手的預言

風箏飛，葉落下，
拳頭的世界如此大。

線纏繞，樹長大，
手掌留住了風，
握不住一粒沙。

我的左手是貓，右手是撫慰的力量。
你讓我輕輕的合掌，喚來舊時光。
閉上眼，就地捲起海浪，奔向紙月亮，
追逐一頭大雨中的狼。

蝴蝶飛，浪退潮。
手打開，
不害怕匱乏。

Perfectly Paralyzed by Procrastination

I've never thought of myself as a perfectionist. One would only have to peer into my office to understand why.

My office has the appearance of chaos, confusion and disorder. "Appearance" is the operative word. I find the chaos to be completely functional. I rely on my own, unique organizational theory: It's better occasionally to waste time searching for items than regularly to waste time keeping the place tidy with everything meticulously filed.

I know what you're thinking. My mother didn't agree with my theory either.

I admit that I struggle with procrastination. But me, a perfectionist? Hardly. A perfectionist is someone who does everything perfectly. I only think about doing things perfectly.

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to hear what Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California, had to say on this subject. A procrastinator, says Warren, is nothing more than a frustrated perfectionist.

A perfectionist is convinced she must prove her worth by being perfect. A perfectionist craves approval. Warren contends it's the fear of not being able to perform perfectly that leads to procrastination. And procrastination eventually leads to paralysis.

There are times I can stare into my computer screen for hours on end without completing a single sentence. Even though I have a clear-cut subject, a semi-brilliant conclusion and a general idea of how I plan to get there, until I perfect my first paragraph, I'm paralyzed.

Have you ever felt paralyzed by your procrastination? Perhaps perfectionism is at the root of the problem.

Perfectionism can keep us from moving forward, but it doesn't have to be that way. There are antidotes for perfectionism.

1. Believe that no one is perfect. You will liberate yourself when you lower your expectations from perfect to realistic. Don't be afraid to make a mistake. You don't have to be perfect to be happy.

2. Let go and let God handle things. It takes a lot of faith to let go of those things over which we have no control.

3. Learn contentment. Life must be lived in less than perfect circumstances. Accept that. Love the moment, and enjoy the journey. Dump the pressure that says you must be perfect to be accepted.

It's time to break out of your prison of perfectionism. Identify what you need to do and take the first step. Even if you fall flat on your face, you will have gained at least five feet. Then take the second step, and the third. Before you know it, you will be making terrific progress. Not perfection, but progress!

September 12, 2010

©Copyright 2010 Mary Hunt.

Leftovers of Johor Bahru

A thought came to my mind after working in JB for a while and could this happen in the future?

It seems that the 2nd generation christians are getting more educated and affluent. Especially those who went overseas & SG to study, most of us went to SG to work, having in mind that one day we would settle down in JB when we have earned enough, or when the SG government bond has ended. But so far I observed that none of us have really bought into our initial plan, eventually we decided to build a nest in SG for the sake of a continuing career and education of children in SG. And we raise SG kids, thinking that probably they will be like us, still treating JB as a home and coming back to JB every weekend, or not.

Over time, our parents will pass on, leaving their houses for us to stay in JB for the weekend, our children will grow up in SG but i'm not sure whether they still fancy the idea of coming back to JB in the weekends when their friends and activities are all in SG. So the older generation has passed on, there won't be any need to come to JB anymore, family and friends will be based in SG.

Nothing wrong with that, it's personal choice & family planning.

Just wondering if our fathers has passed on this value to us, that JB is merely a leftover, do study and work hard so that we don't have to be in JB. You only remain in JB when there are no opportunities outside or to maintain family business. JB is only for getting by. Of course there are special prayer days in church and revival meetings to desire for a change in the society, but we are sending our children off elsewhere because JB is not good enough. Really. There's something wrong in the education system, so we send our children to private/home schools or to SG. The society, politics, safety & education will not improve much, just thank God it doesn't get worse. JB is simply not worth it, has the passing remark became a core belief unknowingly. The older generation will slowly fade away, the excellent young bloods will be encouraged or even expected to be in overseas, just wondering what will be the future of JB & its churches in the next 30 years.. Will it very silently evolved to be the subtle leftover city?