our life starts with a race with the other million of sperms swimming towards the core of our mother's womb, the egg waiting to be fertilised. And somehow, you are the only one of the million who has the extra energy and grit to edge ahead and penetrate the egg. We all have to be good "swimmers" then. Indeed, we are all born winners who are created by no small miracle. And we are all unique individuals, as no way can the human species exists with perfection in our genes - we will be too alike to carry on the line then.

We often don't realise how fortunate we are. With the recent spate of big-scale natural disasters - earthquakes, hurricanes, and what you have - and the on-going, dragging as expected Iraq war, this world is turning into a charnel house of some sort. The war alone to-date has taken away some 2,000 Americans and 30,000 Iraqis, three quarter of which are civilians. And here I am, comfortably under a solid rooftop, with ample food and a warm bed. There is nothing much more that we could ask for. The fact is human life is more fragile than ever, yet subconsciously we still believe we are as ever immortal. Our urbanized jungle fills with skyscrapers and cements paths, does not help much, playing up a somewhat surreal, permanently indestructible setting. I realised we often fail to see how precious our lives are. The way I see it, being alive is already an achievement.

PS: Kudos to Mr. Jeffrey for his world class passion and enthusiasm. I thank you.