Let me introduce to you something that I learned from a story book. Or was it a comic strip? Whatever.
Fact 2: All of us are born with a jar with a fixed number of jellybeans.
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| It's a gift that we are born with! Have you said thank you yet? :) |
And little do we know it, but every morning, we pop one of these jellybeans in our mouths before we start out our day with important things like go to uni, work, or log in to our Facebook accounts.
Then, we do whatever we do. We attend lectures and tutorials, we slog in front of the computer, we get caught in traffic, struggle with our own life's drama, kepoh in other people's drama, go on Facebook... the works.
Finally, at whatever hour, we retire to our beds and another day ends. And whether or not we brush our teeth the next morning, each and everyone of us will pop ONE MORE jelly bean in our mouths. And the cycle repeats.
Sounds like a fun eh? Kick-starting our days with a jellybean.
The catch is that we don't know how many jellybeans are in the jar. Sure, the jellybeans are there with a set number decided by the Person that gave us our jellybean jar, but we don't know how many we are left with at any given time. We are all blind remember?
Yes, the jellybeans refer to our days we have to live. Congratulations if you caught on. We are blind because we don't know when our days will run out. And every single morning, we WILL pop one jellybean in our mouths and our jellybean jar will have one less jellybean, signifying that we are one day closer to the day where there is no more jellybeans in our jar.
And no, our health and youth are no guarantees that there are plenty of jellybeans in our jar.
I had a friend who played tennis and was young with a future so bright I'm surprised he didn't wear shades everywhere he went. He was handsome to the point that girls really drooled over him, youthful and so full of potential. In fact he had just graduated and was on his way to intern at a place where he always wanted to.
Well, you know what?
He passed away in a car accident last year.
Him, and several of his family members, some even younger than him.
Well, you know what?
He passed away in a car accident last year.
Him, and several of his family members, some even younger than him.
Lesson to learn from this?
1) We are REALLY blind to how many jellybeans are left in our jar. Think that these kind of things only happen to other people? Think again.
2) Other people in our lives have limited jellybeans too.
No one saw it coming. No one expected that the last time we saw him, he only had a few jellybeans left.
But this friend of mine lived such a filled life and despite not being very close with him as we have only met for a few months, he impacted me so much while he was alive and even in his passing. It is a life worth celebrating and celebrate we did through the tears at a makan place on the day he passed away. Thank you, Joash Wee. :)
As I write this, I am determined to not forget the lessons I learned after he passed away. He inspired me.
It's true that we only live once. Of course, that might be a really good excuse to give myself as I contemplate whether or not to eat that yummy looking but expensive strawberry pancake. But it's an even better reason to appreciate life itself, the little things around us and the people in our lives.
One of the things I fear before I head over to the UK to further my studies is getting news that I will never see a family member or a friend ever again. I'm afraid that I'll never get to tell a person what he/she really meant to me, or that I missed the chance to give that teacher/lecturer/adult the respect he/she deserves, or do enough to impact a person's life because I was selfish and too absorbed with my own life...the list goes on.
This jellybean concept can mean a lot of things to us. It could mean chasing that dream to be the next Prime Minister, forgiving someone, not giving up on a project, spending more time with the people that matter to you, giving back to the community, telling someone you love them, stop spending so much time on Facebook stalking that cute guy you saw in uni today, doing your best in everything that you do like your studies and for Christians, serving God with your best and maybe coming back to God, being grateful NO MATTER WHAT, making full use of your time by studying harder, focusing on things that really matter like health and not fitting into that size 2 jeans or...starting a public blog that you always wanted to do.
Jellybeans are colourful. Some are happy and come in joyful colours like red and orange. And some come in emo hues like grey or even dark purple. But even on days that we are so down with lousy grades, battered self-esteem, unrequited love, the passing away of your pet dog or losing your i-Phone, that awful day was STILL a jelly bean. An emo coloured one, but a jellybean NONE. THE. LESS. And the fact that you can say that you lived ONE MORE DAY, is something to be grateful for already. And whatever colours they come in, they are sweet! So smile! :)
Easier said than done?
*inhales*
Trust me, I know. But I guess we can't deny that it's true that we have stuff and fluff to be grateful for still? :)
Truthfully, I'm not the most optimistic of people and I justify myself by saying that I'm trying to be realistic. But often I can't be sure if I have crossed the line to downright pessimism. Maybe I have. Whatever it is, while I refuse to turn a blind eye on the negatives of life in blatant ignorance, I don't want to take for granted and miss out on the good stuff either.
So, I have a 'grateful list' that I try to update as often as possible to remind myself of what I DO have and I like to do it especially when I'm down. It might say that I'm grateful for that awesome bargain at the shopping mall and sometimes it says that I'm thankful for difficulties because it shapes my character and sometimes it says I'm just grateful for life itself when I can't think of anything to be grateful for because I feel so terrible. Sometimes, I just have to force myself to do that list. Gratefulness isn't a feeling. It's an attitude that comes from deciding to be grateful. It keeps things in perspective and I remind myself of my jellybean jar and that of other people. I often overlook these things but I hope to improve.
And gratefulness doesn't stop at just saying we are grateful for this and that. It should be coupled with action. Hence, if we say we are grateful for food on our table, we shouldn't scream our heads off at our maids when it's a little bland. If we say we are thankful for our families, let's treat our parents and siblings with more love and respect. And if we tell people that we are grateful for our education, let's do our very best! And that means not doing your assignments and tutorial preparations at the last minute!!!!! And that means doing that Land Law mortgages assignment joyfully AND with commitment. I'm talking to myself, by the way.
This is whole message of seizing the day is awfully cliche, but if it's true and beneficial, let's shout on the rooftops cliche messages till the cows come home. And live it of course. :)
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| Colourful!! :D:D:D:D |
Easier said than done?
*inhales*
Trust me, I know. But I guess we can't deny that it's true that we have stuff and fluff to be grateful for still? :)
Truthfully, I'm not the most optimistic of people and I justify myself by saying that I'm trying to be realistic. But often I can't be sure if I have crossed the line to downright pessimism. Maybe I have. Whatever it is, while I refuse to turn a blind eye on the negatives of life in blatant ignorance, I don't want to take for granted and miss out on the good stuff either.
So, I have a 'grateful list' that I try to update as often as possible to remind myself of what I DO have and I like to do it especially when I'm down. It might say that I'm grateful for that awesome bargain at the shopping mall and sometimes it says that I'm thankful for difficulties because it shapes my character and sometimes it says I'm just grateful for life itself when I can't think of anything to be grateful for because I feel so terrible. Sometimes, I just have to force myself to do that list. Gratefulness isn't a feeling. It's an attitude that comes from deciding to be grateful. It keeps things in perspective and I remind myself of my jellybean jar and that of other people. I often overlook these things but I hope to improve.
And gratefulness doesn't stop at just saying we are grateful for this and that. It should be coupled with action. Hence, if we say we are grateful for food on our table, we shouldn't scream our heads off at our maids when it's a little bland. If we say we are thankful for our families, let's treat our parents and siblings with more love and respect. And if we tell people that we are grateful for our education, let's do our very best! And that means not doing your assignments and tutorial preparations at the last minute!!!!! And that means doing that Land Law mortgages assignment joyfully AND with commitment. I'm talking to myself, by the way.
This is whole message of seizing the day is awfully cliche, but if it's true and beneficial, let's shout on the rooftops cliche messages till the cows come home. And live it of course. :)
I think this song sums up everything. :D
It hits me every time especially the line "What would it take for the clouds to break for us to realise that each day is a gift somehow, someway?"
The days we are given are gifts from above and so today we remember to live and to love. :)
Thank You God, for today's jellybean. I may have a thousand more jellybeans or maybe this little guy will be my last one. Regardless, help me make the most out of it. I don't want to wait until it's too late.
Om nom. Yummy. :)
It hits me every time especially the line "What would it take for the clouds to break for us to realise that each day is a gift somehow, someway?"
The days we are given are gifts from above and so today we remember to live and to love. :)
Thank You God, for today's jellybean. I may have a thousand more jellybeans or maybe this little guy will be my last one. Regardless, help me make the most out of it. I don't want to wait until it's too late.
Om nom. Yummy. :)
Carpe diem! :)
10:41AM
5/2/11
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