:: Why God Made Teachers ::

:: Lead me, dear teacher ::

I must admit I've never truely been a patrotic Singapore ... I can't say with all sincerity that I love Singapore .. in fact, I think I've spent more than half of the time I'm here longing to be somewhere else on some great adventure, some noble quest or some fantastic tour ... maybe mainly it's because the time has finally draw near for me to leave ... I'm beginning to feel nolstalgic & start taking in a lot deeper the sights, sounds & experiences I go through daily ...

I used to lament that Singapore is rather boring & small ... with no awesome sceneries to marvel at .. no mountains to climb, no seas to dive into ... most importantly, I really could not bear the ungracious & rude behavior of many Singaporeans I see - arrogance coupled with complacency and a lack of appreciation for life and others. The blaring face of superficiality that seems to have seeped into every seam of society. The irrational obsession with work, performance, competitiveness and material comfort that overshadows the beauty of simple things in life - like the very breathe we take and also ... the ability to just ... breathe!

But of late, as I've contemplate the things that have been happening around the world, I have been growing in very deep appreciation of what we have here in our tiny red dot. Recently a question was posed on the net by an eminent scientist: "How can the Earth go on for another 100 years?" or something to the same effect ... & it was a question that dumbfounded everyone ... including the scientist himself ... simply because in view of the escalating & imminent amounts of man-made & natural disasters ... how can we survive? From natural disasters that occur at alarming rates & scale, to man made disasters of cruelty & extent unimaginable ... where can we go from here? If its not the H5N1 avian flu virus that threatens mankind with an influenza pandamic of almost 50%.. never has mankind seen a virus of its like before .. not even the spanish flu; then there are the typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes, global warming; then there are the terrorists whose acts is not bounded by any hint of respect for humanity; then there is the possibility of nuclear war ... & what else? Yet, at the face of all that is happeninig, many of us seem oblivion to what's really happening & are livinig our happy little lives, being offended by trivial things and scheming for things that have no eternal value.

What really matters? I still think it's the attitude of gratitude & humility. Appreciation for every little thing in life ... like being able to even smell the freshness of the morning air, to be able to hear the faint chirping of birds in a distance, having each daily meal, being healthy, being able to choose to smile & run, be loved, ability to dream & hope, to grow & change. It's also to be humble enough to know everything we have is not because of us - that we deserve it.. but just simply because of Grace. We can never claim we deserve better or we are better than others because we are but one in 4 billion on this earth, with numerous who have gone before us & coming after us, who are we to think we are that important? Yet, in the eyes of loved ones & God, we are significant enough! Even so, who are we to demand that we are loved by them .. after all, love is a choice... that's why it's so treasured & beautiful!

So on this note, I am immensely grateful for all we have in Singapore - great food, great transport system, great government administration ... not perfect .. but wonderful enough ... I do hope that my students will grow up to be appreciative & level headed people, who understands the value of hard work & having confidence, not arrogance, in themselves & the humility to know, its not just about them...

Thank you Lord ... for everything - the good & the bad.