God Will Make a Way Where There Seems to Be No Way

 August 12, 2026

Don Moen has lightened many a burdened heart with his assuring song of God’s goodness. The lyric states, “By a roadway in the wilderness, He'll lead me. And rivers in the desert will I see. Heaven and Earth will fade. But His Word will still remain. He will do something new today”.

From Abraham to Jesus to the priest ministering to a far-flung Parish, each one set on doing God’s Will is led as the song intones, “He will be my guide. Hold me closely to His side. With love and strength for each new day. He will make a way, He will make a way”.

Those possessing large landholdings for residential and commercial development must plan well in advance to generate sizeable returns on their investments, including the cost of developing property and its marketing and sale. The big developers create an ecosystem around them – an information network – that alerts and informs their decision-making. The system is built to ensure financial returns on their investment.

Then we have the Catholic Church – with a single North Star - staying true to a mission given 2000 years ago by the resurrected Christ. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” - Mk 16:15. The Catholic Church invests in land decades in advance to build schools, hospitals, formation centres and churches in often isolated areas with a priest or pair of religious living on the land battling the elements. It is mission work. Their dependence is on Him. He will make a way when they face difficulties which are often legendary.

‘Going into the world’ spawns the notion of a series of journeys criss-crossing the earth from the North to the South Pole and to every inhabited and uninhabited surface of the earth. That’s what Jesus’ apostles and disciples did then, and continue to do today, not for personal gain, but for the salvation of mankind, at least from the Christian perspective. A mission that is expected to continue till the last man, woman, and child have heard the Gospel preached to them.

⁷ And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.– Mk 6:7-9

The recorded biblical journeys begin with Abram: The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” – Gen 12:1. The land shown to Abram was the land of the Cannanites.

The boundaries of Canaan covered the most strategic location on earth, immaculately chosen by the Creator of the universe for the spread of the Gospel. The Schedule (as in any land transaction) would show the Mediterranean Sea to the West; the southern end of the Dead Sea to the East; Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath to the North; and the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom to the South onto Egypt – connecting Africa, Europe, and Asia - three known inhabited continents 4000 years back. “‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’” Read Numbers 34:1-12; Ezekiel 47:13-20 for a detailed description.

In 336 BC, Alexander assumed his father’s throne in Pella, Macedonia and began to conquer the entire Persian Empire, which included the Northwestern part of India – the Punjab and Sindh - where he confronted and defeated King Porus at the Battle of Hydaspes (where his army, fatigued to the core after 11 years of battle, mutinied) - and then down to the Indus Valley. In 325 BC, part of Alexander’s army made their homeward journey to Macedonia by sea, while Alexander and the rest of the army marched by land.

A short, speedy, 13-year campaign changed the Greco-Roman world forever. Alexander did not get back to Macedonia to sit on his throne, which he had hardly graced after his father’s death. He fell ill and died in 323 BC, drinking in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II. He was just 32 years old, nearly half of which was spent on the battlefield shedding blood.

Alexander Hellenized the conquered territories. Greek language and Greek culture permeated every aspect of local population life – making the spread of the Gospel swifter out of Canaan because of a common language and culture and the roads laid by the Romans, an empire that lasted for 1400 years – the Greco-Roman world from the 8^th Century of Homeric epic to the collapse of the Empire in 476 AD. And then the Ottomans arrived. Islam began to dominate, with Christianity in retreat with the capture of Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey today) – the nerve centre of Christianity before the transition to Rome.

God had made a way where there seemed to be no way.

During his rampaging march from Macedonia through the Persian Empire, Alexander did not proceed from Tarsus to Gaugamela (now in Iraq) - a straight line. He took a detour to Egypt, conquering the land of Canaan, to visit the oracle of the god Amon at Sīwah in the Western Desert. Alexander Hellenized the Judean population. It is why we have a Greek Bible translated from Hebrew.

The immensity of God’s creation can be experienced with the concept of light-years. For most space objects, we use light-years to describe their distance. A light-year is the distance light travels in one Earth year. One light-year is about 6 trillion miles (9 trillion km). That is a 6 with 12 zeros behind it! When we use powerful telescopes to look at distant objects in space, we are actually looking back in time. How can this be? Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles (or 300,000 km) per second. This seems really fast, but objects in space are so far away that it takes a lot of time for their light to reach us. The farther an object is, the farther in the past we see it. Our Sun is the closest star to us. It is about 93 million miles away. So, the Sun's light takes about 8.3 minutes to reach us. This means that we always see the Sun as it was about 8.3 minutes ago. The next closest star to us is about 4.3 light-years away. So, when we see this star today, we’re actually seeing it as it was 4.3 years ago. All of the other stars we can see with our eyes are farther, some even thousands of light-years away.

God can see light-years ahead. His prophecies through the prophets are made 40 years ahead (Destruction of the Temple in 70 AD by the Romans, Mt 24:2 prophesied by Jesus) to 1,000 years to their fulfilment (The Crucifixion of Jesus, Ps 22:16). Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Messiah, Micah 5:2 in 700 BC. The Fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13:19-22, Jeremiah 50:39-40) — written about 150 years before Babylon fell. The rise of Cyrus 100 years before Cyrus was born (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1). So on and so forth.

For the diligent and watchful, God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit is ever-present, if you are willing to look and see, hear and listen. A difficult proposition that needs to be worked on, for the Word of God says, ‘Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”’ – Mt 13:14

-        Mathew Anthony

No Offence, but I cannot pray for you

 Jesus, God Incarnate, took human form to teach humans how to be human. Only God could do that – and those with God in them. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4)

Jesus cannot abide in us unless we deeply desire and clear the debris of our fallen nature from our hearts. Jesus says, “A branch cannot bear fruit of itself”. What fruit is Jesus referring to? The Fruit of the Holy Spirit, undoubtedly. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Gal 5:22-23)

Let’s distil the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. What is love? But the good of the other that comes at a cost to us. “Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” (John 11:35-36). Did Jesus ever laugh? The canonical Gospels do not contain an explicit statement that He laughed. Jesus was fully human. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14). We know Jesus participated in normal human social interactions. To think Jesus never let his guard down and occasionally had a good laugh is to deny Jesus’ humanity.

What is Joy? The inner peace that manifests in our hearts despite the raging storm outside. Akin to when we are cosy inside our home, undaunted by the menacing rain that lashes our double-glazed window pane.

Joy and happiness are not the same. Happiness is transient; having an external dependency, i.e. us getting what we want; the alternative is unhappiness. Joy has no dependency but our own nature. We experience joy when we abide in Jesus despite forces scheming to wrench us away from the Lord. We do not allow our circumstances to prevail over us; rather, we allow the Lord to prevail in us.

What is peace but a function of joy, and, in some sense, interchangeable?  One can beam like a 100-watt bulb, but be steaming inside. Recall celebrities who have just undergone a divorce, but when the cameras flash, their bewitching smile matches the aura thrown up by the light. One is not at peace, notwithstanding the show of happiness.  Why are we not at peace? Because we are not able to experience joy at that moment, a feeling internal to us.

What is forbearance? No matter what is thrown at us, it does not stick. We do not allow it to stick and muddy us. We create the capacity to bear it all without a word in retaliation. How is that possible? The fruit of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace propels us to respond with kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. One way of retaining our peace of mind at all times is through mindfulness – living in the present. In an altercation with family members or a stranger, be present in the moment; give the situation your full attention. Understand, before being understood. Let passions cool. Then express your understanding and make a sincere effort to resolve. Obtain peace of mind through mindfulness.

It is said that you cannot ‘pray for those who offend you’. Pause and reflect on why you are offended. You have fallen short of one dimension of the fruit of the Holy Spirit: Forbearance. With hurt in your heart, praying for the perpetrator is like adding ‘insult to injury’. Perfectly human, your very own well-meaning friends will tell you.

What would be divine? Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. (Lk 23:24). In John 19:23-24, the soldiers who crucified Jesus are described as dividing His garments among themselves. However, they encounter His tunic, which is described as being "seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom." The passage reads:
"When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. Now the tunic was seamless, woven from top to bottom. So, they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but instead let us cast lots to see who will get it.' This was to fulfil the Scripture: 'They divided My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing.' So, this is what the soldiers did."

The interpretation of the passage is taken from one of the Bible Studies:

|The garment's seamlessness is often seen as a symbol of the unity and perfection of Christ's ministry and His divine nature. Just as the tunic was woven in one piece, so too is Christ's message and mission regarded as whole and undivided. The soldiers' decision to cast lots for the tunic, rather than tearing it, is seen as a fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy; specifically, Psalm 22:18 underscores the divine orchestration of events surrounding Jesus' death. This act of casting lots is viewed as a testament to the fulfilment of Scripture and the sovereignty of God in the unfolding of redemptive history.

From a theological perspective, the seamless garment can be seen as a metaphor for the Church, which is called to be united and whole, reflecting the unity of the body of Christ. The Church, as the body of believers, is encouraged to maintain this unity, as emphasised in Ephesians 4:3-6: "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

In summary, the seamless garment of Jesus serves as a powerful symbol within Christian thought, representing the unity, perfection, and divine purpose of Christ's life and mission. It invites believers to reflect on the unity of the Church and the fulfilment of God's promises through Jesus Christ.

We must reflect the ‘unity of the body of Christ’ in how we conduct ourselves with our family or with a perfect stranger.  We must be the seamless tunic woven from top to bottom. We must present ourselves in the same way to Christ Jesus and to one another. Jesus forgave the trespasses of Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, the tax collector, and Peter, who denied Jesus. One is drawn to believe that Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was forgiven along with the soldiers who insulted and crucified Jesus, and Pilate, who permitted the scourging, fearing the wrath of the emperor of Rome – missed out on the opportunity to serve the King of all Kings, Emperor of all Emperors.

To internalise Jesus' crucifixion in our lives, could we not forgive those who offend us to permit ourselves to pray for them?

-        Mathew Anthony

To Err is Human, To Forgive Divine

 

Jesus was the epitome of clear communication. It made the complex and verbose simple, understandable, and effective.

“Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” Lexicographer Samuel Johnson, erstwhile author of Johnson’s Dictionary, said it in this manner to dodge and deceive his interrogators.

Jesus had a ‘deadline’ to meet. Not one of achievement that would bring thunderous applause, but thunderous indeed, to rent the curtain in the Jerusalem Temple and make a mark on the Richter Scale that measures the magnitude of an earthquake. A line that would transform humanity and open up eternity for all.

Jesus did not care to dodge or deceive. Jesus took full responsibility for His words. After all, He was the Word.

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him”. With poignancy, Jesus asked, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:53-69).

To make his 3-year deadline to the Cross, Jesus had to abridge the Old Testament, make it relevant to the time, and establish that He was the awaited Messiah.

The priestly class of the time, the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Scribes, had turned the Ten Commandments into minutiae of 613 Mitzvot (Commandments) that covered every conceivable action the Jewish community could take. The idea was to regulate, dominate, punish, and keep the community in line and answerable to the religious authorities.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5) had nine ‘Thou shalt not’ and one Commandment, the Fifth, with a promise: “Honour your father and mother so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Eph 6:2-3) Seemingly innocuous, but observed more in the breach than in practice, which of course did not escape God’s attention. ¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb 4:12)  

Here’s an instance why God purportedly made this promise part of the Ten Commandments:   

“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”  And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’^[ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” (Mark 7 8-13)

The very First Commandment was violated twelve chapters later, in Exodus 32, when a Golden Calf was cast to worship because Moses was ‘late’ in coming down from the mountain. “

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” (Exodus 32:1)

Jesus abridged the Ten Commandments to just two: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. (Mk 12 30-31)

Jesus' intention was clear. If you kept these two commandments in letter and spirit, you are unlikely to fall foul of the other nine.

In the two commandments given by Jesus, we are expected to answer the two all-encompassing questions:

1.     What constitutes ‘loving God’?

2.     What constitutes ‘loving yourself’?

Potential answers for the first are many, or is it just one: And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Mt 25:40)

For the second, it is for each of us to introspect. To arrive at our own that we may do justly by our neighbour.

Returning to Johnson, it behoves well, in context, to understand the backstory:

|Johnson was contacted by Rev Dr William Dodd, convicted of forgery and sentenced to die by hanging. Johnson ghostwrote pleas on behalf of the Reverend for leniency in his sentencing. Rev Dodd: “Having unhappily contracted expensive habits of living, partly occasioned by licentiousness of manners, he in an evil hour, when pressed by want of money, and dreading an exposure of his circumstances, forged a bond …” The high quality of the material penned by Johnson led some to doubt that the ascription to Dodd was accurate. When Johnson was asked about Dodd’s authorship, he replied misleadingly: “Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”|

Johnson did right by his neighbour. He tried to help him out using his genius with words. That it did not help is another matter. Dr William Dodd was hanged, notwithstanding.

I don’t know whether Samuel Johnson was a religious man, but he did honour the religious and was willing to overlook a trespass, as Jesus did many times over. In Alexander Pope's (1688-1744) words: To err is human; to forgive divine. Almost biblical, wouldn’t you say?

-        Mathew Anthony

God is in the Still, Small Voice, not in the Destructive Wind, Thunder, and Fire - 1 Kings 19:12

 1 Kings 18 – 19 and Matthew 14, 22-33 display a show of bravado by Elijah and Peter, respectively. Elijah killed Queen Jezebel’s 450 Baal-worshipping prophets after fire consumed Elijah’s sacrificial offering, not theirs. Peter asked Jesus to command him to come to Jesus on the water. “Come”, said Jesus. Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

When Jezebel swore to do the same to Elijah, what Elijah did to her prophets, Elijah decamped to Mt Horeb (Sinai) when he sensed an imminent threat to his life, “And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.” 1 Kings 19,8

Seemingly, a Jezebel-like threat infected Peter. He turned his gaze from holiness (Jesus) to evil (the turbulent sea) and began to sink. “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

At Mt Horeb, God did not appear to Elijah in the destructive fire (that consumed the sacrifice earlier) or in the rock-crushing wind, or earth-fracturing earthquake, but in a “still, small voice”.

In contrast to Elijah, Moses was meek and humble. The last time Moses got violent was when he killed an Egyptian to save a fellow Jew (Ex 2,13). Moses, too, like Elijah, decamped from the site of violence and took shelter in the land of Median as a humble shepherd (15) to encounter God in the fire on Mt Horeb (Ex 3,1-2).

God eschews violence. He cuts us a long rope. He hopes that His people will come back to him. Sometimes 40 years (to shed all the rebellious Israelites before allowing entry into the Promised Land); other times centuries pass, yes, centuries before God acts, as in the Book of Habakkuk: “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (Hab 1,2). This is familiar ground for us. We can easily relate to the cry of the Prophet Habakkuk.

Habakkuk was active around 612 BC, the most turbulent time for Judah, on the threshold of an imminent attack by the Babylonians. Surprise! Surprise! The Babylonians are God’s instrument of judgment - to wreak havoc on Judah for their spiritual and moral failings. This followed the death of King Josiah – a righteous king.

The Book of Habakkuk is a dialogue between God and the Prophet Habakkuk. The prophet is dismayed by the harsh punishment that awaits his people. He enquires of God, why so? And God answers Habakkuk, clearing his confusion. Habakkuk trusts and accepts God’s sovereignty and justice, concluding the book with a prayer of faith and hope. 

Fast-forward 400 years. In Peter’s case, on the stormy waters, help was immediate. Peter was impetuous (“Get behind me, Satan” rebuke from Jesus), but not disobedient or sinful even in his denial of Jesus. He lapsed often, but Peter was a forgivable quantity in Jesus’ eyes. As repeat sinners, we too must pray to be a ‘forgivable quantity’ in Jesus’ eyes.

Jesus reprimanded his apostles, presumably Peter too (again), “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me.” The boy suffered from epilepsy. Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Mt 17, 14-20)

Fr. Paul Parekkattil VC, Director, Divine Retreat Centre, Colombo, in a homily on this passage on 8 Aug 2026 | DRCC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEIl4A7JSSI&t=4877s elucidated on our capacity to make things happen through intercessory prayer. I am paraphrasing his homily below with minor edits:

When Jesus came down from Mount Tabor, there was commotion afoot, which Jesus resolved to the Father’s satisfaction by healing his child. That which the disciples could not do. What were the disciples doing when the father brought the child to them? They were arguing who is the greatest among them.

Now this man who brought the son with the convulsions to the apostles, what was the father’s thinking? They are the disciples of Jesus. They will have the same authority over evil spirits, the same faculty of exorcism and the same charism of healing.

Fr Paul points us to two different types of faith in this episode of the Gospel:

1.     Faith as the fruit of the Holy Spirit

2.     Faith as a charism of the Holy Spirit

The faith of the epileptic child’s father is the ‘Faith as fruit of the Holy Spirit’, the belief that the disciples or Jesus have the power to heal, and power over the evil spirit to exorcise. ‘Faith as a Charism of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Cor 12, 8-10) is the Faith needed to work miracles. When I command in the name of Jesus, I can cast out demons; sickness will be healed; people will be liberated, for I have been given the authority to do so by Jesus.

The disciples of Jesus were given the ‘Faith as a charism of the Holy Spirit’ when they were sent two-by-two ahead of Jesus for a missionary journey. But, in this instant, they did not feel they had the power to heal the epileptic child. Probably true of many of us. After an immersive retreat, we feel we could do the same, but over time we become lukewarm, and the charism becomes dormant, but not entirely lost.  What is once given by God is given for keeps.

We need to be persistent in asking Jesus for ‘Faith as the fruit of the Holy Spirit’ needed for our own salvation. And ‘Faith as a charism of the Holy Spirit’ needed to work miracles for others and pray for others. Even for the gift of intercession, we need faith. Faith that my prayer will be heard in the heavens and accepted by God. Elijah, Moses, and Peter were subject to fear and often backslid. So will we, but we must rebound and lay claim to our rightful inheritance in Christ – our claim to Faith as a Fruit of the Holy Spirit and Faith as a Charism of the Holy Spirit

-        Mathew Anthony

 

A Companion Reflection from the Venerable Pius XII

Venerable Pius XII Pope from 1939 to 1958 Radio address to Lourdes Pope Pius XI April 28, 1935 closing the year of Redemption Victorious in the storm Our hope—just like our faith, of which it is the substance and reality—resides in heaven, and there on high it remains fixed; yet here below, it sustains our life. If, in the name of Christ and His Cross, the choirs of angels in heaven (…) sing before the throne of God: "glory, honor, salvation, and blessing," here below, the Church of the faithful—still pilgrims on their journey—places all its hope in the Cross. "O Cross, our salvation, our only hope!" (Hymn of the Passion) The ocean of humanity is in turmoil; nations, like the waves, rise up and crash against one another under the pressure of the winds of social and political passions; the shores and beaches of peace are battered and shaken by the unleashed surges. (…) Who shall command the winds and the storms? Who shall silence their whistling and their rage? (…) Do not fear, my brothers. Upon the waves and the storms, walking in the shadow of the tabernacles, is the Lord of heaven and earth; no, He will not pass by our storm-tossed boat with indifference; He will come to us and say: "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." (Mt 14:27) Did He not promise that He would be with us until the end of time? (…) Do we not believe in Him? Do we, perhaps, not know Him? Ah, may He never have to say of us—after having spent so much time in our midst—this reproach: "I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me?" (Jn 14:9) We are lost amidst the storm that roils the ocean of society and nations; yet in the Cross of Christ—which stands firm amidst the upheavals of the world—reside our confidence and our hopes. She is the anchor that, amidst the raging waves, provides security to the boat of the Church and of our soul—which strives toward the haven of supreme and invisible goods; she is the anchor firmly fixed to God and to His infallible promises.

 

Suffering, Santification, and Grace

 

August 6, 2026

I stubbed my toe against an immovable object and tottered. I winced with pain. But I did not curse. Instead, I thanked God for his “everlasting love” “with unfailing kindness” (Jer 31,3).

I had stumbled, but I did not fall. “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” (Ps 37,23-24).

There was a time when I would have reacted differently. While not the cussing type, nor was I the praising type. But over time, a sprinkling of God’s grace helped me proclaim, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” (Ps 119,71) The reality we need to come to terms with is, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Rom 3,23-24)

Accepting that I am a sinner, and I know that for a fact, with an honest audit of my thoughts, my words, and my deeds for just a day, a favourite hymn of mine became a recurrent prayer: “Sanctify Me Oh God, Cleanse My Body, Mind and Soul, Purify Me and Make Me Whole”. I am sure those familiar with the hymn were not reading the words but singing along with me as you read them, as I did while penning them down.

The thought I want to share with you for your reflection, dear reader, is whether sanctification is possible without suffering.

Our own Lord went to the Cross. Could He have sanctified us and liberated us from sin without shedding of His blood? In Mt 16:21-22 Jesus declares that he needs to go to Jerusalem. There He will be killed and rise again on the third day. Peter would not accept it. “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Thereafter, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to witness His transfiguration in the company of Elijah and Moses (Mt 17), with God the Father testifying, “This is my beloved Son … Listen to Him”.

Jesus had to make it clear even to His closest disciples that He is the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament. That His victory will not be achieved by force and the shedding of others' blood but through hideous suffering and by the shedding of His own blood. The submissive Servant King to the will of his Father.

It is pertinent to introspect. Can an athlete achieve excellence without enduring suffering? Is it possible to scale Mt Everest without enduring great hardships? God Incarnate was human. Jesus resonated humanity at its lowest ebb – man’s inhumanity to man. He elevated suffering to Godliness. He became the curse and the shame reflected by the scarred, limp body on the Cross. When we shun suffering, are we inadvertently also shunning the opportunity for sanctification/excellence and the grace of God to be poured into our mind, body, soul, and spirit?

St Paul had the issue of ‘thorn in his flesh’. He prayed three times to God. God’s response was not what we are trained to expect. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Cor 12,9)

That brings me back to the core of my thesis, dear reader, who have patiently persevered (and a bit about perseverance later) to read this far: without suffering there is no sanctification; without sanctification there is no salvation. We need to remember we are a sinful generation. To be received in Heaven, we must be sanctified. Jesus, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God … rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant… he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The saints we venerate in the Catholic Church did likewise. “If any man should come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16,24)

Hence, we too must cherish, yes cherish, the little suffering - the ‘stubbing of the toe’ or a chronic skin problem that makes our skin itch incessantly or sporadically, the undeciphered ‘thorn in the flesh’ in the case of St Paul – therefore universal for everything that bothers us.

I pray for the Lord’s small mercies given more frequently than one humungous suffering. But I am also aware that God is the dispenser of this choice, not me. So, I must gird myself for whatever is to come – even the unimaginable suffering that St Paul encountered and signed off with the sword separating his head from his body.

The words of St Paul, much as I try, I cannot get the order right; in fact, true of much of Paul's writings: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Cor 4,8-10)

And the one even harder to practice is “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4,4-8)

Not idle words or rhetoric. Paul did rejoice despite the suffering he endured. Paul’s first recorded imprisonment occurred in Philippi, as described in Acts 16:16-40. After casting a spirit of divination out of a slave girl, Paul and Silas were seized, beaten, and thrown into prison. Despite their suffering, they prayed and sang hymns to God, leading to a miraculous earthquake that opened the prison doors. The jailer, witnessing these events, converted to Christianity along with his household. This incident underscores the power of faith and the transformative impact of the Gospel.

In the littlest possible way, when we have any sufferings, the sources of sanctification open up. Instead of decrying the suffering, why not thank God for his small mercies, words that are normally uttered when we receive relief from suffering. Turn it on its head. In the time of suffering, rejoice and offer up the insufferable itch as a means of partaking in the Lord’s suffering for our sanctification. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Rom 5,3-5)

Start small. When you feel an itch – don’t rub it or scratch it or do anything – but in faith offer it up to the Lord – and you will be amazed. It will stop being a bother from ‘lack of attention or attendance’. In the process, you have saved yourself the ignominy of making it worse by attending to it. Now, experiment with not just physical suffering but also emotional stress of being misunderstood, humiliated by your own loved one – spouse, parents, siblings, and ostracised socially by your community because of a stammer or a mannerism or disorder.  Is humiliation suffering? I vote it is one of the worst. There is no medicine for it. Just your forbearance not to be affected by it, and the temptation to do likewise and fall into sin. The devil's ‘click’ bait to entice you to sin.

When you are being humiliated, offer it up, and you will buy peace (that passes all understanding) for yourself and the other person. The Word teaches us: Therefore: “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” (Rom 12,20). “Coals of fire” is symbolic of the Holy Spirit you pour upon your enemy as one of my other favourite hymns extols: Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me. Melt me, mould me, fill me, use me. In this instance, use my enemy and me that you may be glorified.

Despite our efforts to be good, we are prone to error and sin. To err is human; to forgive is divine. While we expect God to forgive us our transgressions, we tend not to forgive others their transgressions, despite avowing in the Lord’s Prayer that we will do so. Let the Lord’s Prayer or any prayer or retreats we attend, and the Word of God we read, not be mere activities like brushing our teeth in the morning, but let it become a source of conviction of the errors of our ways that we may receive timely sanctification to prepare us for our hour of death.

In the Anima Christi we pray: Suffer me not to be separated from Thee. From the malignant enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me. And bid me come unto Thee, that with Thy saints I may praise Thee for ever and ever. How prepared are we for the final hour?

We need relentless sanctification. Use the opportunities of little sufferings to terminal ones. Start with practising with the small ones to take on sizable ones that are crushing - to the spirit, body, mind, and soul. In that our suffering, often inevitable as part of life’s journey, is not wasted. And we are better prepared for the final hour. For eternal salvation. Amen.

A Companion Reflection

Saint Augustine (354-430) Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church Sermon 96 §1-4.9 Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ What the Lord has commanded us: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself” seems hard and difficult. Yet it isn't either hard or difficult because the one who commands it is the one who helps us to fulfil what he commands. For if that saying of the psalm is true, that: “according to the words of your lips I have pursued difficult paths” (Ps 17[16],4), so also is true the saying spoken by Jesus: “my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Mt 11,30). For anything hard in the command, love turns to sweetness. We know well of what marvels love is capable. There are times when love is of doubtful worth and is depraved. Yet how many difficulties will not men endure, what humiliating and unendurable treatment will they not suffer if only they might attain to what they love!... Since life's great enterprise must be to choose well what one should love, is it surprising that anyone who loves Jesus Christ and desires to follow him denies himself to love him?... What is the meaning of what follows: “Let him take up his cross”? Let him endure what is painful and so let him follow me. For when a man begins to follow me by acting according to my precepts, there will be plenty of people to disagree with him, oppose him, discourage him. And that on the part of people who claim to be Christ's friends. Those who stopped the blind men from crying out (Mt 20,31) were walking in Christ's company. So, whether it is a matter of threats, flattery, prohibitions, if you want to follow Christ, turn it all into the cross; endure it, bear it, don't let yourself be overcome... You love the world, but you should rather love him who made the world... We live in a holy world, that is good, reconciled, saved or, rather, that is to be saved but which is saved now in hope. “For in hope we were saved” (Rom 8,24). In this world, therefore, that is to say in the Church, which wholly follows Christ, he said to all: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself.”

 

Notes to Myself - Updated 381 Aphorisms

I Have Nothing to Declare Except My Genius

According to legend, the famous wit Oscar Wilde delivered a comically audacious line when he first entered the United States during his lecture tour. A customs official in New York asked him if he had anything to declare, and he supposedly replied: I have nothing to declare but my genius.

 

In the following pages I declare on to myself what i learnt in the course of the day from conversations, interactions, introspections, thoughts and billboards to help me be a better me to myself and others I have had the good fortune to know, interact, and engage with at a personal or professional level.

 

Notes to Myself - End-of-Day Personal Reflections

Thoughts are like soap bubbles; if all air let it float; not, commit to paper to introspect & share

 

ABOUT ME 

1.      I write and so I am

2.      To write think; to think write 

ACTIONS & REACTIONS 

3.      Every action does not call for a (dis)proportionate reaction

4.      Not every unwarranted word said to you needs a response; they do need reflection

5.      Speak words that edify, not crucify; build not destroy; unite not divide

6.      We characterize to denigrate and denounce; playwrights do it only to dramatize

7.      Natures abhors a vacuum so does a comic

8.      A curt reply need not be taken as rejection; but just too busy to write a polite one

ADVICE

9.      The untrodden paths are the remanent of advice not taken

10.  Unsolicited advice is like unwelcome, uninvited visitors

11.  If you wish to flatter ask for advice; it may actually be helpful

12.  Restrain the urge to advise when evidence to back it up is suspect

13.  When tables turn you should be able to digest your own advice

14.  Take advice / assurances only from those with skin in the game

15.  When giving advice ensure the recipient is still in the room mentally  

16.  Open people’s mind to possibilities to clarify not to confuse

17.  When someone says be positive, they are saying it is a hopeless case

18.  When you give advice or preach hear out the counterpoint fully and move on

ART

19.  The pen is mightier than the sword in the hands of an artist

20.  When an artist does a portrait, it is the trait that he hopes to portray

21.  A picture speaks a thousand words, a cartoon telegraphs it 

BEHAVIOUR

22.  For some people queue curiously is what other people stand in

23.  For some to admit they could be wrong is tantamount to a heresy

24.  What annoys us we project on to others; while being no different

25.  People provide color to their present good behavior by extolling their bad past

26.  Redemption is a reward for being really bad

27.  Model the behavior you wish to see in people around you

28.  Give benefit of doubt to the person who’s behavior may seem unkind momentarily

BELIEF & OPINION

29.  Have strong opinions – loosely held

30.  On matter of principles hold firm; on matters of opinions go with the flow

COMMUNICATION

31.  Learn to express yourself so as not to be the sole proprietor of your problems

CONDUCT

32.  Avoid gossipers, naysayers and doomsdayers – good chance you will be too

33.  Be humble and open to correction

34.  Submit not to fear, only to good sense

35.  Act with caution not from fear

36.  Procrastinate if nothing is to be gained from acting on it

37.  Be available

38.  Be still and let the world catch up

39.  Value people, not property

40.  Be well informed not to be misinformed

41.  Take work seriously – not self

42.  Learn to laugh at oneself – not at others

43.  Be free spirited but care for your soul

44.  Make friends easily but confide in few

45.  Don’t gossip - it will come to bite you at the most inopportune time

46.  Toil and enjoy the spoils; sleep and invite starvation

47.  When Spirit is willing, tame your flesh to follow

48.  Don’t give in until there is no way out

49.  Never miss a chance to have a hearty laugh

50.  Want nothing and you will need nothing

51.  Take risks; calculated and controlled

52.  When in doubt, stop

53.  Don’t fear to live; nor fear to die

54.  Eat to live; not live to eat

55.  When in error, admit and move on

56.  Know when being provoked; learn to calibrate response to diffuse bust up

57.  One good deed a day keeps the doctor away

58.  Let joy follow you like a shadow

59.  To receive, first give

60.  Work to smile; frowning needs no effort

61.  Keep your family close; to help or be helped

62.  Stuff happens, stay calm, head down, move on

63.  To cushion a fall be hands-free

64.  Review the day before you sleep, make good where you fell short

65.  When served lemon make lemonade

66.  Don’t fuss over matters whose resolution is fuzzy

67.  Render to others what you would have rendered to your self

68.  Go the extra mile; just in case you have fallen short of the measure

69.  Return in kind what you failed to convey in words

70.  Cherish what you have, desire not what you don’t

71.  Be quick to apologize, you just may be in error

72.  To err is human, to forgive divine

73.  Don’t let people get under your skin; wear a caustic people repellant

74.  Be a person of no guile; neither be beguiled

75.  Politeness creates a magnetic field of attraction

76.  Your eyes are telling of your will and intent

77.  Disagree, but be not disagreeable

78.  Better to bite the tongue than wallow in regret for an unkind, unwarranted word

79.  Often a pinch of humility can avert a heap of trouble

80.  Reserve criticism and instructions; allow people find their space and take control

CONSUMERISM

81.  With prosperity comes disposability

CORPORATE SPEAK

82.  Being non-committal: “This is great. Let’s flesh out your document further”

83.  When team is to be disbanded a ‘Thank you speech on a project’ signals it

CRITICS

84.  Critics don’t create; they bask in another’s creation by promoting their view

85.  People who fail to create but know what it takes perhaps make for good critics

86.  Critics co-create when they do their job well; every new edition is a better version

87.  Critics and creators can cartelize to mutual gain if not for the discerning audience

88.  Press on unperturbed until the critics see it your way or nobody sees it their way

89.  Creating for self is satisfying; creating for an audience is chilling but thrilling

90.  Critical analysis from extensive study and criticism out of ignorance vastly differ

91.  Criticism is important to drive excellence or what you hive is mediocrity

CURIOUSITY

92.  Be curious about how life works not how other people lives are except to do good

DEATH

93.  When inert, a person becomes a body

94.  From dust we have come and to dust we shall go

95.  Passage from life to death is a step up from the earth to the heaven

DECEPTION

96.  When looks deceive sniff it to know for sure – try with pepper powder

DOING

97.  To get things done a dash of daring is the secret sauce

98.  To dispel darkness, strike a match, light a candle, let the glow liberate you

99.  We need to do what is in our capacity, often beyond our known abilities

100.                   In life very little is guaranteed, less so if you haven’t even tried

101.                   When you eat less, you eat less; when you eat more, you eat more

102.                   You gain energy from expending it; conserving it leads to gain of fat

103.                   Do when it needs to be done

104.                   Develop your brain, cultivate your values - your body will take care of itself

105.                   Make friends of your enemies; do them good so as not to be undone by them

106.                   When you donate blood, your body returns the favor with interest

107.                   Expressing love has zero production cost; the returns stretch to eternity

108.                   After a loss lick your wounds for a bit, after victory sit not on your laurels

109.                   As you live for today prepare for tomorrow too

110.                   Don’t force outcomes, it may be against your interest

111.                   Excellence is a habit; tardiness too

112.                   Housekeeping begins at home

113.                   For wind in your sail, exercise your will in consonance with God’s will

114.                   You can push the envelope but know it will still be stationery

115.                   Rue not the chores of the day; frightening to wake up and have nothing to do

116.                   Don’t have to control everything and everybody; just yourself for starts

DO’S AND DON’TS

117.                   When you get a cut that makes you look like a nut, delight in it, don’t fight it

EMOTIONS & REASON

118.                   Emotions lead to action; reason leads to conclusion

119.                   Reason and logic are impediments to hearts melding 

120.                   With rare exceptions, most things of self-important nature are just that

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

121.                   Make bets without betting the company

122.                   Biggest nightmare for an entrepreneur: running out of money

123.                   Failure is a friend and a stepping stone to sustainable success

124.                   Fear of failure can be a driver or a paralyzing force

125.                   Do not fear failure; fear not having tried

126.                   Media attention is double-edged should failure follow resounding success

127.                   Living under the looming shadow of a patriarch can be stunting for Vit D lack

128.                   Own Vision, Values, People, Product, Process, Communication, Capital

129.                   Solve real life problem in the market that customer really love

130.                   Do things not for scale but for 100 customer who will fall in love with it

131.                   Launch Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with one feature to facilitate testing

132.                   When young start something of your own; gravity won’t let you when old

EXPECTATION

133.                   Get the process right, the outcome will follow; not always as you wished

EXERCISE

134.                   Don’t be stuck on your seat; talk on your feet

FAITH

135.                   Only three things matter – love, hope, and faith

136.                   The widow’s mites are the ultimate in giving 

137.                   Blessings are returning boomerangs; so are curses

138.                   What God says is; once spoken it is done

139.                   What comes from God’s mouth, like rain to the earth, accomplishes it purpose

140.                   For what does it profit to gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of your soul

141.                   Hope that does not disappoint is preceded by suffering and perseverance

142.                   In as much as we do, we gain; not everything has to be done for profit

143.                   Be not delusional: Angels will not hold you up if you jump off a cliff

144.                   God does not shield us from temptations, but he arms us to repel it

145.                   Temptations come in all forms auto-filled, if you press ‘Ok’ it’s hard to undo

146.                   Accidents and coincidences are God’s way of steering you on to the right path

147.                   Give thanks in all things; you will never know what you have just been spared

148.                   Farmers sow seeds, the harvest in in God’s hands; sowing is key

149.                   God cannot be rushed; He is not your spouse

150.                   Pray, discern, act, accept, repeat – all will be well with you

151.                   Belief drives outcome; those who Jesus healed believed a priori

152.                   God in His providence takes care of the particulars

153.                   When you pray you join forces with a higher being to triumph over evil

154.                   Ask, you will receive, seek, you will find, knock, doors will be opened

155.                   Renew your mind not to fall victim to the pattern of this world

156.                   All who labor and are heavy laden; Christ invites to seek his rest

157.                   Do not be afraid; only believe

158.                   Go forth your faith has healed you; to the ears of the healed it is joy unbound

159.                   Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen

160.                   Ask God to be a light to your path and a lamp to your feet

161.                   Greatness does not lie in conquest of power, but of hearts

162.                   Judge not and you will not be judged; forgive and you will be forgiven

163.                   Persist - your prayers could be a whisker away from its realization

164.                   Just as ointment cure; prayers heal

165.                   God’s love is not conditional, but unrestrained and immeasurable

166.                   What you give is banked in heaven and in the hearts of the receivers

167.                   We cannot pick on God for not giving us what is not in his plan for us

168.                   When prayers are not answered, take it that it is answered

169.                   Fear not, but believe

170.                   For with the measure you use, will be measured back to you

171.                   God gives: Full measure, pressed down, shaken together, flowing over

172.                   Pride precedes a great fall

173.                   Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants God has perfected praise

174.                   From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks; insulate your heart from filth

175.                   God does not give up on us; we give up on ourselves

176.                   Wait upon the Lord to renew your strength; mount up with wings as eagles

177.                   A prophet is not without honor except in his own home

178.                   Sacrament of confession provides clarity of mind and reprieve from confusion

179.                   What goes into our mouth does not make us unclean; what comes out could

180.                   Shame of Adam/Eve sin was visited on Jesus in His suffering and Crucifixion

181.                   Jesus, blind-folded was asked to prophesize who slapped Him; mocking acme 

FEEDBACK

182.                   Giving and receiving feedback is an art and so only artists indulge in it

183.                   When you have given feedback and still remain friends that’s good job done

184.                   We pardon errors of whom we love; punish who we hate for none committed

185.                   It is unnerving to give feedback when every comment points back

186.                   Feedback is not a return invite to dinner but some do feel like lunch

187.                   Feedback ratings are scaled to resources available for increments

188.                   Feedback is an annual event for none can bear it more than once

189.                   Work assessed critically by bosses is giving feedback; it should be routine

190.                   Providing feedback is critical to business success; easy to tell who does it well

191.                   Good feedback chisels just the rough edges while keeping the body intact

192.                   People seeking criticism of their work hope there will be dollops of praise too

193.                   To make a sandwich feedback slip a negative between two positives

FORESIGHT

194.                   In hindsight everyone sounds brilliant; what’s valuable is foresight

195.                   Plan for what you have in plenty not to scavenge when scarce

FRIENDSHIP

196.                   Friendships are like umbrellas at workplaces; check at the door and proceed

197.                   Like a pen that enhances your writing, a good friend helps your life blossom

GROWTH

198.                   Change does not bring growth; but growth does bring change

199.                   There is no right moment to start; start and make it right

HAPPINESS

200.                   Happiness is a state of not having problems; joy despite it

201.                   Happiness is not the absence of problems, but your ability to deal with it

202.                   Have a grateful heart; and you gift yourself a life of absolute bliss

203.                   An amazing side effects of a broad smile is it makes too people happy 

HURT

204.                   Past hurts fade away reluctantly; past favors, ungraciously

INVESTING

205.                   Create appreciating assets; not debilitating debt

206.                   A penny saved is a penny earned; a penny found is a penny lost

207.                   Expect to live long so plan for it now

208.                   In business revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is reality

JUDGEMENT

209.                   An argument has two sides and one truth; the better argued wins

LEARNING

210.                   Sharper your depth of learning, deeper your grasp of the subject

211.                   It is the many ‘noes’’ that make a fabulously better ‘yes’

212.                   Supply is abundant; click only on content you wish to be served more of 

213.                   Best proof that you have learnt, is your ability to teach from what you learnt

214.                   To know you know your ‘physics’ as a scientist try explaining it to a barmaid

LIFE TODAY

215.                   Smartphones monitor your movement like ankle bracelets a felon

216.                   Smartphone pings impinge

217.                   With voice commands the finger is the new appendix

218.                   Virtual meets are seeing a renaissance in multitasking off-camera

LISTENING & TALKING

219.                   Reserve disbelief, for now listen without eyes squinted or raised eyebrows

220.                   Offering undivided attention lowers temperature of a conversation

221.                   Listen with ears open, mouth closed

222.                   Try not to understand what your partner is saying; listening often enough

223.                   Talk less – listen more; less to defend too

224.                   Hear to listen; not to judge; pause and respond; the person may not be done

225.                   Converse, don’t badger and bore

226.                   When harboring unforgiveness we choose our words carefully or we rant

227.                   Let not what you speak be an afterthought

228.                   If conversations spark conflict incline to silence to engender serenity

229.                   It is not what is said but how it is received that ultimately matters

230.                   Bend your ears to clasp whispers of wisdom

231.                   Often sheer cussedness deprives us of goodness God has in store for us

232.                   Slip in don’t butt into an ongoing conversation

233.                   When you say something, say it, and say it again, to ensure it is said

234.                   Sometime sugary sweetness can be grating like sharp crystals

235.                   How do you speak to one short of hearing without sounding obnoxious

236.                   Tough conversations are pregnant with tick-tock of the clock marking silence

237.                   When you want to be heard, first hear

238.                   Some want to only talk; others want to only listen; silence is the only problem

LOVE

239.                   Love casts out all fear; hence fear not and love to a fault

MEMORY

240.                   You gain tenure in people’s minds if your deeds were deposits of joy to them

241.                   Joy is ephemeral; allow it to bubble up often and it can be made life lasting

242.                   Value of a person realized post facto survive only as shards of regrets

243.                   Memory is an underrated asset when young; overrated when old

244.                   A good memory can be a liability if you are known to keep scores 

245.                   We say memory fails us when it we who fail memory by not working at it

MISCONCEPTION

246.                   Being infamous is not the same thing as not being famous

NEGOTIATION

247.                   A good negotiator always leaves something for the other to forge harmony 

PATIENCE

249.                   Have patience; first of all with your self

PAIN & PRAYER

250.                   Pain in some instances can only be relieved by taking on more pain

251.                   Offer your pain as a mercy offering for another worse off

252.                   God heals through His instruments – doctors and medication – and favour

253.                   Don’t dwell on the pain but on His steadfast love, His abundant mercy 

PAST

254.                   We are shaped by the past but we don’t have to be defined by it

255.                   Past is not a great predictor of the future, make most of the present

PERCEIVING

256.                   Light is not the absence of darkness; darkness is the absence of light

PERFECTION

257.                   Executing a ten follows countless failed nines

258.                   Achieving excellence is a process of converting what is a bug into a feature

259.                   Every record set will be broken; Roger Bannister 4-Minute Mile by John Landy

260.                   Strive for perfection for the journey for the destination may stay beyond grasp

261.                   Those who achieve the highest goals have nowhere to go from there

262.                   First screen the achievement of goal in your mind and then make the movie

263.                   Even if you are perfect it helps to keep it a secret if you hope to have friends

264.                   Many have died trying to forge new paths providing safe passage to another

265.                   Perfection is a myth until it becomes a reality

266.                   Since for human to be perfect is inhuman those who perfect are seen as gods

PHILOSOPHY

267.                   50:50 makes 100

268.                   To punch above your weight, you need outsized arms

269.                   When season’s change don’t hang on to quilts but move on to duvets

PLANS

 

270.                   Most botched-up plans are adversarially conceived and poorly synchronized

271.                   All plans implode when they first collide with the enemy

POSSESSION

272.                   Less you have more weighed down you feel; more you have, same

273.                   We are less possessive of our relatives than of their possessions

274.                   On a scale what you don’t possess weighs mightier than all you possess

275.                   We hesitate to part with what we have but unlikely to pay to buy the same

276.                   What is in our possession we price higher than the value a buyer’s places on it

277.                   People will die to defend what theirs; mercenaries only what can be theirs

POSSIBILITIES

278.                   The only impossible journey is the one you have never begun

279.                   Uncertainties /certainties not in our hands; possibilities / probabilities: yes

280.                   Turn your obstacles into opportunities; your problems into possibilities

POWER

281.                   People in positions of power can do good or allow it to be their undoing

PROPAGATION

282.                   A lie repeated is truth defeated

283.                   There is truth and there is conjecture; discern and disseminate

PROBLEM SOLVING

284.                   Problems cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that created it

PSYCHOLOGY

285.                   Public transport is a good antidote to feelings of isolation

PURPOSE

286.                   A ship is safe in the harbor but that’s not what it was built for

287.                   To stay on course, take charge

288.                   Two important days of life: when you are born; when you discover why

289.                   When you have purpose, propellers develop by themselves

290.                   Be led not by your eyes but by your heart; beauty spells not beneficial

291.                   Henri Matisse, painted bed-ridden, for “pain will pass, beauty will remain”

OBSESSION

292.                   Don’t get obsessed to the point you forget what you are obsessing about

READING

293.                   Like inks sticks to paper attentive reading improves memory

294.                   Imagine what you read, don’t memorize, then you can provide your version

295.                   Reading engages multiple muscles, viewing puts them to sleep

296.                   A bookshelf has compacted knowledge, a screen, fleeting

297.                   Well-read is a compliment to you; well-viewed is a compliment to the product

298.                   The more you read the more you discover how ignorant you are

299.                   To read you lean in; to view you lean back; one is an activity, the other, laxity

300.                   When you read a book, you need to light it up; on screen the device

301.                   Perfectly fine to read a book backwards, with screen you got to be weird

302.                   White mode and dark mode represent the transition from book to screens

RELATIVES, FRIENDS & RELATIONSHIPS

303.                   Like water finds its level and flows where it will so a healthy relationship

304.                   Where your treasure is that’s where you heart will be

305.                   Your tone of voice and choice of words sets up the relationship

306.                   Good fences make good neighbors; true of relatives too

307.                   Irony of life: Closest of relatives tend to be the furthest of friends

308.                   We are all born with an inheritance – potential it has - meagre as it may be

309.                   An expertly sawed wedge topples timber; a relationship by a loose tongue

310.                   Thought of food initially draws dinner companions; later the food for thought

311.                   God chooses opposites as an engineer gear that mesh to complete each other

312.                   Some don’t age; it is not that all are born on February 29^th

313.                   As with a quack; do not trust your ability to nurse a grudge to good health

314.                   When relationships sour conversations curdle losing it free flowing nature 

SELF & OTHERS

315.                   Your life is not about you, just saying

316.                   You live only once so get it right; less likely you will get it right in the next

317.                   What tomorrow brings only tomorrow knows; make today count

318.                   Be generous in assessing people; reserve suspicion for the barest few

319.                   Be fair to those you work with; they may be your boss some day

320.                   Project on to people the goodness you see in yourself

321.                   If you wish to receive a favor, preface with doing one first

322.                   Make friends; enemies can be a challenge

323.                   Wake up expecting nothing but the best; retire having got the best

324.                   Be mindful and you will have less on your mind

325.                   Don’t confuse a made-up mind with facts

326.                   Change is a constant so is a vow

327.                   Age is only a number; not quite when it is numbered

328.                   Know thyself; Google does  

329.                   It’s how you are doing on your worst days that mark you for who you are

330.                   When setting expectations for another provide the scaffolding for success

331.                   Success is judged by how many you have helped succeed; not networth

332.                   Unwittingly, and often, we cut our nose to smite our face

333.                   When agitated and peace is being spoken grab it as you would a life-jacket

334.                   Bearing ill will with no apparent benefit to either is a sorry condition of man

335.                   Exercising discretion as better part of valor has saved many a relationship

336.                   Better to lose the argument than the person

337.                   When disappointed look inwards to correct, not outwards to blame

RESPONSIBILITY

338.                   Maturity is when you know what you need to take responsibility for

339.                   Take responsibility for an error of judgement to void its recurrence

SETBACK

340.                   Walk with confidence even when you stumble

341.                   Be the person you are meant to be - not expected to be

342.                   Setback can be a stepping stone to a brighter and more robust future

343.                   Hardships come in two types: peak performance pursuit; depleted resources

344.                   Storms sweep away the decrepit; clears ground to create anew and strong

345.                   A computer virus does for you what you should have been doing for yourself

346.                   Re-engineer when things don’t work out; learning notched are a bonus

SUFFERING

347.                   Do not waste your suffering, but offer it for the salvation of many

348.                   Embrace reality for it has already embraced you

THINKING

349.                   As you think so you are

350.                   Silence your mind when the threads of thought are self-defeating

351.                   Worrying starts when the effort to find a solution meets its end

352.                   Curb your worst instincts and urges within boundaries of your fantasy

353.                   To what you pay attention you give meaning – remember Eve in Eden

354.                   A man is a product of his thoughts; a woman too I think

355.                   Forego giving a ‘piece of your mind’, a sure shot way to gain peace of mind

356.                   Your self-talk is a good measure of your limitations or success

357.                   To worry before it is necessary is to worry more than it is necessary

358.                   Let your pale of worry turn into a flood of relief

359.                   Guard well your thoughts when alone and your words when accompanied

360.                   Count your blessings not your blemishes

TIME MANAGEMENT

361.                   Mind your business; don’t weigh in on matters that is none of your concern

WORK

362.                   Work provides a sense of self-worth; doing nothing transcends the need

363.                   When you sweat over a project tidy it up before presenting

364.                   Work expands to fill time; body expands to fill food; both appear a grind

365.                   To perform with equanimity, detach from the distraction of praise or blame

366.                   Skiing downhill with mind uphill will land you face down on the slope

367.                   Take pleasure in the work for and in itself; results achieved treat as bonus

368.                   When living in the present insulate from past and future gains and losses

369.                   Not taking action is still taking action; it does not absolve from blame

370.                   Navigating workplace hitherto foreign calls for skills to be learnt on the job

371.                   What got you here will not get you there without rework and relearn

372.                   Your value comes from value you deliver; what you are paid is priced into it

373.                   Those who take a pay cut for a challenging assignment gross manifold in time

374.                   When we look for a job, we are trading off on not creating a job

375.                   Job satisfaction is a misnomer

376.                   Some with physical presence build that others with mental absence destroy

377.                   Wake up in the morning ready to go or waking up is an effort in vain

378.                   Work to an end, if lost, track back and start again, repeat till end in sight

379.                   At work when a boss suggests an action, he is politely signaling get it done

380.                   Passive-aggression is the new caste system in multicultural environment

WORRYING

381.                   In life you will have trouble, when you worry you make it double

382.                   When you lose something know you don’t have to take care of it anymore