pRiNCipLes of aCCouNt

I'm definitely not a mathematically inclined person. I used to really hate math when I was in school, failing in my tests and exams. People kept telling me that math was an important subject, that I couldn't survive or be successful without it. I now know that was to scare me into doing well, but it did the reverse! Well, I still have problems with math, but I have learnt certain principles connected with it.

• Math requires you to know the proper steps. Similarly, we need to learn to take the proper steps in the direction we are heading. I used to try solving math from the solution backwards!! I didn't get far for sure!
• You need to know your formulae. Life is all about what it takes to make it happen. We need to know the right balances, the right equations to get the answers.
• Maths is always about practice. Life is a practice run itself. We try, we fail, we try again. We learn from our mistakes and don't do them again.
• Maths is all about persistance. We need to keep trying, and we'll soon get it.

SELAH

The SOUL of the Matter

I read with interest about the decline in the number of sex tourists visiting the island of Batam in the newspapers. It took a change in the Penal Code to bring about a change in the mindset of the people. A change that had a stiffer penalty-instilling a fear that caused a reaction. Isn't that how modern society operates? We don't see change as relevant, or morals as relevant UNLESS a penalty is imposed. It is sad isn't? When will we realize that values are not dependent on the extent of freedom given? Values are instristic and they form the DNA of our very belief system. We should not wait for a higher authority to exert force before we change. If our value system is morally right, then our conscience would alert us to the value judgement of our actions. As parents and adults, it is our responsibility to teach, to instruct the young in knowing and weighing the value systems adopted. We should be a sounding board; a mirror that reflects.

SELAH

FRuiTS FroM tHe TreE

I love walking down the supermarket aisle and see the fresh variety of fruits available. In a world of concrete, it's my way of getting in touch with nature! It's amazing at the variety of fruits available. Different shapes, sizes, colors-a real smogasbord. Aren't communities like that? A smogasbord of different personalities and traits.

Unfortunately we may feel dejected when the more popular 'fruits' get picked and we get left on the shelf. Yet we shouldn't. We shouldn't look at popularity as an indication of goodness. We get so caught up with the fruit, that we forget that without the tree providing sustenance, we wouldn't be the fruits that we are! We derive our value from the tree of our origin. The values that are inculcated in us, infused in our lives from what we have learnt from our culture, our parents. We are all uniquely special. We carry that wherever we go and we shouldn't be afraid to allow that to exhibit itself and testify that we came from different trees.

SELAH

SiMpLe

Simple-does that word sound too complicated for you? In today's world, how do we keep it simple? Well, electronic wizardry has supposedly made life simple-has it? Even relationships have taken on a compilcated perspective. So has our work scope, with multi tasking as a buzz. Does being simple in today's society means aloofness? Naiviety? Being silly? or wisdom?
I think its a beautiful risk to be simple. The key to simplicity is contentment. Living within your means and enjoying it. Don't compare yourself wth your neighbours; don't covet what they have-don't be jealous but be contented with the blessing you have. Simple as it may be, it is a blessing. Be thankful, that you have something when compared to others who have nothing.
SELAH

CrAcKs.....

Have you seen the movie, World Trade Center? It's a movie that took a lot of risks to do, considering the sentiments surrounding the terrorists attacks on civillians. What intrigued me about the movie was its sensitive portrayal of how everyday people came together across racial and religious lines to help and support each other. Simplifying the story doesn't do justice to the movie so it's best to view it if you haven't already. What is memorable to me about the movie is an episode where two firemen are trapped under rubble andin the midst of the smoke, the dust and debris, a tiny light filters through. Tiny as it might be, it is warm, it is reassuring, it gives hope. Life is like that isn't it? We have disturbing news, events around us; everything seems to be shrouded in gloom......yet all we need to seek is a crack of light....that is all we need for hope to come alive.......
Cracks aren't that bad after all, aren't they?
SELAH

OOOO...BeHaVe!!

I enjoyed watching the Austin Powers movies. Silly as they were, they were enjoyable to watch because Austin Powers never really behaved as a typical 'secret agent'. He wasn't the suave James Bond, or the macho Tom Cruise in the MI series. He was uncouth, enjoyed sexual puns and innuendos (well Mr Bond was a ladies man as well), a person you would least expect as a spy. Wait a minute! Doesn't that qualify him as the best candidate for the job? He doesn't fit the projected profile; it would be so easy for him to break into different circles and infilitrate and get darkest secrets. Why? Because he is so unconventional. We all have different perception of roles and responsibilities that go with them. Fitting the bill is a dilemma for many. But in the case of Austin Powers, he was someone who got the job done albeit unconventionally. Getting the job done, using our God-given talents and gifts. We should be looking for such people in job searches. Knowledge isn't the only important criteria. Passion for the job, passion to see it accomplished is just as important.
SELAH

SiN ChOw

Language.....we human beings have such a beautiful opportunity and advantage don't we? We have been given this gift- the ability to articulate a question, the ability to demand justice, the soft tender persuasion to speak peace into a troubled soul. Language.....we are so accustomed to signs, symbols and abbreviations in this hi-tech age that whizzes by that we can easily forget the ability to communicate...with words. Words can sting, or they can bring healing and hope. We must be good stewards of the language skills we have. I was in Vietnam recently and I had the opportunity to show my competency in learning basic phrases like sin chow (hello) or come ern (thank you). It created a bridge that opened up humanity and allowed us to touch. Isn't that what we should aspire to do?
SELAH

WhAT DiD i Do?

That's the question many people ask me when I see them as a counselor, "What did I do?" Quite often that question isn't a question that explores denial, but highlights misunderstanding. It's a misunderstanding of how they feel leading to inappropriate action. It's not something the client would want to do intentionally, but it's a slip up that leads the client to face the consequences. It's a good question; it allows the client to explore where he/she is at. Yet, it's also a plea to the accuser, or the counselor to allow GRACE to flow. GRACE. That word we seldom hear, or seldom practice in a world where it's increasingly becoming 'retribution orientated'. As a people helper, I can administer grace by allowing some breathing space for the client to find himself/herself. I can apply grace by looking at other options to seek restitution....rather than violence, or hatred or racism.

GRACE.

How we need more of it now!

SELAH

LovE mE

There she was looking in the mirror; a little petite girl, with long dark hair, a face that had a story of pain and despair etched on it. She was looking at her reflection and she was asking a question we all ask ourselves, "Who's going to love me for being me?" In today's society we have conditions set on love-either be pretty, or be brawny, or be intellectual, or be charming or be.......YOU? When will start accepting others for who they are? When will we look beyond the externals and look at their very being? To that girl looking in the mirror, my response would be, "Hey, I accept you for you.....I don't want you to be anyone else.....be real....be you.....thank you".
SELAH

sPaCe

Do you know what the biggest contention in today's world is? If you said money....some would agree, but i think not. Peace? Well that's a strong contender...but i think not. Happiness? many would want that..but i think not either? Relationships? it may be true to a certain extent, but i think not...The biggest contention in today's world is SPACE. The room to grow, to develop, to stake a place for identities to grow. We all crave for space- a space to be still, a space for contemplation, a space of refuge. SPACE. Let's try to give each other space. Space for opinion, space for exceptance, space for identity. When we learn to respect each other's space, then we would find peace, happiness and our relationships will prosper. Money wouldn't be our focus, because we would be having so much fun enjoying our humanity and appreciating our differences....
SELAH

I AM A MiRACLe

I'm a miracle......sometimes I ask myself 'Why?' Why did God make me a miracle?
Answer: Because HE CHOSE to.........

I came out with a cry
Shrivelled
Wet
Naked
Vunerable
I felt fingers curled around me
I felt warmth in those fingers
It was a warmth transferred from the heart
It coursed through my body
I didn't feel shrivelled anymore
I felt full of hope
I was wet
but wet in the river of my mother's tears of joy
Naked i was
but I felt protected in my mother's bosom
Vunerable because I couldn't defend myself
Yet I knew my mother would give her life for mine
Her fingerprints are all over me
and so are Yours
You protect me
You cover me
You hide me
You made me
Thank You
Ian Poulier 2006

SELAH

TwO HoUrS tO Go......

Birthdays........what do they mean to us? For some it's just another date on a calender.....a dreaded date for some! For others, it's a question of why we were put on this mound of earth.... its a not necessarily a query but sadly a profanity...
I wrote a poem, trying to identify how a mum might feel at the impending moment of delivery. You may not identify with it, but certainly we can't disregard the important people mums are..and will always be.....if you haven't said thanks to your mum......do it soon!

Two hours to go…………..

It’s more than two hours to go
I feel excited and a little worried
It’s natural to feel that way isn’t?
I don’t know if I have been doing what’s right…..
Have I been eating well?
Have I thought of this Miracle inside of me?
Have I been considerate?
I know we want a family, but am I being a responsible mum-to-be?
Is the job sufficient?
Is the cash enough?
Can I manage without help?
Wait a minute……..
I’m going to be a mum!
Me! A mum!
How did I get to this point?
Yes my husband loves me and vice-versa…..
And this Miracle inside of me is our proof………
Proof of............ another Miracle
A Miracle that I was made to carry God’s creation……
I am not just a person who has roles to fulfill
Or person who has to be subjected to sexual innuendos…..
I have been chosen to be a carrier of this Miracle
I am a Miracle too!
If I am a Miracle, then what is there too worry?
The Miracle weaver who wove this miracle in me
Has also equipped me to care,
To nurture,
To love
To be the best mum I can ever be!

Ian Poulier 2006

* dedicated to all the mums as I pondered on how my mum must have felt as she delivered me

SELAH

LooK Up....stAY HUmble

Did you know that it was sculptor who painted the famed Sistine Chapel? Yes it was Michelangelo, but we don't really notice his painting skills do we? I know of his ability to take a lump of clay and transform it into a detailed sculpture that would be marvelled for eons. A painter? Isn't that for amateurs or novice artisans in the making? Yet the Sistine Chapel almost never became one of the greatest works of art if Michelangelo had stuck to just being a sculptor. He was challenged to paint, and mind you paint a ceiling! Who looks up there?! Yet he took the challenge and we have a masterpiece created. Sometimes we have to get out of our vocation and try something new....sometimes we need to humble ourselves and remember where we came from....and that speaks fluently as well.....
SELAH

A TRiP To oZ

i had the privilege to watch a production of the Wizard of Oz put up by my school. i was blown away at the collection of talent on the stage! the energy, the determination to see the whole musical become successful was awesome. yet the journey of Oz, is very much the journey of our lives as well; Dorothy meeting a lion without courage, a scarecrow without a brain, a timman without heart. we all need courage, wisdom and heart don't we? in today's world, we may want courage to stand away from the crowd, or heart to stand proud and aloof from the maddening crowd or wisdom to be noticed and adored-it's a very self-absorbed world. Yet Dorothy, found community, found that she was sharpened as much as she sharpened others on the yellow brick road. it's a journey we all need to also take....we need each other, standing together to find courage, wisdom and heart. wouldn't that be a wonderful world?
SELAH

HOPe

When we think of Easter, we may think of bunnies, eggs and chocolates. Well that may be the trappings of Easter, but the real deal with Easter is that it's actually spelt H-O-P-E. H is for the hunger in us all of us to see the truth being told, O stands for our position as ordinary people; we don't have to be of a certain calibre or type to be granted a chance. P is for the people that we are, not what we have or do, but who we are....that is what counts, and E is for eternity, where our future is in the making, starting today!
Happy Easter y'all!
SELAH

VITaMIN L

Do we need it? The debate ensues as drug companies urge people to buy their vitamins and those who are strong supporters of natural remedies say don't, because your daily intake of foods is sufficient. One wonders who is right or wrong. Yet in this debate on what vitamins we need, don't forget the soul.....it needs vitamins too! The best vitamin we can give our soul today is the Vitamin L. It's readily available, it's easily digested and cheap to produce. You mean you haven't heard of it yet? Where have you been? Maybe you have been absorbed in a world of controversy, a world of greed, a world of competitiveness that we forget about this all important vitamin. It's called Laughter, and don't we need it now more than ever! C'mon, let's belt out a laugh together.......
SELAH

REturn TO normaLITY

Normal. Don't you hate that word? Maybe it's a word that is so hard for you to believe these days. Maybe the entire journey from home to office or school and back again isn't anything but normal! You switch on the TV and you see graphic images of abuse; you peek into the sports pages of your local newspaper and you see how sports has become a corrupted with misses and deals of dope addictions and money laundering, of business propositions and nothing about team work, team spirit or the game of fair play. You get into the car or take public transport and see selfishness raise it's ugly head, as we fight for seats, or deny seats to those who deserve it more....Normal? Yet when we lose our humanity and our capacity to care for those around us, we become to what is to the world as being considered normal. Yet we have the power to change this expected normality to become extraordinary citizens of earth. Not to conform...but to transform!

SELAH

Smile and the world smiles with you! 

BUiLDiNG BRiDGES

"How do we deal with today's generation?"; "They want things only their way!";"Their so demanding!" I hear these words ringing in my ear as a counselor. Parents, educators are the first to be at my door and demand answers to these pressing questions. Firstly, we need to stop segregating them as "today's generation" but be more understanding & inclusive of their differences and nuances. We need to understand their pressures, their demands, their limitations. "Wanting things their way" is probably the loudest perception that has been fed into their veins with the media surrounding them. The world of the adolescent is a wired for sound world, where rationality and understanding have been buzzed out by pressing needs and wants. We need to build bridges, not burn them.........

SELAH

I'M IN love

I was watching the grammy's.......i was sticking my neck out to see those cool dudes, those divas of song, those rappers with the bling bling (no wonder they need shades) and then i saw her......she was sitting in her assigned seat, a new initiate into this business called music....there were many more professional singers sitting around her, but she stood out. She is Kelly Clarkson. You might be saying, "Oh no! another idol freak!" Not a freak, but an admirer of the someone who said in 2001 that she would love to sing at the grammy's and she did...but she just didn't sing...she won 2 grammy's! I am in love......with persistence, with dreams fulfilled. We need role models like her....if we could stick out our heads like that, we could see rainbows. We could sing at the grammy's.....ok maybe not, but we could win the applause of many for staying the course and seeing dreams materialize....o yah...she's a babe too!
SELAH

The BEAUTY of COMMUNITY

Chinese communities around the world just celebrated their Lunar New Year. One of the highlights of the celebrations is the night before, when members of the families return to the ancestral home to celebrate as a family. I think it's a powerful metaphor of community; it's a wonderful reminder that inspite of our busy lives, our hurried lives, anxious to make businesses a success, as we become more competitive to stop and return to how it all started. When a husband and his bride chose to spend their lives together, to write a new chapter and start a legacy for future generations to follow. It was a decision that was filled with risks; no one told them how. It was a time to learn about each other, to accept faults and weaknesses and the challenges of turning them into strengths. It was a time of trial and also a time of joy, to see children develop into adults who accept their identities and find their calling in the game of Life....and to see the next generation being raised up. The beauty of community....let's not forget it, even as we strive to be individualistic.....
SELAH

WaG YouR TaiL

It's the year of the dog....according to the zodiac cycle of the Lunar New Year. I'm not an ardent follower of the zodiac, but it's interesting to see what the characteristics of the animal represents and how people sum each other up accordingly. So if you're born in the dog year, you must be faithful;if you come under the horse sign, then you must be a hard worker. But what about those born under the zodiac sign of the snake and the pig?!! Doesn't say much about these people, doesn't it? Yet these people are probably the sweetest and loveliest people you would have met. It's more important to know the person and not to try and fit the sign to the person.
SELAH

BISCUITS

Do you like eating biscuits? Many people like Oreos, especially the ones with thick luscious chocolate or vanilla spread thickly in-between.Everything would be complete with a nice ice-cold glass of milk, wouldn't it? I like Marie or Digestives, where you can dunk them in your tea or coffee. Eating biscuits remind me of young days, when mum would be around, the biscuit tin would be out of reach, the milk would be ice-cold....it reminds me of intimacy, of a warm intimate setting of security......imagine that......just the mention of biscuits triggers all sort of things! We need triggers like this in our lives.....positive, wholesome triggers......triggers that warm the heart, triggers that remind us that hope still abounds, that love isn't a lost word or a misused word.

SELAH