Category Archives: basics

courage

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. ”

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Wise words from C.S. Lewis.

a reminder

My joy is not determined by what happens to me,

but what Christ is doing in me and through me.

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That is, our joy is not dictated by our circumstances.

reblog: Seth’s Blog: As if your life depended on it

Seth’s Blog: As if your life depended on it: “Art is best done all in, as if everything is on the line. When the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you know you’ve commited to whatever it is you make.

Marketing strategy and communication, on the other hand, is best done with discernment, a strategic game to be understood and tested. The more you need to (must!) succeed at bringing the idea to market, the less success you’ll encounter, because your fear will come through.

Patience, awareness and skill matter, and you are best at this if you are prepared to fail without dying.

So, go do your art and make a difference. But don’t expect to be good at marketing if you have only this one and only moment to do it.”

body, soul and spirit

I tend to neglect my body when other things get in the way.

Skipping breakfast when Hospital starts too early.

Not sleeping enough because I stay up too late.

Trying to keep fit but only doing it once a week or so.

And it’s really draining doing everything else when I’m tired.

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Unfortunately, we aren’t just soul and spirit, but we have a body too.

To re-hash a quote I’m sure I’ve used before:

You are not a body. You are a soul, and you HAVE a body.

And that means that our bodily condition has a real effect on the way we feel. Which SHOULD be obvious to someone studying medicine, or really, to anyone in general. When you’re sick, you feel terrible.

But I’ve been really challenged lately about taking better care of myself, as it’s easier to be patient when you’re not tired.

You are easier to be around, when you’re not sleep-deprived.

And it’s easier to sell the message of the Gospel when your life reflects it. When you’re not too tired.

plankeye

Luke 6:41
New International Version (NIV)
41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

There’s a band called plankeye, or at least there was a band called plankeye, and their name came from this verse (or maybe the verse in Matthew).

I had the chance to go to one of the social nights for a national student convention on Sunday night, and I came away with an immense feeling of disappointment. People who I thought would be better or more responsible with alcohol proved otherwise. And it just felt dirty.

So the whole day I had been wrestling with this discontent, and it was only just at the end of the day where I was forced to face myself.

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See, my big deal with drinking  alcohol is that it’s okay if it’s in that golden zone of knowing your limit, drinking socially and actually appreciating what you’re drinking. Now, when people go out of their way to drink too much, lose their inhibitions and actually get ataxic, then I start to question their motives.

Because it’s not about being sociable anymore, or even about enjoyment. It’s about drowning out reality in a blur of alcohol and forgetting about the life that you’re living. It’s about a reputation, and it’s about self-centredness. (Someone should probably correct me on this, because this is just what I assume the reason behind drinking excessively is).

It’s a statement saying, “My life sucks, and I spend way too much time putting up these walls to pretend that things are bearable. But now I can drink, lose my inhibitions and everything that’s stopping me from having a good time, and forget about my life for at least tonight.”

And it goes completely against the Christian belief of having fullness and completeness in Christ. We have meaning, we have joy, we have purpose, we have fulfilment when Jesus enters our lives and brings us out of what we were. We are born again.

And that’s why it hurts to see it.

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But then, I had to face the facts, and realise that I do the same thing every day. But it’s not alcohol that I use as a distraction or as an anaesthetic, it’s pride. It’s narcissism and conceit. When Medicine gets too hard to study, I fade away into fantasies that I could drop it all and make it big with a career in music. Or that full-time serving at Church would bring me fulfilment.

Or I escape into sad music, films, and the appearance of being culturally refined. Knowing the latest and greatest places to eat, genuinely liking coffee (but pretending to know more about it than I care), and just putting on this thing that isn’t who I am.

And so I was forced to notice the plank, in my own eye.

My weakness is not your weakness. But like I said only a few posts ago, we are all messed up.

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So I’m here now, after a whole day of feeling resentful and disappointed, just realising that I actually love the people I was “disappointed” in, and that we’re all in this together. It’s good to be made to feel foolish by God.

 

And… this is about as personal as this blog has gotten in a long time!

what happened

 We have the cards we are dealt, however many times we respond negatively toward them. In meekness we hide our disabilities and parade our strengths. But this ailment is not for the mere purpose of having a burden in our life, our ailments are vessels that “the works of God might be displayed” (vs.3) – The more we have the mightier he will look. The more you have the more potential you have to overcome.

Benno

“What if I had <_______>” won’t help with anything if it’s a reflection on the past, or an opportunity that will never be. What happened happened. And this might not always be the most tactful thing to say, but it did happen for a reason, and does not detract from the sovereignty of God.

I don’t think I can unpack this any more in the public arena, it’s more of a personal conversation topic, and without proper explanation, empathy, context and relationship, these kind of statements tend to offend.

hope

Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.

St Augustine of Hippo.

Maybe this is a good example of the important parts of “faith”. Faith is not blind. And when we’re thinking about personal growth and development, maybe it’s an anger at the way you are (when you really be completely honest with yourself). Recognising that there are parts of you that are lazy. There are parts of you that are spiteful. Parts of you that envy. Parts of you that are self-sabotaging.

And faith in Christianity also involves courage. Courage to step out and admit your weakness, trust in God’s provision, and act on His promises. It’s not about your “self” anymore, but it’s about recognising that the change needs to come from God.

Tomorrow: Christianity in one line (ish).

composure

via o2soul.

Maybe this is what professionalism is about.

(This is a bit of a different blog post, as I’ll see if I can just start writing what I think about this scenario and build from there in one shot, without any sort of planning.)

Here’s a guy selling a product and demonstrating what it does and the benefits of this particular product in a field that is heavily dominated by other tablets, namely the iPad and the Android tablets (Samsung Galaxy Tab, ASUS eee Transformer…). Except when he tries to demonstrate it, the product doesn’t deliver.

What he claims is not what actually happens, or it appears that way to the audience. And yet he continues to push on.

He’s probably feeling the immense pressure now, of maintaining his composure when things look dire. He ends up replacing the one that he’s using for another of the same model, but one that actually works.

Two things from this:

1. He didn’t panic, or it wasn’t evident in his mannerisms or his speech (except perhaps the slightly quick mini-jog across the stage to the backup demonstration model). It would be really easy for him to stop and say, “I can’t do this. Pardon me, let me go and get something that actually works” and blame others for the circumstances he’s in. But a quote that I have had in my mind for a while about professionalism, is the fact that as a professional, you have to get the job done regardless of how you feel.

2. He went to get the backup demonstration model – implying that there was a contingency plan.

Maybe the lesson is to appreciate what it is that you have in your hands. As far as I know this guy was not one of the lead developers. He didn’t put this into motion, he didn’t spend hours and hours labouring over the minute details that would ensure that his product was an “iPad-killer”. He, as far as I know, was just paid to promote the product, using the gifts and talents that he has as a salesman.

A classic example is Moses in the Biblical account of Exodus. He was a murderer who fled to the country-side and abandoned his own people group. And God calls him to lead His people out of Egypt.

Exodus 4:1-3 (NIV)

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

The lesson for me as a Christian is probably that the product I’m selling with the way I live my life is Salvation through a relationship with Jesus. It’s not my product, and it might not work the way I think it should sometimes, and it might not appear that way to others. But I’m here to do my job, and to keep my composure (faith) when it’s hard, and when I’m in circumstances that I don’t think I can handle.

And the lesson for me maybe as a doctor is to trust in the treatment plans, and the little that I can do for a patient. There’s contingency in management, and there are also a lot of things that can go wrong, but I put my trust in the fact that God is in control, and that the systems that are in place, the examination techniques, my history-taking skills, the evidence-based medicine and its effects on management plans and treatment outcomes, are all in God’s hands. I’m just selling the product.

hurting people hurt people

I’m not sure where I heard this, but I think it makes sense. The ones who hurt are the ones who have been hurt in the past.

And it’s not about hurting because they’ve been hurt, as if trying to find some balance, but wanting to claim back that part that was taken from them and unintentionally hurting others. (Actually sometimes it is intentional. That’s the tough thing about being people)