just now i did a quick scroll through of my greader to look through the posts of various friends. a lot of them share and document the struggles of their lives. it was admirable to see. others display the qualities of prominent people and draw upon them for lessons for us regular folk. none of these qualities are just inherited or easily acquired, but requires sweat and tears and pain and endurance.
each of these people have shown real struggle. they have taken the time to understand what is in front of them (or at least trying), and managed their own skills and resources to brace themselves for a difficult time. and then they come out with a lesson and something worth recounting. something that makes them a greater person.
i love and respect all the people that had true tribulations and rise to the meet the challenge, and display their inner strength. i think despite how a lot of people are battered and bruised with life, deep within their hearts there is a spark that relishes in the victory. welcoming the pain because of greater glory.
with that has come disappointment in how i've shied from a lot of the big questions waiting for me to be answered. how long will i wait? can't rely on God, can't even rely on myself. clouded my mind, no longer can hear myself think. i haven't been able to get myself to confront struggle, let alone engage it. when is it time to stop dancing around my fake struggles, disguising themselves from what they truly are, simply petty desires and wants.
but this past week, some people did not have any choice to fight. a tragic plane crash leaves four bombardier employees dead and four families absolutely shattered. aged 27, 23, 20, 19, three distinct life stages all cut short. today i went to a muslim funeral, where they praised their god, submitted to his ways and made no mention of the deceased. i did not know them all well. but when someone that you see every day is no longer there, the pain/void is deafeningly obvious. and i didn't even know them all well. one more funeral to come. praying for all the families.
i've come to learn that the greatest in victor lau is his heart. waiting for the day that his heart will rise, awaken and be healed, ready to fight again.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
greatness part 2
ten thousand meters.
that is the distance from my house to my workplace. my house to my church. a distance that i drive in my car on a regular basis. and i wouldn't do it any other way.
not always so for some others.
that is a distance far enough for pain, heavy breathing, and needing sheer will just to push forward. at least for me.
there's a competitive spirit in all of us, some more and some less. the fine line between the two may simply be a willingness to try.
who doesn't like glory? the story of the young and inexperienced, training and fighting against all odds, but through the barrage of trials, comes out all the stronger, the wiser, and the greater. it's so great a story that we are all drawn to it.
can't we just be trying to get from A to B?
getting something done doesn't make you great. if we try to give ourselves glory, the real reason for that is because we are selfish. and it took me so long to realize that greatness isn't from what you do. what you do IS great, but it does not make you great. and so all the status, class, and your material things that were gained by what you do, also does not make you great.
i understand now. the allure of human greatness, all the arrows pointing to their heart and soul, fully on display for the world to see and hear. why do we want to earn our way to greatness? because we are selfish. and everyone else earning their way to greatness is doing it because they are doing it for themselves.
but maybe that's what exactly they are doing, just getting A to B. and the training and the fighting, minus the glory. and just like myself, they are just trying to get there. they desire the humility of their rawness and the journey to refinement. just trying to get by.
so really, there is no earning greatness. for those of you who may think so, get it out of your head (including me). God, the truly unselfish one, is the only one that is great.
took me a darn year to figure this out.
to all my friends who ran the 10k run. congratulations! you worked hard and trained hard and i probably couldn't do it half as well as you. you are all pretty great.
that is the distance from my house to my workplace. my house to my church. a distance that i drive in my car on a regular basis. and i wouldn't do it any other way.
not always so for some others.
that is a distance far enough for pain, heavy breathing, and needing sheer will just to push forward. at least for me.
there's a competitive spirit in all of us, some more and some less. the fine line between the two may simply be a willingness to try.
who doesn't like glory? the story of the young and inexperienced, training and fighting against all odds, but through the barrage of trials, comes out all the stronger, the wiser, and the greater. it's so great a story that we are all drawn to it.
can't we just be trying to get from A to B?
getting something done doesn't make you great. if we try to give ourselves glory, the real reason for that is because we are selfish. and it took me so long to realize that greatness isn't from what you do. what you do IS great, but it does not make you great. and so all the status, class, and your material things that were gained by what you do, also does not make you great.
i understand now. the allure of human greatness, all the arrows pointing to their heart and soul, fully on display for the world to see and hear. why do we want to earn our way to greatness? because we are selfish. and everyone else earning their way to greatness is doing it because they are doing it for themselves.
but maybe that's what exactly they are doing, just getting A to B. and the training and the fighting, minus the glory. and just like myself, they are just trying to get there. they desire the humility of their rawness and the journey to refinement. just trying to get by.
so really, there is no earning greatness. for those of you who may think so, get it out of your head (including me). God, the truly unselfish one, is the only one that is great.
took me a darn year to figure this out.
to all my friends who ran the 10k run. congratulations! you worked hard and trained hard and i probably couldn't do it half as well as you. you are all pretty great.
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