Meet The Sigma Effect... again. Apparently there was a confusion at the Battle of the Bands. They are in fact, First Runners-Up! Congratulations, Sigma Effect!
I'm really proud of my brother and his friends; this is one step closer to the Grammys!
When I think of Second Place, I feel it should neither be a plateau nor a crushing end. There have been so many Second Places this year: the debate team, the choir, The Sigma Effect, Gustave's Silver Medal in Solo Acting. I remember my seconds too; the Scrabble Nationals in 2004, and my Impromptu Silver last year, among others.
To me, Second Place is the anticipation of greater things. For the Forensics, my Gold Medal eventually came. But I never expected nor worked for it, in the year that I won it (this year). I think victories often surprise us; I was blessed enough to see the V.I. reclaim the Rafidah Aziz shield at the Forensics in my final year as a student.
* * * * *
An education fair has been going on in school over the past two days. One thought that struck me, amidst all the promotions and advertising, was this:
A degree in something that is marketable, may not be what you want to study. I say, go for passion. The market will always be there; what's more, it will always be changing. But passion is fleeting; capture it and make something of it, or let it pass forever.
Henry David Thoreau said, and I agree: "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
* * * * *
I finished Blue Like Jazz a few days ago. Sunday, I think. My favourite chapter is also the shortest in the book, spanning only six pages. It is the chapter on Worship. Here's one of my favourite passages in the book:
It comforts me to think that if we are created beings, the thing that created us would have to be greater than us, so much greater, in fact, that we would not be able to understand it. It would have to be greater than the facts of our reality, and so it would seem to us, looking out from within our reality, that it would contradict reason. But reason itself would suggest it would have to be greater than reality, or it would not be reasonable.
And Donald Miller ends the chapter with what I think it the most honest, candid, open and inviting call to follow God I have ever heard:
And wonder is that feeling we get when we let go of our silly answers, our mapped out rules that we want God to follow. I don't think there is any better worship than wonder.
* * * * *
The Poetry Speaks Calendar featured this rather melancholic poem on August 15. I like its simplicity.
Summer Evening
By Walter de la Mare
The sandy cat by the Farmer's chair
Mews at his knee for dainty fare;
Old Rover in his moss-greened house
Mumbles a bone, and barks at a mouse.
In the dewy fields the cattle lie
Chewing the cud 'neath a fading sky.
Dobbin at manger pulls his hay:
Gone is another summer's day.
* * * * *
Today, at the Chairmen-Prefects-Old Boys' dialogue session at the VIOBA (VI Old Boys' Association) Clubhouse, I thought of this year's Sports Day. It was my very last Sports Day as a student, and I really wanted to go for it. Unfortunately the ISKL SEA Forensics Finals were on the same day; whole day.
In retrospect, I feel both a sense of regret and yet, also of non-regret. Whatever the case, I chose my path. And in many ways I am glad I did what I did.
By the way, Mr Chung Chee Min has uploaded the True Victorians 2000-2006 photo onto the VI website. Click here to view.
* * * * *
I began typing this entry in the evening at 6.14 p.m. before leaving with Mum for the Ravi Zacharias talk at church. Dr Ravi is indeed an inspiring speaker, and his message was themed 'A Mirror of the Soul'; whether or not it was suggested to him by the church, or not, I do not know.
He began by asking, "Who are you? What does it mean to be you? You cannot find fulfilment unless you know what you're fashioned for." And he drew three lessons from the Wilderness Wanderings of the Israelites en route to the Promised Land; namely, Humility, Spirituality and Faith.
On Humility: Don't offend those you want to reach out to, for what's a flower without a nose to smell it?
Philippians chapter 2 speaks of Christ's humility.
Ian Blaicklock (not sure if I got the spelling right) said, "God alone knows how to humble without humiliating and praise without flattering."
On Spirituality: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God," as Moses wrote in Deuteronomy. These were the words quoted by Jesus when tempted in the desert.
And Jesus said, "If you abide in my word, you are my disciples; then you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free." Winston Churchill said, "Truth is so valuable that it is guarded by a bodyguard of lies."
If on this earth we yearn for our parents to say, "Well done," how much more then will we yearn for our Heavenly Father's "Well done!"
On Faith: A student in New York University asked, "How do I know that I exist?" And Professor Nathan replied, "And who may I know is asking?"
The question is not whether or not we live by faith, but in whom is our faith. Joshua said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
And Paul said, "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it to the day of Jesus Christ," and elsewhere, "I bear in my body the marks of Christ Jesus."
Dr Ravi ended with the story of a Vietnamese friend of his called Yen, who was brainwashed by the Communists. And just as he was about to give up on God, he was sent by the commanding officer to work in the latrines, just to make sure there would be no escape for the young Christian's mind. But there in the latrines, amidst all the shit, Yen found scraps of pages from the Bible.
That which the commanding officer used as toilet paper, Yen used for his devotions. The first piece he found was from the book of Romans, chapter 8. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes." "For we know that nothing... in all creation can stand between us and the love that is in Christ Jesus."
Finally he closed with this quote: "Put your hand in the hand of God; it shall be better than a light in the night, and safer than the known."
* * * * *
Safer than the known... sounds like Miller's thoughts on worship in Blue Like Jazz. It's almost as if the whole Christian experience is about throwing ourselves into a reality beyond us, into something we will never understand, into Someone who is beyond comprehension, but who knows us in and out. We reach for God because he reaches for us.
There is one more thought along these lines, and I quote from Li-Shia's blog:
Thank You for listening when troubles cloud my mind; thank You for wanting to care. For all the encouragement and point of views. Especially when it came to doing the Right Thing and in having faith in people. You’ve been great!
One thing I’ve learnt is that we will not progress if we always cling on to what’s ‘traditional’. Once in a blue moon, we should budge--walk out of the Circle, close our eyes, take a deeeeep breath...
...and jump.
You might like it very much.
And jump... Reminds me of Steven Curtis Chapman's song, 'Dive', which speaks of diving into the unknown. Its chorus goes;
I'm diving in, I'm going deep
In over my head, I wanna be
Caught in the rush, lost in the flow
In over my head, I wanna go
So sink or swim, I'm diving in
And the words, "Thank You." Words I think we do not utter enough. Words we do not utter enough to God. Li-Shia has paved the way; let us follow in offering our thanksgiving to Him alone who is worthy.
* * * * *
Oh, two more thoughts from Li-Shia's blog.
"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness."
--Friedrich Nietzsche
Yes, there is reason in madness, simply because what is 'mad' to us may actually reflect the greater reality of which we are ignorant. This world does not operate on man's laws and logic, but on the will of the Almighty.
And I think poor Chris Martin needs to go for vocal lessons.
Interestingly, that is one of the things I actually like about Coldplay: Chris Martin's rather stretched and torn vocals. And I think this is one of the elements of Coldplay that make people compare them with U2, for Bono doesn't quite have a wonderful voice either, to say the least.
But it was Bono and U2, not Alicia Keys or Celine Dion, who taught me to feel. They're not going to win any singing competitions, surely, but Coldplay and U2 are truly atmospheric bands that succeed despite technical flaws. At any rate, I'll bet Coldplay will become extinct the day Chris Martin sounds like Josh Groban or Michael Buble!
Actually, lately I find that I prefer Petra to U2. But U2 still write some of the best songs I've ever heard, and the intro of 'Where the Streets Have No Name' is still the finest intro of any song I've ever heard.
* * * * *
In closing;
1. I won't be blogging till perhaps Saturday or Sunday, when I shall return with my reflections on Ephesians.
2. God has arranged a meeting with me at the Pavilion/School Field tomorrow. He wants to go through Ephesians with me.
3. Just as we forgive and are forgiven, let us be bold to intercede for one another; to stand up for our enemies just as we do for our friends.
4. In all things, be not afraid to be honest and speak the thoughts of your heart. (I really felt that God was serious about this when the thought came.)
No comments:
Post a Comment