Of chess, wars and $50M

An interesting question that was asked of me over Skype at work recently, "what will you do if, right now, somebody gives you $50m?" Not that I don't think about it at times, but I didn't have any sensible answer at that moment, except to thank the philanthropist. The question went on to gather a thread of answers mostly hinged on materialism. One said, she'd buy a car, another said she'd stay in a hotel, leave her current job and be elsewhere.

I read on, and I still couldn't give an answer in the veins of what they were peddling. If I were asked that same question 7 years ago I would have answered the same thing-get an imac, buy the complete Peanuts collection, quit school and travel. As I look back now, I cringed at how short my perspective was then. I valued the here and now so much and did not account the future.

Fast forward to the present day, when so much has already changed, I came across this study about lottery winners and instant millionaires, who squandered their riches almost as instantly as they won it. T. Harv Eker on lottery winners in his Money Blue Print program said "Research has shown again and again that regardless of the size of their winnings, most lottery winners eventually return to their original financial state, the amount they can comfortably handle." One might wonder why this is so, Eker explained that the financial blueprint of these instant millionaires are skewed, focusing on what they can consume rather than what they can invest into. They have started with something big that they couldn't handle.

This reminds me of a verse in the bible that says "Whoever is faithful in small things, shall be faithful in large ones...(Luke 16:10 NLT)." It dawned on me how we focus so much on the here and now, on the material things we want to acquire and amass that we just live mediocre lives and hand-to-mouth existence. In other words, our perspective are so skewed and short. Don't get me wrong, though, I have nothing against the here and now, but if that is all we are living and hoping for then no wonder why we buy the lie that we don't have sufficient reason to be faithful and persevere for the great things that God will entrust to us.

If we were entrusted with great things without being faithful to small ones, it will be the death of us, we will dry up and burn out. God is more concerned about our characters than what he wants us to do or have. Rightly so, because if he were to send us to make disciples of all nations without us being discipled first, or blesses us a big business without having the developed character and wisdom to run it, what glory would it give him?

A world war II story tells us of the allies coordinated a massive build-up of troops and supplies to support a large-scale invasion of Normandy, a small region in France. It was so small that the Germans never though it would not be conquered. But as history shows, the invasion of Normandy led to the restoration of the French Republic, and a significant turning point in the war.

Start small, dream, think, and learn big. The point being is that we have to have a larger and longer perspective and be faithful in small things. Life, after all, is like a chess game, where we have so many moves but we can only dispense them one at a time. And it pays to be 10 moves ahead. It pays to know what the goals and priorities are.

Hello Mellow

(A Haiku)

The colors from a distance
You are my gold, white and blue
I will be telling you

An Assertion

The pen, states the popular adage in the 1800s, is mightier than a sword. We can hardly count the number of people who started wars, mended relationships, acquired properties and changed the world through writing. In the words of American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, writing is a political instrument, a way to describe and control your circumstances.

The reason why I write, however, is a matter of passion, a thrill in seeking for my purpose. This became known to me when I was younger-that my God-given purpose was to write. Despite my adviser in highschool journalism opening my awareness to the fact that there is not much money in writing, passion boils like an acid burning on a metal surface. And when ideas start to mushroom in my head, it is probably time to de-clutter.

I move my bowels into the toilet bowl. I think it is fitting that i expel my ideas into writing. My journalism adviser may have been right, passionate writers don't really get much out of writing, except maybe when one sells out and writes for publicity. To date, I am far from selling out. I choose to chase after my purpose not money, and I let money chase me as I choose not to chase after it.

Apparently, when the pen kisses the surface of a paper and moves into the direction to form words, communication happens and it is irreversible. There's no turning back, and if there were, the bible would not have been written, the civil rights, Ann Frank's diary, Plato's The Republic and countless other books that changed the world, would have never been published.

Such writings might have met oppositions and criticisms, but it is undeniable that they shaped cultures, realities and imaginations. Writing is such a powerful and wonderful vocation in changing the world.

And I want to change the world.

I am a writer and my pen is my weapon of choice. I can set and affect change. I am a writer and my idiosyncrasies may manifest, but through which I can be effective. I am a writer, and writing is more than a hobby but a responsibility.

clouds

Parting through the bluest sky

I name the clouds after you
Cellophane traipses concretes

I reach out, or I try
Then you reached first
Rubber soles trudge along

Might someone be behind you
Is He behind me too?
Crooked thoughts straightening

Splitting atoms and molecules
He made me after Him
Love has found what sin has lost.