Things I'll Always Have To Live With

• Managing my own finances.
• Learning.
• Taking a cold shower before a swim.
• Getting up in the morning.
• Saying when enough is enough and let some things go.
• Getting anxious before exams.
• Dying to myself each day.
• To take the courageous option.
• To take the most loving option.

We can't delegate to people these things. It's not a comprehensive list, but it's something I realize that I have to contend with the rest of my life.

Happy Holidays? I Prefer Merry Christmas

It's becoming a trend especially in the USA not to greet people with the term "Merry Christmas". This is because companies fear offending people who view it as a religious term against their belief systems (atheists, agnostics and anyone else). Granted, perhaps another reason may be using it as a catch-all term to include Hanukkah as well.

I find it funny that in "Christian" USA this is happening.

The term "Happy Holidays" just seems so cheap, it doesn't provide any feeling of the season being special. I mean, it could be used anytime of the year, memorial day, spring break, school holidays, your vacation to Bali.

Even though Santa Claus is a caricature of St. Nicholas, I still can't imagine him wishing everyone "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".

"Merry Christmas" brings a feel of warmth of joy and love and peace and goodwill. How can that even compare to "Happy Holidays"? Fine, so some people may use "Seasons Greetings" but what does that mean? Can we use that to welcome Spring, Summer, and Autumn too? How about, "Festive Greetings"? Close--but which festival?

Even in Malaysia and Singapore when Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Puasa coincided, we used both terms or the amalgam Kongsi-Raya.

So, therefore I think we should be more tolerant to the term Merry Christmas.

Humility

The true end of humility is self-forgetfulness. If we think it is some kind of opinion of ourselves, that believing that our talents are truly less than what they are, we are believing in a falsehood. It is dishonest.

We are not humble if we are beautiful and handsome and then think we are ugly. Or that we are stupid when we are clever.

Humility is rejoicing in a work whether it is from our own hands or from anothers.

God wants us to be able to rejoice in all things because it is good and excellent.

Think of yourself as a good architect, programmer, accountant or artist. And then forget about it. Humility however, isn't about trying to think that we are bad or incompetent.

To be proud of yourself, you might as well be proud of the colour of your hair. Because your talents are given to you.

Turn your attention outward, not to yourself.