The Ant Philosophy

Ants, the barely noticeable creature crawling around our house busily going about their own business. In fact, we seem to ignore their existence and brush them off as of little importance to us. A gentle finger tab from us and we would have ended their life. What is so special about this little creature that God had created to live among us?

Quite special actually as it is even mentioned in the Holy Bible as God uses it to demonstrate some important characteristics that we, the bigger creature, can learn from.

Proverbs 6:6 "Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!"

Recently, I heard about the ant philosophy from the famous business philosopher, Jim Rohn, and I was intrigued by what we can learn from ants. So, below is a lists of qualities that we can certainly learn from such a simple creature and adopt its philosophy to improve our life.

1. Ants never quit.

If you ever observe the ant trail, your inner evil-self would probably scream to you to disturb the trail. You would put some obstacle to block their movement just for the fun of it. But guess what, the ant will continue their march. They will go over, go under or go around the obstacle to resume their mission. Nothing can stop them as they simply never quit. 

Lesson: Don't give up easily in your life pursuit. Find ways to go over, go under or even go around the challenges you face in the pursuit of something worthwhile in life. 

2. Ants think about winter all summer. 

When it is summer and the food are plenty, the ants work really hard to gather as much food as possible. Not because they eat a lot, but because they intend to store it to last them through the winter. They know that it won't be summer forever and they have to prepare for the future.

Lesson: Think and prepare for the future. When you're in good times, always save and plan for the future because to think it'll be summer forever is foolish.

3. Ants think about summer all winter.

During winter, ants survive with foods that they have stored and hibernate through the season. They will conserve their energy, effort and go through the tough time with less food while looking forward to summer again. And, at the first sign of summer, they will become active and go all out of their nests and resume their activity again.

Lesson: Have a positive attitude especially when you're in crisis and be more watchful of your resources. Always look forward to summer as winter too shall pass. And when it's summer again, be ready to head out with everything you've got.

4. Ants gather as much as they possibly can 

When it's summer, ants will gather as much food as possible. They don't have time to fool around, but instead, concentrate all their effort to gather as much as possible. They don't mind carrying heavy loads back and forth from their nest as long as they can gather all that they possibly can.

Lesson: Have a good work ethic and give 100% in whatever you are doing. Don't waste your time idling around and complaining. Give all that you possibly can and always contribute as much as you can. 

5. Ants work together as a team

When ants found a big portion of food (big insects, worms, etc.), they work together as a team to carry it into their nest. By itself, a single ant couldn't carry it, but when they work together, they can carry a much heavier load to their desired destination. They understand the need for them to work together for the success and survival of their colony. 

Lesson: Each of us is uniquely created and thus there a lot of ways for us to do things. But try as we may, there will always be better ways to do things when we gather our resources and work as a team. It will make the job easier & faster. Remember this quote from Helen Keller, "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much"

Do ponder and adopt this ant philosophy into your life to improve yourself. I'll leave you with this awesome video of ants.

A Love Story Better Than The 1997 Titanic Movie

I've just finished reading the book "Desire" by John Eldredge and fell in love with the love story from the Bible as explained by the author. It was interesting to read about it as it contains all the ingredients of a great love story that would make the 1997 Titanic movie pale in comparison. 

I was truly shocked at the things mentioned as well. So, to capture all those interesting and shocking elements of the love story, I'll list them down in point form for easier reading.

• In the beginning, God gave us the highest freedom of all - the freedom to reject Him! This is because love is only possible when it is freely chosen. And as we all know, Adam and Eve disobey God and reject Him. Thus, marked the beginning of the love story when God starts the journey to woo us back and to make us his queen.

• And somewhere in the journey, comes the betrayal! We have turned our back against Him. The Hebrews thought God would be satisfied by the religious rituals and rule-keeping, but God calls them "adulterous wife" instead. The hero's heart has been broken. God is filled with jealousy that can only be found from a lover who has been rejected. The lover in this case is God. In fact, God termed this betrayal as prostitution as found in Jeremiah 13:25-27

25 This is your lot, the portion I have decreed for you," declares the LORD, "because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods. 

26 I will pull up your skirts over your face that your shame may be seen-- 

27 your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution! I have seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean?"

 

• But like all great love story, it doesn't end there (with divorce). True love never fails as it always persevere. The Old Testament ends with God's promise of reconciliation.

• The days of reconciliation comes with the arrival of Jesus Christ who announce himself as the perfect bridegroom. He says to us "I am going there to prepare a place for you. And, if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (sounds like a marriage proposal). In their culture, once a suitor secured the hand of his bride, he will return to his father's house and build additional room as their bridal suite, thus, preparing a place for her. When it's ready, he will come for her and take her to be with him.

Isn't it a great love story? It might seem like a simple love story with a climax on our betrayal, but it is the truth! 

How many of us have rejected and remain rejecting Him? How many of us have trusted in our beauty and fame to become prostitute? We lavished our favors on anyone who passed by and our beauty become theirs.

It is truly shocking to me as we had committed adultery. A disloyal & cheating spouse we are! We might be loyal and never cheated our husband or wife, but do ponder this.

We are cheating to God...

A Solitary Place That Works

A solitary place is defined as a place where one can be alone, without any companions and unattended. Being an introvert who thrives in an environment of loneliness and unaccompanied, I find a strong compulsion for me to spend some time in that quiet place. For me, it is a place where I can gather my thoughts to process certain issues, lessons, philosophies and even problems. 

Working in an office full with colleagues, I hardly have time to really think of certain work-related issues apart from settling the issues with the known, safe and standard solution. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I believe sometimes we could all use a little creativity in our problem-solving skills to try new approach and who knows, we might stumble upon better and more efficient ways of solving things. 

A solitary place could also help me to reflect and ponder upon my next move, be it in career path, relationships, life goals, personal development etc. With our life moving at such a fast pace, we hardly have time to stop and check our compass to really determine the direction we're heading to. This is dangerous as we might reach the destination which we didn't intend to go to in the first place.  

For me to engage in such a deep thinking, I need my solitary place. A place with no interruptions from colleagues, phone calls, emails and smartphones. A place where nobody recognizes me to engage me in a conversation. A place where there's no noise. A place where nothing distract me.

So, I've come out with a list of criteria of a solitary place that works for me.

• A place/spot which is quiet, free from the talking or conversations of people. It doesn't have to be a place with no human at all although that might work too but it does have to be quiet. Soft music is acceptable too as long as it's not too loud.

• It has to be a place where none of my friends/acquaintances might go. Else, we might greet one another and sit for a chat. Or even worst, being in a place with an acquaintance whom I barely know sitting not far from me. I might wave my hands as a sign of greeting or say hi but after that, I don't know how to proceed with the encounter which results in an awkward situation. I could try to talk to them though we might have nothing in common to talk about. Or I could continue with whatever I'm doing but I can't totally ignore them which puts me in a difficult and awkward situation. Either way, that effectively kills off my visit to the solitary place. 

• A place which is comfortable for me. Comfortable in terms of the surrounding temperature with comfortable chairs and/or tables. I've tried sitting on a bench facing a river with the wind gently blows through the surrounding. It seems like a perfect spot for me. But after a few minutes, I started to get uncomfortable as the heat from the sun starts to make me sweat. Needless to say, I haven't been there since.

• If that place happens to be cafes or coffee shops, it would be a bonus if it serves really great coffee. As a coffee lover, I enjoy sipping the aroma-rich drinks while sorting my mind through complicated issues. But generally, cafes or coffee shops are not a good place to engage in deep thinking activities. There might be a lot of customers moving in and out of the shops while conversing with one another which distract me.

Based on the above criteria, I've managed to find a few solitary place that's perfect for me. Hopefully the above rules can be a guidance for you to find your own solitary place. 

Simple Ways To Change Between UPPERCASE & lowercase

Ever typed a sentence or even a whole paragraph while accidentally left your caps lock on? 

Or even typed a few pages of reports using lowercase and suddenly your boss wants it all to be in uppercase?

In this post, I'm gonna share how I change sentences or even paragraphs from uppercase to lowercase or whatever case you want in a much simpler way. There are plenty of resources on the internet on how to do so, but some involve formula (especially when using Excel) which I find troublesome. 

I'll be addressing those solutions for the 3 most widely used program for typing which is Microsoft Office Words, PowerPoint & Excel.

A. Microsoft Words

There are 2 ways to solve this problem when using MS Words.

1) Without Using Keyboard

• Click on the icon shown and select the desired case 

OR

2) Using Keyboard

• Highlight the words
• Press Shift+F3

B. Microsoft PowerPoint

It is exactly the same with using Microsoft Words.

1) Without Using Keyboard

• Click on the icon shown and select the desired case

OR

2) Using Keyboard

• Highlight the words
• Press Shift+F3

C. Microsoft Excel

Out of the 3, this is the tricky one. But I promise, no formula involve.

1) When connected to the internet

• Go to http://convertcase.net/
• Paste you highlighted words there and click the desired case adjustment there.
• Paste it back onto the Excel sheet

OR

2) Not connected to the internet

• Highlight your words
• Paste it onto MS Words / PowerPoint
• Change to your desired case using the above method
• Paste it back onto MS Excel

There you have it. The easiest way for me (so far) to change between uppercase & lowercase with no formula whatsoever.

Hope it is useful.

What You Need To Know About Love Languages

I was introduced to a book about relationships a few years back. Now, as an avid learner in the field of self-help, I must admit I've never read any book about relationships before. So rather reluctantly I read through the whole book and it opened up my eyes! 

I would dare say if there is only one book about relationships that you're going to read this year, it should be this - "The 5 Love Languages" by Dr Gary Chapman.

What Is It About?

In this book, Dr Chapman who's a counsellor noticed that everyone has a love language, which is the primary way for them to express and perceive love. Some people might show their love in a different way than us. 

Why is this important? Because if we fail to learn their love language and dismiss whatever love gestures that they do for us, we'll hurt them very badly as they feel that their love has been rejected. He goes on to say that if we are able to speak to our spouse/partner in their native love language, they'll feel loved and vice versa. Thus, came the concept of the 5 love languages.

What Are The 5 Love Languages?

1) Words of Affirmation

This language involves the use of words such as giving encouragement, compliment and appreciations to demonstrate love. Simple kind compliments such as "You look great in that suit" or "I love your cooking" will make their day and make them feel loved. Mind you, the harsh words that we use towards those whose love language is words of affirmation can be devastating. 

2) Quality Time

Those who speak this language will feel loved when we spend time together with them in a quality companionship. Spending time together means more than physically near to one another. It is about paying our undivided attention to our spouse, engaging in quality heart-to-heart talks as well as doing quality activities together. Having a candlelight dinner in a luxurious restaurant while playing your smartphones is NOT a quality time activity

3) Gifts

Some people like to give and receive gifts. If any of your friends or even your spouse are one of them, their love language could be gifts. The gifts need not be expensive. Thoughtful gifts be it free or expensive could make them feel secure and loved. Do take note that when these people give you gifts, accept it with appreciation and gratitude. It's their way of showing love. Do NOT brush it off by saying "Oh, you don't have to give me any gift" or "I've a lot of those already so please keep it". 

4) Physical Touch

This goes beyond just sex. A simple hug or hand-holding when conveys love to those who speak this language. A gentle body-to-body brush when you pass by your spouse,  playing footsie under the table and giving them a massage speaks volume here. Physical abuse is a big NO-NO to them. 

5) Act of Service

I was a bit shocked when I first found out about this love language. There are people out there who feel love when they are being served. I thought they are being demanding, but it turns out this is how they communicate love. This includes doing the laundry, cleaning the house, taking out the garbage and whatever that feels like work or chore for the rest of us who don't speak this language. However, it's important to know that these are how they communicate love so do try to learn and understand. 

What Is Your Love Language?

How about yourself? Can you identify with any of the 5 love languages stated above? Do try to learn and understand the love language of one another to build a healthy and happy relationship together. Those couples who are happy are those who has their love tank being filled according to their respective love language.

To find out what is your love language, take the assessment here.

p/s: Kids have love language too. So try to NOT dismiss them when they give you a handmade card or drawing which looks like nothing. Be careful also with the words we use and for those children who speak the love language of physical touch, do not physically abuse them. The damage that has been done in their early childhood (because of our ignorance) might affect them in future.

You can get the book below.

A Bittersweet Moment Of Realization That Hit Me

Having lived this world for about 30 years, I've had plenty of moment of realizations that hit me in moments that I couldn't imagine. For this blog, I'm gonna share one of those moments as I wrote it down almost immediately after it struck me (I've been keeping a journal since the end of last year specifically for this purpose)  

How It Happen

It was Sunday and I was scheduled to be on duty in Sunday school in my church. As part of the activity for the children, I gave them sweets (plenty of them inclusive of chocolates as well) to demonstrate some lessons about disappointments and love. 

Later on during the sessions, I jokingly asked one of the kids for a small sweet as I do not have any (I don't want it anyway). But who would have thought that I would be the one to be disappointed after teaching them about that particular lesson. I was shocked that he isn't willing to give me EVEN ONE though he had like 5-6 sweets in his hand!

Have the kids forgotten that I am the one who gave them sweets in the first place? Didn't they know that I was the one who actually purchased those sweets and without me doing that, they wouldn't be enjoying any of those mouth-watering candies now? Without my part, they would have nothing at all! 

Out of those dozens of sweets & snacks that I bought, I only asked for one and this is how they respond to my request? A big NO?

The Moment of Realization That Struck Me

Then the big moment of realization hit me! Why am I upset with the way they treated me? I was reminded of all the wonderful gifts that God gave us. Look at our surrounding. The birds, the trees, the bright blue sky, the Heaven & the Earth. He created them all. 

But are we willing to give some of it back to Him? Are we willing to give one-tenth of our income as a tithe to Him? Are we willing to spend a little bit of our time to pray to Him each day? Are we willing to serve Him with whatever skills that He gave us? 

Or are we like the children who were unwilling to give even a little back to Him who gave us abundantly in the first place?

Here's How You Pack Like A Pro

Recently came across a video in Youtube titled "How To Pack Like A Pro" which contain tips and some techniques to pack more in a luggage for your holiday. 

I find it quite useful as most of us has our own pre-conditioned ways to pack in a certain way that we might not be open to idea that there are better ways to do so. 

So, time to open up your mind, think a little outside of the box and adopt these techniques to pack more into your luggage in the future.

Check out this video. And I'll see you soon after my holiday.