TOLERANCE - A necessary Virtue.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. So many events I witnessed lately have stirred up my thinking to a different level. Hmmm....I've really come to learn a lot about what it means to be tolerant.

Watz tolerance all about? Is it about accepting things that you feel comfortable with, or things that you do not feel comfortable with? Now, let's first see what the dictionary has to say about this.
TOLERANCE - a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.

I'll love to get more practical about this. How about walking into a public store, looking out to get a drink, you get a stare from everyone in there, because of the color of your skin, you're black, they are all white, brown skinned, or even red skinned. Then, one of them walks up to you, and spits a word to your face "Hey Negro, what the fuck d'u think u are doing here? U shouldn't be in here...or can't u see?" Then, the first impression you get is this: "Oh My God! Here comes a racist...." U feel like you should just thrust out ur right hand and plunge your fist into his face... :) :D, but all u do is stare right into his face and say "I'm sorry man, I never really thought that I shouldn't be in here....All I came here for is a can of Coke. Then he gives you a disgusting look and strolls straight away.

Does that sound bad enough? No, I don't think it does....Then here comes another.....U get to the bus stop, waiting to get a cab. U feel so tired, after a long day. There's a queue, then u stand right in the queue. The cabs come in their numbers, in a queue too, U wait until it gets to ur turn to get into one of the cabs. Here comes the cab you are to get into, u walk right to him, but before you even think of opening the door, he puts up his right hand in a gesture "NO!", then he picks up the next person on the queue(behind you) and drives on,leaving u speechless.... Luckily, u get a chance to get away with the next cab on the queue, and the thought of what happened never gets out of your mind.

Now does this sound bad enough? Hmmmmm.....U wake up on a very beautiful Sunday morning, get dressed to go to Church. As u are about to walk into the Church auditorium, a car speeds past u, and a man who seems to be as old as ur own grandfather sticks his head full of gray hairs out of the window and screams out his lungs "Fuck u Nigger!!!". Now u feel like u've had enough of it...U feel depressed even during Church service. Nothing really seems to matter anymore, except that u feel so much hate for the people around u who obviously have a different skin color from yours.

Now this is where tolerance comes in. These people have just acted in a very unfair manner to you. U feel like your world hates u because of the color of your skin, u feel they really do not know what u are worth....u wonder why u have to bear the shame and humiliation that resulted from the world wars and slavery that existed decades upon decades before u were even born....Hmmmm, U just feel like u should never really have anything to do with the likes of them. Here's where tolerance is needed most.

When U've been hurt because of other people's beliefs, religion, reaction to u e.t.c, u need tolerance to pull through. Without tolerance, it becomes so..so easy to hate a person...or even a group of people. You could just black-list them as a group u never want to associate with. It takes tolerance to look beyond a person's weakness, judgemental attitude or even humiliation u get from the person. Tolerance opens the way for love and friendliness. It even causes the one who has hurt you to begin to realize his/her faults. For those who are Christians, i guess the bible verse that says "Hatred stirs up strifes, but love covers a multitude of sins (Prov 10:12)" might ring a bell. If you show the person that no matter how they view you, u can still love them, then they'll see their wrongs, and begin to love you in return.

So, the next time you find yourself being humiliated because of the color of your skin, or because of who u are, or the social class you belong to, be still, don't get furious, don't react, just be still and love them in return. Show them that there's a lot to be done in the world than just being a racist or full of hate for a person.

MAKING CHOICES!!!

So many times, i find it difficult believing that I could do a lot of incredibly wrong things. The struggle to always be right appears to be as difficult as the word "struggle". Recently, i got to realize that there were areas of my life that needed to be looked into. Sometimes we just try to concentrate on our vertical relationships(God and ourselves), and forget about the horizontal one(others and ourselves) which in turn matters a lot. Areas like friendships seem not to matter so much until we see ourselves drifting so far...far away from who we really are. Did i hear someone say "Datz very true"?

Now to the main topic, what am i really talking about??? Ummmm.....How d'u feel when u find out that a decision u have just made is going to be very detrimental to you? It's not actually that u couldn't have thought of something better, but u just have to make the decision because u want to please the next person. Many will say "Every situation you find yourself in life is a product of the choices u make", Aye.....I concur to that, but one thing I've come to discover is that it's really difficult to make the right choices if u are surrounded by circumstances and a lot of people gearing you up to make the wrong choice.

Hmmm....Talking about choices, I really find out that I'm speechless at this point. Recently, I was faced with a situation that needed a YES or NO answer. My YES would mean a lot, and also would my NO. Both answers had a side effect i.e. I would definitely not be happy, either ways. Now, u can imagine what it would be like for me, a Dilemma i would call it. And guess what I did?...wonder if ur guess would be close to what it actually is. I gave a NO answer, and it brought me through a lot of trouble...at which point I had to give an affirmative. This didn't even help, it was a worse case.

Well......, I really can't say much here(coz certain issues should be kept personal)...lol....., but i must admit that I've still not recovered from the effect of my choice on this. I'm praying earnestly to God, and crying deep down in my heart, hoping that HE comes to my rescue, and save me from this terrible situation.


One word, if u find urself in a situation where u are forced to make a choice between two things, and there are side effects both ways, it's better to follow ur heart. If u feel u shouldn't give an answer, then i bet u, u just might be right to abstain. There's no point making a decision when u know that there are side effects both ways....especially when it is difficult to weigh the side effects. One very important and easy way to get out of this kind of situation is to PRAY!!!

GETTING ON.

This week started quickly, and also seems to be ending so quickly. Went to bed on Sunday, wondering what would become of me and my sprained knee throughout the week... Well, I thank God that so far, it hasn't been as bad as I expected. It hurt badly on Monday anywayz, I had to hurry home to rest my legs coz i felt like I'd just drop before i get to my room...But by God's grace, I didn't. It hurt so much coz I did a lot of moving around and climbing of staircases. Had lectures virtually the whole day, so you can imagine what that felt like.....aaaarrrrggghhh!!!! It's been good anywayz, I feel a little better now compared to how I felt 2days ago. :)


Ugh Yeah! There's one thing i'm beginning to ponder about...Why does the year seem to be flying past....Yeah! I know it's a leap year, but I just can't figure out why it seems like the year will be ending soon, and i almost feel like i've achieved practically nothing throughout this first quarter of the year. Well..., I've got to gear up and get on....There's much to be done, and ain't no time to leave any stone unturned. Well..., like is a common saying in my dialect, "God dey sha!!!" I put all my trust in HIM and get on with life, coz HE is the driver of my car, I am but a steering wheel.....:)

WISDOM FOR THE WISE.

WISDOM FOR THE WISE …

Get Knowledge …but don’t depend on your Knowledge.

Seek to be Wise…but don’t rely on your Wisdom.

Work Hard…but don’t trust in your Hard work.

Work Smart…but don’t stake everything on your efficiency.

Make Plans…but don’t Hope in your Plans.

Save Money…but don’t trust in your Savings.

Value People…but don’t depend on People.

Use Things and Love People. Don’t Use People and Love Things.

It’s better to deserve honours and not have them, than to have them and not deserve them.

The wise are those people who look at others with the same generosity they offer themselves, and look at themselves with the same critical eyes they have for others.

We are saved by God’s mercy, not by our merit; by Christ’s dying, not by our doing; by trusting, not by trying.



MART DE HANN

UNITY IN DIVERSITY.

“That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that You gave me, that they may be one as We are one: I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved Me”. (John 17:21-23 NIV).

The thought of how different people, of different races, speaking different languages and having different cultural or ethnical values can come together to be one seems almost impossible. A nation most often consists of people who share common values, beliefs and descent. However, this is what God always intended for us, right from the beginning (the creation of the world): that all men would live together in peace, unity and love.

How then can this come to pass? It is God’s will that the world should speak the same language and be in one accord. It still is His will that we speak different languages but also live in one accord. That all tribes and nations should come together to form one nation.., God’s nation.

Our diversity must not be seen as a barrier to our becoming one nation as God intends for us to be. Rather, it should bring us together, knowing that each tribe or nation has a lot to learn from the other. We should learn to understand and embrace the cultures of others, knowing that we all form one nation (God’s nation).

“Wherever God has a child, I have a brother or sister” (W. Carl Ketcherside).

Friday Evening.

Woke up this morning feeling like i had some kinda hangover from last night. An incident that occured Yesterday evening got me doing a lot of thinking and self-analysis. Well..., this isn't just about me, it's about how we live life, react to issues or miscommunication, and how we respond when we feel hurt by someone's words. I guess someone out there who has been through this kind of situation before might just share similar views about this.

Well..., it wasn't something that should result in so much trouble, but to my surprise, it did. I've got two friends, who are really very close to me. I share experiences, struggles, and fears with each of them and sometimes seek their opinion to certain issues. Well, one of them seems to be closer to me (at least from the view of other people) based on the fact that we have some administrative roles to perform together. But unfortunately for me they seem to be each other's rival almost all the time.

Now, i'll just go straight to the point...About yesterday's issue. I got an administrative information that was claimed as a decision taken by one of them. I decided to find out about the information from the one i heard made the suggestion. I did this with a clear mind, free of sentiments, but to my utmost surprise, he took it with a pinch of salt. He felt he was being accused of a decision that was not taken by him, and took it upon himself to figure out who said it and why. Well, i never expected this coz i asked the question from a clear mind and all i needed was a Yes or No answer.

To cut a long story short, it culminated in a verbal tussle....kinda conflict between these two friends of mine, leaving me in between the fight...To one party, i was seen as not being supportive, to the other, i was seen as not giving my trust. In the event of ironing out rumpled surfaces, i got to realise that a lot was involved, and i now feel there is something else which the both of them are not telling me. Well, they are both guys, people who i take as brothers to me, but here i was, feeling like i had set a house ablaze. At the end of Yesterday, i made up my mind to be less expressive and keep back certain things to myself. I know this might not sound right, but from the way i feel about issues right now, i think it'll be best to take that stance.

Well, i'm open to suggestions from anyone and everyone....If you think this is not a right option, you just tell me what u feel about the whole scenario. I mean having two friends who seem to be rivals to each other.

This week....

Wow! I wonder why blogging now seems like a weekly or once in a while stuff for me...Ought to keep up to date as often as possible. Lots of excuses why i shouldn't be blogging keep coming....Most especially the thought of all the skool work i've got to do.

Hmmm! Yeah! Thank God it's weekend again...Always look forward to it...he he :) Seriously, for this week, i couldn't wait. Was almost getting out of my mind....This week really got me feeling like a real nerd. Lectures!, lectures!!, lectures!!!, Courseworks, Lots of programming stuffs to do and most especially, having to go through 5691 lines of code for our group project on arkanoid game stuff....It seemed really challenging to sit for hours (about 3hrs) on Monday, studying codes and getting explanations to what their functions are in the game we are designing...it's not that it's something new anywayz, just that it wasn't what i bargained for this week....Well, Thank Goodness, we finally went through it all.

Yeah! About Haskell, I must say i'm beginning to develop some kinda love for it....This is a sign that things will go well...I feel excited about that.

Uh Oh! Finally, for Friday's experience, I guess i'll need a whole page....i mean fresh page to document what it felt like...ummm....that should come in my next post. :)

Wohoooo!!! Wow! Can't believe it's about 2months i blogged....arghhh been so busy with this skool stuffs. Nerding almost all day long...Lectures to books has just been the routine, except for a few pull-outs from the books. Sometimes, one has got to ignore dem books...he he:)

Ermmm...so watz on the list he he :) Yeah! i need some kinda explanation on the relevance of HASKELL PROGRAMMING to Computer Science...Men! Haskell sucks...Anywayz, i must confess i enjoy it sometimes, it has a kinda drilling power...ha ha ha!!! Wish i could come across anyone who's a Genius when it comes to Haskell....I'll give you a treat if you could just put me through... :)

There's a lot going on here in Malaysia, but none of the students here in Nottingham University seem to care...Datz all coz we're so engrossed in the world of academia...-:)

Well..., if anyone could be of help, your help will be very much appreciated....

Today's encounter....

Hey:)

For anyone who followed my expressions some days ago, this might seem familiar.... Today was really wonderful.... U know what...? I finally made it thru the Algorithmic Problem Solving...Thanks to God Almighty....:) I almost thought I wouldn't....he he...:) But God was merciful...and He still is.

Today's exams was really good.....Unlike i expected...U know God works in mysterious ways....As at this morning, i felt very scared...kinda...well it was a mixed feeling...Wasn't so sure of what i could write....Datz which questions i could solve confidently....

Well, as God would have it, as usual, I put all in His hands and......guess u can tell the outcome if u are a true believer P:)...God never fails.... It turned out well.....I can't contain myself....my heart is filled with Joy....Actually, Algorithmic Problem wasn't worth my tears...PRAISE GOD!!! It pays to trust God...

Feeling Miserable...

Have u ever felt like your whole day was a waste? I felt the same way today...oh no yesterday coz it's about 1:30am out here right now.
I tried so hard to study for an exam I have to write on Monday, but all my efforts seemed to be wasteful...Cud only get to cover 3 Chapters of my lecture notes...So horrible!!!

So what am I to do with this Algorithmic Problem Solving? Whoever came up with the course should have thought better....

Well, though i couldn't do much today...ahhh Yesterday, but I believe the rest has to be done b4 Monday....Come what may... I just have to work hard and put myself in the mood for it.
Can't wait to be a graduate...lol..:)