Expanding waistlines...

We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink... ~Epicurus

Everyone's New Year resolution: to lose weight! Or at least lose some flabs... Some announce it publicly, others deny it but secretly hope to do the same. After a few months, most give up... it's just too difficult. With all kinds of different food we have, it's virtually impossible. Coupled with the many lunches, dinners, tea breaks that I have had since the beginning of the year, sigh.. I submit to the inevitable.

It's a good problem, actually... What do people normally do when they meet up with their friends? Eat! Drink! Think about it. There's just something about spending time over meals. For one, it's much easier to talk sitting down than to talk and walk. It's also more personal than chatting over the telephone or the internet. Eating & drinking also serve as a punctuation, or a pause to conversation.. or even the topic of conversation!

The year started with a New Year dinner... followed by the Chinese New Year season, whereby food was unavoidable. There were also some dinner gatherings with friends when food was in abundance. There's really nothing like coming together and enjoying food together, taking time to eat as well as enjoying the pleasure of each other's company. Some conversations were meaningful, others fun. Each of them, however, were opportunities to discover something more about someone else.

So, although I may be somewhat vain, I think an expanding waistline is a small price to pay for getting to know people. I have discovered that every once in a while, if I am open to it, I find gems in different people. People whom I never thought I'd be friends with. People who are total opposites to who I am. It's definitely worth it. Getting to know people takes time and effort.. and food! Now, all I need is some sit-ups, a little time on the bike and occasional swims...

The Anchor Holds

"which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil,"
-- Hebrews 6:19

Someone once asked me what I could not live without. After a pause, I answered, "Hope". Why hope? Imagine a life without hope. Imagine a life without anything to look forward to. Imagine a life that is like today's modern web publishing term: "WYSIWYG" -- what you see is what you get. Imagine being stuck where you are, and that things will never get any better. Imagine.. could you live like that? Could you survive?

I know I couldn't. Starting this blog, I was thinking of an apt title, when I came across the verse above. It jumped right out at me. It's been my "motto" in life, if you like, just that I had not seen it before. Such a wonderful depiction of hope -- an anchor of the soul. Hope does for the soul what an anchor does for a ship. It makes it sure and steadfast. When the storm comes, with its strong winds and tempestous waves, the anchor keeps the ship steady. Otherwise, it will definitely be tossed about, torn into pieces... shipwrecked. Same with our souls. When we face trials, tribulations and the storms of life, hope keeps us from being crushed, so that we do not become shipwrecked in our faith.

But what do we hope in? Like the anchor, we must put our hope in the right place. The anchor must be dropped into the sea bed firmly so that the ship will hold in the midst of a storm. The sea bed is unmovable. Likewise, we must put out hope in something that is unmovable and unchangeable. In this world that we are living in, things change so quickly. Riches are uncertain, as are material things. Unfortunately, even relationships are uncertain. We cannot put our hope in these, as they will disappoint at one point or another. We must put our hope in God. He never changes. He is always there. He does not decide to move away one day!

A good old song by Ray Boltz, "The anchor holds" depicts a strong steadfastness in the midst of a tempestous storm. The chorus goes:-

The anchor holds

Though the ship is battered

The anchor holds

Though the sails are torn

I have fallen on my knees

As I faced the raging seas

The anchor holds

In spite of the storm

I'm glad that God does not see me as "WYSIWYG". Otherwise, I would have been a lost case. I must admit, I have the tendency to try to fix things myself when going through problems, only to make them worse. I have come to realise more and more, to put my hope in God. When I do so, I have this calm assurance in my heart that although the situation may not change, I can rely and depend on God to help me go through it. It's the most secure place to be. It's not easy, but it works for me.

How about you? Who, or what do you hope in? Is it secure?

Blue!

"I'm so blue... hoo... hoo... blue... hoo... hoo... blue...
I'm so blue... I don't know what to do..."
--- Madam Blueberry, VegeTales.

Exactly my sentiments at times! Probably coz blue's my favourite colour, and the colour of my wall.... and I have Van Gogh's Irises hung up on it. But then again, blue's the colour of the sky.. and when people say "blue skies" they mean everything's going well with them. Blue's also the colour of heaven, where I am destined to be someday, by God's grace. It also symbolizes the Holy Spirit and authority. Now you know why "power suits" are sometimes blue too. There's also the blues music -- born out of the oppression of the African Americans, during those days where the slaves made music to drown their sorrows...

Versatility.. that's what blue is.. and what I'd like to be. It explains why I'm interested in many things, but have not really found my 'niche'. Master of none, really. Sometimes it's really frustrating, but sometimes it's OK... I guess I'm still tuning in to my very own "Discovery Channel". Still learning something new everyday.. oh well.. that can't be bad.

So, it's likely that when I am in my "blue" state I'll write here. With a melancholic streak like mine, it's no surprise... My thoughts run faster than my fingers can type sometimes... but then again, it can be all nonsense, which doesn't matter anyway. Hopefully, I will learn to unravel the mysteries of my complicated brain through this process..

There is hope yet...! :)