passion, understand. . . to understand the passion behind this poetic expression, readers need to turn back to read my previous writing entitled “ Kirkby College Memorabilia “ ( Permalink: https://paulchong.net/2009/08/24/kirkby-college-memorabilia/ )
Today here I sit at age 58, no older nor younger
Though as fit & strong as ever
I lack the energy to run for fun
For all the love & fun in the sun.
With all the years gone by
It seems like yesterday I first set eyes
That pretty sweet thing dear to me
That I’ll always cherish for all eternity.
Today I’m refreshed & rejuvenated
With the same passion activated
Content as I am to get your devoted attention
Never ever to forget yesterday’s love & passion.
Would you believe that marriages are made in heaven?
That love knows no age barrier?
They also say that love is blind
Or falling in love at first sight.
These days stranger are happening
between a man & woman, man & man even woman & woman!
Love not only makes the world go round,
it sets the world spinning, upside down & topsy turvy.
And these days strange events are happening not in Hollywood
but in China – where all things are possible!
Unlike in the Middle East & the Muslim world or India & Pakistan where strange marriages
are common such child brides & grand old men, China is setting up new trend among the celebrities & the wealthy.
Liu Xiaoqing & Yi Gang were recently married in San Francisco.
Would you agree they are a handsome & matching couple?
But be prepared to be shocked by some revealing facts:
when Liu Xiaoqing, an actress & business woman, was 33, Yi Gang, a China’s national badminton star, was merely a one year old child.
Yi Gang was an ardent fan of the famed Liu Xiaoqing in her prime years. It’s claimed that he was wooing her for the past 20 years.
The bride in this case is even older than her in-laws. I wonder what would be the accorded greeting & respect. This could be very tricky in China where honour & age respect are traditionally practised.
NOW, she is 60 & he is only 28! A difference of 32 years!
It’s sensational! Unbelievable!
A fairyland story!
Beloved Infidel of the extreme!
It’s Liu’s fourth marriage（第四次婚姻）
Is it possible for a 60 year-old thrice-married woman to marry a handsome 28 year-old Chinese badminton star, who is himself from a rich family background?
Perhaps this is because she looks more like 30 than 60! I guess anything is possible in China nowadays.（我想现今在中国什么都行得通）
She’s ageless since her famous acting days. Imagine her flawless skin, unwrinkled face & neck
Though Liu Xiaoqing is 60? She looks like in her 30s!
Yi Gang comes from good family background, his family is wealthy. Yi Gang is not after her wealth nor is she after his.
Love is true & forever young. Perhaps they were destined for each other. Marriages are made in heaven. It’s commonly known to have traditional marriages in China on the basis of betrothal between friends even before birth.
If up to this point in your life, your thinking & doing have not got you anywhere, & you seem so directionless, it’s time to rethink & may I suggest that you ponder over the underlining statements that follow below here.
One great lesson I learned from my life . . . there is no market for your emotions, so never advertise your feelings, just show your attitude . . .
“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom . . . ” Proverbs 4:7
No one can claim to know enough. Knowledge is dynamic and is ever growing. Either you keep pace with it or you’ll lag behind. A recent survey revealed that two-thirds of the nation’s doctors are – two years behind the breakthroughs in their own field. Think what that means for their patients! If you’re too busy to learn – you’re too busy to improve; before you know it, you’ll be equipped to live only in the past. Think how much you need to learn every day just to keep ahead of what you’re forgetting! You’ve got to become a continual learner! One of the greatest obstacles to growth isn’t ignorance, it’s knowledge, for the more you learn, the more you think you know it all. You become unteachable and stop growing. Don’t let it happen. Listen to what God says about your personal growth.
“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; . . . Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” (Prov 4:6,7)
“The Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Prov 2:6)
“A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength.” (Prov 24:5)
“Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive . . . ” (2 Pet 1:5-8)
Give the Word of God a central place in your life today and make a commitment to keep growing in wisdom – for that’s the essence of happiness, knowledge and power. It is the stuff that a God-centred man is made of.
“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”
Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV)
“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain.” – Psalm 127:1
Where do you start getting the knowledge of God? The right place is the Bible – from Genesis to Revelation. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and teaching in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Loneliness would aptly apply to people without friends or company – a sort of solitude by nature or circumstances. Despite having the ease of modern communication to connect with people & with each other, more & more people are falling into the trap of loneliness. This I would term as “an abstract poverty”.
Fans of Elvis Priestley would know the tune “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” Yes, I am afraid many are & this spell of loneliness or lonesomeness cut across all economic divide, race, creed or sex. Some people just find it hard to reach out for the phone even to talk to somebody. Others may even be lonely in a group . . . harbouring fear & inhibition of reaching out to people . . . unable to trust others . . . incapable of interacting . . . feeling secluded, isolated, unwanted & lonely. This is indeed a serious indictment, a real social issue which ultimately lead on to health problems.
Ever feel dejected in a party, like a fish out of water and just dying to get out of the place in a jiffy? Loneliness breeds a host of problems: social awkwardness or shyness, emotional strain & stress, suicidal tendency, reclusiveness, unfriendliness among others. How can this come about when making friends is just like smiling or merely extending a hand for a warm handshake? Struggle of this nature often accentuates the loneliness.
I believe the nature of the person has much to do with the resultant social behaviour. Some people just can’t accept dejection, as with a friend of ours, who because of love dejection jumped from a high floor of the building where the ex-lover worked. Things can really get out of hand, mind confused, and the life of a perfectly healthy lady was lost because of loneliness & dejection.
In another extreme, I have known of men driven to brutality & murder on ground of dejection. Emotion is a strong force, uncontrollable at times, and for the likes of them many are instituted. As a board member of the visiting board to a mental institution in Malaysia, I have witnessed many sad cases of perfectly healthy young men & women in confinement.
Crisis of loneliness can be attributed to three statistical “Ds” – death, divorce & deferred marriage. The last category is becoming more rampant with feminism drive, individual freedom & independence, especially in highly developed economics, for which even Singapore is famous for. Over there in Singapore, with the trend of social status & security, the fear of being unequally yoked, ladies are entrapping themselves in the loneliness enclave.
A sudden or unexpected demise of a spouse is often hard to bear. The years of companionship are irreplaceable, & from grieving ultimately to loneliness. Others through incompatibility, the selfish need for change, excitement or adventure, by choice find themselves in the divorce courts. Whatever justifications may be unfolded, the underlying cause of all this is self-centredness or gross individualism. Have you ever thought of this that “I” interestingly & symbolically is always spelt with a capital letter . . . meaning Individualistic, Independent & Idiosyncratic. Whatever happened to the traditional value of commitment & attachment?
In this fast changing world, it would be difficult to implement the basic fundamental solution to our social ills & ailments. People would generally chose the easy option of quitting rather than working it out.
The Golden Years of Togetherness
God’s basic commandment is “Love”, but the price tag of it is switched upside down in our modern day living. The first great commandment of God is, as Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” and the second great commandment is: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”. (Matthew 22: 37-39).
It’s said that we can worry to sickness. On the other hand we can will ourselves to health. Whatever the circumstances, our state of health depends upon our frame of mind. With changing times and circumstances we need to learn to tune our attitude positively along.
As the years ahead of us diminish with the accumulation of the years behind us, living beyond the three scores and ten years of age is by the grace of God. We should be thankful for the bonuses ahead, and all the more grateful for the good health that we enjoy. Understandably, health and life are not within our power of control. Therefore, cherish lest you perish!
In the rose garden, people admire the different hues of beauty of the roses. However, there are those who complain about the thorns. But life is never meant to be a bed of roses without the thorns. As a young man, I love roses but never wanted to grow them simply because of the thorns. With love and admiration for the roses, I learnt to accept and respect their thorns.
All things are beautiful, but circumstances and motives of gain, greed, power and control turn them otherwise. For instance, gunpowder initially in the hands of the Chinese was used for celebration purposes as firecrackers. No sooner when discovered by the Westerners, guns and ammunition and other weapons of destruction took over.
In this beautiful Psalm above, there are seven meaningful verbs, well chosen to instil a process of hope and positiveness . .. forget, forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, and renewed. Let our lives reflect these positives and steer onwards and upwards towards our ever-forgiving God, faithful and true.
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