Wednesday, July 16, 2008 @ Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Motivation!!!
"It's not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves" -Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to scale Mount. Everest

Yeah, Haha, that was the motivational quote that my biology tutors had enlightened us with, as we began our long and arduous tasks of revision exercises and tests. Another quote which heard a few days later:

"Pain is only temporary, However, If you make the wrong decisions, that pain will last forever."

Yep, u know what i mean huh? Well, if you don't, the pain basically refers to the pain of studying - that pain is gonna last for another 4 months, and after that, it will all be over. However, any moves to stop the pain, is gonna make my life a heck of a pain. Gosh, so much for the pain everyone's facing, have mercy!!! :(


As for today, i knew about 3 good stories that were told from my civics teacher, Miss Aileen Wong. The first was the story of 2 friends, the second was the story of the bamboo and the fern, and the 3rd is the story of the eagle. The stories aren't so clear in my mind, but i'm just gonna narrate it to the best of my abilities.

2 Friends

2 friends, A and B, were walking in the vast desert. After running out of water, they got into an argument over what to do. Friend B then punched Friend A in the face. As Friend A lay on the sand, he wrote, "Today, my friend hit me."

Then they carried on walking. they reached an oasis, whereby both got respite from the heat. Suddenly, friend A was sinking- he did not realize that the oasis was deep. Friend B came to his rescue. As both friends lay on the shore, panting after the narrow escape, Friend A took out a stone from his bag and carved, "Today, my friend saved my life."

Friend B was puzzled. He asked, "why did you write your earlier quote in sand, while you write the latter on stone?"

Friend A looked at him, and responded, " Because by writing the bad things that happen between us in sand, the wind can just blow it away. However, by writing the good things in stone, no wind can ever remove its trace. "

It takes: 1 day to get to know a friend, 1 week to get to understand a friend, 1 month to appreciate your friend, 1 year to get to like or love your friends, but forever not to forget their existence!

Dammit man, this is such a good story, i mean, ok, my narration must have been pretty crappy, but hey, i suppose u understand the gist of it huh? To all those people whom i know or treat as friends, sorry for what i've done, and in return, i forgive u guys for what u did! Well, it does not take a day to change one's perspective, but i 'll learn and mature...

The bamboo and the fern

A man has lost his friends, his family and all hopes of fulfiling his goals in life. He decided that there was only one way: to end his life. He wandered into the woods alone, hoping that the darkness and uncertainty of what lies ahead may consume him.

As he wandered in the darkness, he saw a radiant light. He walked towards it, and there was a man with a bright halo. He thought, "That must be god". He walked over to the saint and asked, "Oh god, do you think i lost it all?" The man with the bright halo looked at him calmly and answered, "Why not i tell you a story?"

"There was once a patch of land, and on the land I planted a bamboo seed and a fern seed. Everyday, i gave them water, sunlight and the best nutrient they can ever get. On the first day, the fern began to grow into a tiny seedling, but there was nothing coming out from the bamboo seed.

By a month, the fern was growing strongly, with flowers in full bloom. Yet there was not a single sprout appearing from the bamboo. I wasn't disheartened, and i still gave both plants equal treatment.

By a year, the fern was in its most radiant growth and finally, there was a tiny, the tiniest of all, of sprout growing form the bamboo seed. I smiled, and continue to give them sunlight and water. The next day, the seedling grew to more than 100m..."
"You got the answer."

Hearing this, the man asked the saint, "how can that be possible?" The saint responded, " There is nothing a task too difficult in this world that god gives to its people. With hope and perseverance, anything is possible." "How high did the bamboo grow after that?" "What do you think?" "As high as it could?" "You got your answer."

Hmm, lets just say this story was inspiring enough for me to put it down. Now let me go on to the third and final story.

The eagle


Did you know that eagles can live up to 70 years? Yet, they have to make difficult decision when they reach 40 years old. At 40, their beaks are too curved, their feathers too heavy and their nails too blunt. They are unable to hunt in that condition

At this crucial stage, they have 2 choices: To die, or to endure pain to live.. The latter involves flying to the highest of mountains....to REST. At the top, they break their beaks against the rock, and allow it to regrow. After that, they use the new beaks to pluck of their feathers, and allow them to regrow Last but not least, they break their nails, and wait for it to grow sharply.

The entire process takes 7 months!!! But after that, they can hunt for another 30 YEARS!!!

The moral of the story: same as the 2nd quote: pain is temporary, to have a better life ahead!

Well, i've reached the end of a very long but interesting post. Photos of this period of absence will be uploaded soon. As for now, I'm really swarmed with work. With tests practically everyday, and no time for a breather. Admist all the chaos, i sincerely hope that i can do better, not for anyone, but for myself and my future, to atone for the disappointment of JCTs.

Let that be a reminder of what happens when one tries to stop the pain...

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