learning to let go, learning to say no

i'm glad.

learning to really grow beyond who I was.

sillyly i forgot to take my money after taking my ATM card... duh... that's the FIRST time such things have happened to me. Guess I was really focused on a project. Was quite frustrated and angsty... but heard God say "Let go"... hehz... took me a while, just had to keep CHOOSING to obey and let go. Initially I did, and it just became something to laugh at. Guess I've learnt to be more forgiving of myself and other too. THUMBS UP!!!

hehz... think I'm getting better at saying no. after lots of kick-in-butts by a good friend who NEVER fails to remind me to do that when I should. I say yes too often. Ha. Too nice and easy gg. Too much of a pushover. Too much of an obliger. Maybe I just wanted people to like me. Well... I've learnt I need to draw boundaries, pray and think through before I take up certain projects and really live a balanced and fruitful life. Am happier.

Need for focus

Like this article. With so many things to distract us and to waste our time.
Moreso we need to prioritise, focus and reflect constantly. If not our lives
will just pass away.

---------------------

As the pace of information delivery increases, we now have more
distractions than ever.

We have to juggle, multi-task and sometimes split our personality.
Herein lies the real problem about our lack of time.

We are all mere mortals and, on a personal level, can only focus on a
certain number of things at one time.

Focus is an exercise in prioritising and concentrating on certain tasks
at the expense of others.

At the company level, the buzzword is "core competence".

This was first defined by two eminent business thinkers, Professors C K
Prahalad and Gary Hamel in 1990.

It reflected the transition that companies were undergoing, from the
era of the diversified conglomerate in multiple unrelated businesses,
to the current era of focused and heavily synergistic businesses – as
manifested, most recently, in eBay's acquisition of Skype.

So, really, the world will get even smaller and the pace of life even
faster. But that should not be an excuse not to focus. - TODAY/sh 

hope in the journey

hopeinjourney
Originally uploaded by jgal.

i like this pix. the light at the end of the tunnel.

been gg through some stuff recently. and really HOPE in Him keeps me gg. Its real tough. But I can cry and cry and cry for a long time but at the end of it, I'll have a thought of hope and find the strength to carry on. It's like David when He wrote the Psalms - how he laments, complains, struggles, yet most of the time He ends off with praise, hope and courage.

Yup. Hope in Him keeps me alive.

new steps

shoes
Originally uploaded by jgal.

I think Christians must be the most versatile to change. As we are always changing from glory to glory and also moving from seasons to seasons and also moving by the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. Heh.

New direction of the Arts. Hmm... new frontiers to conquer... new area to break into, to pioneer.

Felt God saying "trust me" last Sunday regarding this move. Really have no clue, have no 'hows', but I know He will lead and open doors. Dun even know where it will lead to.

But one day, would sure hope I'll have exhibitions worldwide and heh, dream big! But all in all, it sums up to this song: I stand in awe of HIM.

To reflect His beauty, His mystery, His splendor, His uniqueness, His majesty.

May my art reflect Him and rightly represent Him.

Why can't we live with limited resources?? Part II

Part Two. The lesson of knowing when it is enough. And how to live enough. The balance of learning to work with the current resources yet also pushing for more at the right time and right pace.

Guess almost ALL my life i've lived to max resources and pushed for more. from school and work. media planning and advertising is pushing for the max for your clients. That is good in its way - learning to push, learning to give and get the best.But I think I'm learning a new dimension.It is to accept the optimum.To say no. To accept no. That not everything needs to be pushed to the max. Learning. Still learning.

To be a realist idealist. To learn to stop, wait. rethink. And to be contented with the resources at the moment first. expansion and growth takes time.

Women - born peacemakers

Just want to celebrate womanhood.  How women plays a positive
role in peacemaking.  Sometimes women are seen as wishy
washy or soft in the corporate world.  But women also possess
qualities that adds the personal touch.  With the natural biological
make up of being more nurturing, women are just natural born
peacemakers.

I'm proud to be a woman.



Just woman to woman, a search for peace

By Dr Kanwaljit Sooin



There is an endless flow of news about the many troubled areas in the
world where conflict, war and human casualties are the order of the day.


Innumerable attempts have been made to resolve these problems but, more
often than not, the efforts have come to naught.



One contributing cause, I believe, is that the participation of women
in peace negotiations is usually overlooked.



The political leaders and others, almost always male, sit and talk and
negotiate without the benefit of the views and negotiating skills of
women.


During times of armed conflict and the collapse of communities, the
role of women is crucial. They often work to preserve social order in
the midst of conflicts.


Women make an important but often unacknowledged contribution as peace 
educators both in their families and in their societies.


They can and should play a bigger role in helping to find solutions to 
the many conflicts around the world and to prevent new conflicts from 
developing.

The good news is that in one long-running arena of conflict — the
Israeli- Palestinian situation — a step has been taken to involve women
in the peace process.

At the end of July, shortly before the start of the pullout of Israeli
settlers from the Gaza Strip, I was in Istanbul to attend a meeting in
connection with the Israeli-Palestinian problem.

In response to a joint request by Palestinian and Israeli women leaders
and activists, the United Nations Development Fund for Women organised
the Istanbul meeting.

The aim was to establish an International Women’s Commission (IWC) for
a just and sustainable Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The 35 Palestinian, Israeli and international women leaders who
gathered in Istanbul spent three intensive days discussing this matter,
often in heated debate.

The discussions were conducted under the Chatham House Rule, which
meant that all spoke as individuals and were assured of full
confidentiality beyond the four walls of the meeting room.

By the end of the third day, the women were able to overcome
differences and agree on a charter of principles for the IWC.

A key goal is to ensure the meaningful participation of a diverse
representation of women in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace
process.

The completion of the Israeli pullout from Gaza is just the first step
in a long and very rocky road to real and lasting peace.

The IWC will push for transparency, accountability and respect for
rules and principles to be maintained throughout the peace process.

It will also provide an early warning of developments that might
undermine the twostate solution and activate interim preventive
measures.

It will make suggestions to bring about constructive political
dialogue, and to reframe divisive issues.

It will incorporate into its recommendations the experiences and
expertise of peace activists and organisations engaged in conflict
resolution around the world.

The IWC, which is due to be formally launched this month, also aims to
mobilise local and international support for Israeli-Palestinian peace
through public and media outreach, networking, dialogue and political
efforts and actions.

Can the IWC make a real difference in the Middle East? Yes, because a
start has been made simply by having women from the two areas of
conflict (Palestine and Israel) come together and, in over just three
days, successfully hammering out the framework for their efforts.

It was proof once again that women have the ability to cooperate and
negotiate to resolve conflict and further the peace process.

The IWC offers a model for women to get more involved in that difficult
but so important search for peace elsewhere around the world.

TODAY /ra
Copyright © 2005 MCN International Pte Ltd

Good fathers make good daughters

Fathers are very important to how daughters grow up.
Good fathers really help daughters to grow into who
they are - womanly, secure and loving. And it does
not stop there, but it passes down onto their kids
when they become wifes and mothers.

Parenting, a high and noble calling.


This song by John Mayer speaks volumes:

"I know a girl

She puts the color inside of my world

She's just like a maze

Where all of the walls all continually change

And I've done all I can

To stand on her steps with my heart in my hands

Now I'm starting to see

Maybe it's got nothing to do with me



Fathers be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers be good to your daughters too



Oh, you see that skin?

It's the same she's been standing in

Since the day she saw him walking away

Now she's left

Cleaning up the mess he made



Fathers be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers be good to your daughters too



Boys, you can break

You'll find out how much they can take

Boys will be strong

And boys soldier on

But boys would be gone without warmth from

A woman's good, good heart



On behalf of every man

Looking out for every girl

You are the god and the weight of her world



So fathers be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers be good to your daughters, too

So mothers be good to your daughters, too

So mothers be good to your daughters, too"