Who feeds the bird

It is a good weekend, having went for a day camp and listen to some great sermons. Especially so is the Sunday Sermon, where the pastor spoke about birds.

He quoted a chinese idiom "Man die for wealth, Birds die for food", he pointed out that the bird portion is flawed. Have anyone ever seen birds fighting and dying for food before?

I doubt so, because I have not. The sure thing is, there are many stories about man dying for wealth, it used to be fighting against each other, and now is fighting with time.

Countries used to fight with countries, man fought with neighours just for another piece of land, some more bread etc. But, now, we are not that barbaric, we fight to have more time to earn more money.

The thing is -birds does none of what we are doing but yet, they are fed, you do not see alarming numbers of sparrows decreasing do you? But, people are dying at an alarming rate due to their "fight with time".

It is a fight you would never win. Never mind that you have laptop, PDA, WIFI, Google and many other equipments. It is an ever decreasing element, because the benchmark keeps increasing.

You probably started with the idea that once you make enough, you would slow down the pace, then you decided on a bigger house, a bigger car, a bigger etc etc.

This is how the world works, it makes you "Want" better and better things, so that you have to keep working and working...can we break the code?

Well, the first is to break the mental model. The bible idea of seperation from this "untoward generation" is so apt. First, the world highlight the wants that you need. Then, it make sure that you spend every waking moment working for it, it stresses you.

To avoid those stress, it introduces to you more want so that it would momentarily take that stress from you. Do you know what is the number one killer in the world?

It is depression. More people has died from chronic illness or sucide resulted from depression than any other accidents or natural disaster. And depression reduces to the simplest form meant not happy.

The thing is people that has time to be not happy, has time and energy to think about not being happy, no wonder the bible says "an idle mind is a devils workshop"!

I hope that if you are sad and are reading this, reflect back on the happy times then think how to replicate that formula -after all, if you have done it once, you can always do it again...

And if you are a christian, first know this promise. Isaiah 41:10

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

The lord provides, he always does. Then, think about his goodness, think about the time when you are happy, and remember his goodness.

I am not always very happy, but writing this lens and thanking him, makes me contented. Do the same, if even one person read this lens, I would have testified to one more person, glorified his name to one more person...

So, no birds do not die for food, and neither should you or any man...

The dove is a good bird, it must be. It used in many aspects highlighting the "best of human beings". Peace is always associated with dove, and then there is the holy spirit.

What makes the dove so special that we cannot for example use eagles instead of dove as the symbol of peace? Well, dove does not have something that all mammals has-gall.

Without gall, there is no bile juice (I am writing this without checking, and I hope my memory of biology has not failed me), and we all know that bile is bitter.

In short, dove is without any bitterness. Think about it, if you want peace, you can only get it without any bitterness right? And seriously, strife, anger gets one to nowhere.

Are you really happier by retaliating? In fact, Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mocking Bird" put it so well, that no fighting back requires more courage than fighting back.

How many people can stand being called a coward, a weakling? But, all these are signs of courage and elements towards a better character.

For christians, there is not a need to think about revenge or worry about "what is going to happen to us", Jesus spoke of how he would be with us, and God in many cases highlighted his care for us, here is one such verse:

Isaiah 43: 2

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

The dove is not as pretty as a macaw, nor as majestic as an eagle, but it is used as the symbols in many higher institutions simply because it is without bitterness.

I know bitterness is bad, because I have several encounters with it and seriously it did me no good, did not make me a better person, that is for sure!

So, if today you encountered terrible situations and happens to read this, remembered that being bitter leads to nowhere and if you can, commit it to God. Praying that this verse would bless you as much as it did for me while writing it...

Seeing this title, you must be thinking that I would be talking to you about eagles and look to look at things from above and blah blah right? No, instead of that, I want to share this story.

An migration bird was flying on her way to warmer place, she was late, so she froze mid-way and dropped to the ground. As she lay frozen, a cow came by and poop on her. The warm poop, revive her and soon she was alive.

If you are a bird and seen from her eyes, you might be thinking that as if one trouble of freezing is not enough, you have to endure some dirty poop on top of it. It really seems bad, but little do you know that it is this "bad thing" that would got you out of the first trouble.

So, do not always adopt a singular way in seeing things, sometimes, things is not as bad as it seems. A very bad trouble might be the end of all things and actually get you out of it.

Is this a real story, I don't know, I hear it from somebody who probably heard from somebody. This is as real as Cinderalla or sleeping beauty, nobody knows if it is real, but the two story make more than the GDP of a small country!

Think of happy thoughts, and have a smooth week!:)

How many of you watched the movie -march of the penguin. It is an amazing movie that document how penguins walk through terrible south pole conditons just to lay their eggs and raised their young.

I doubt any of us would go through a condition as terrible as these penguins, and they have only one end in mind -raised the young! In current society, family and children has taken a back seat, and I doubt any would brave through fire and water just to bring up a family.

But, it is ironic, most people begins with goals such as earning money, climbing up the corporate ladder, buying big houses, driving big cars but should those be your end in mind?

If you have everything but lost your love ones, what is the point of having everything? I once a quote that goes something like that. It is so true. Family should always be at the back of our mind, and whatever we do in the process, be it work, money or any other material stuff are the means to that end.

With family in mind and knowing that everything we do is for our family, not only would steer our direction better (it prevents us from doing rash decision), it also strenghten our resilience against any conditions.

We do not have harsh conditions as we work for a living here in modern society, the battle all take place within us! The self pity, the anxiety, the depression, the envy and other negative thoughts all happened within us.

By focusing on the family, it would mitigate some of these negative thoughts. Of course, the best way is still to leverage on our relationship with God.

Peace is really so underrated in our society but it is so precious. If you are looking for a thought to motivate you through the day, just think if your conditions is worse than the penguins?

If they have make it for so many years, why could you not make it this time round?

If you think about it, the easiest way for the birds to be fed is actually to be caged. By belonging to somebody, be a pet to someone, all they need to do is to give out their freedom and they would be fed.

It is so easy, but I am sure if you go into the wild trying to catch any birds, they would resist, no birds would willingly go into captivity because of food!

Freedom it seems is much valuable to them than mere food. What about us human beings? Would you give up your freedom for food? What about values or friendship, would you give them out for food?

How can I even suggest such as thing, even a human being with the slightest conscience would not do that! Is that right? When you work through the night, or through the weekend, didn't you just give out your freedom?

We have tons of technology to supposedly make our life better, yet we are busier than our fathers or grandfathers. We need to answer emails, calls at all times.

It seems like everything requires out attention. Do we still have time for family, ourself and God? The whole world complained that they do not have time, so where did the time goes to?

The world gave us a mentality to be loyal to our work, and we need to work hard to provide for our family -with what? Do we really need to work so hard to put bread on our table?

The world has also give us "lifestyle", "image" that we need to provide for our family, so if we do not buy this bag for my kids, or get this course for my children, I am doing them a disservice...

The truth is there is only one commodity in the world that is in limited supply -time. Everyone has the same amount, Bill Gates with this technology cannot make more, Warren Buffet with his money cannot buy more.

So, when you worked overtime and get that promotion, weight the advantage. That could be time spend with your family or love ones, time passed, is time gone, and it can never come back.

I prayed that none would want to be caged and fed, the birds do not want to, I doubt anyone would!

A friend recently lost his wife, and is going through another cancer battle together with his mother. On top of that, he has to take care of his two young kids and juggle whatever life has in store for him.

Life is really tough if you think of it this way. This is at least what I know. What I do not know is children as young as 5-6 years old in Africa is trying to look for work to support themselves and their family.

Kids in India is being forced onto the streets because their slump housing is being demolished, life is even tougher for them. The thing is, the moment you start looking inwards, things really spiralled downwards and you became worse.

If you look at the bird's kingdom, there are all manners of birds, the high fliers like the eagles and hawks. The low level pecking birds like chickens. The very huge birds like Ostrich to the small sparrows.

They all have different lives and they all lead different lives, can you for one moment imagine if a sparrow would to envy the ostrich size, or the ostrich complaining why it is flightless -how would life be for them.

For the birds, life is simple. They accept the fact for what they are, and move on to foray for life.

Human beings is slightly more complicated. We always live in the past, and lament about the things we lost, the things we do not have compared to our better off friends.

Sad to say, such thoughts and feelings would not make one better and none would it help in any way to move towards the "better off". My friend is strong, he moves on in life.

The blows that he has to take in his life is unimaginable, and even as I listen to his plight, I cannot help but feel sorry for him. The only thing I know that he has and I am sure would carry him through is Jesus.

The source of support that Jesus has in our lives is unimaginable, at the very least, it gives you peace, but for those that have been through turmoil, you know peace is never the least, but the most important.

Then, like the sparrow God has make you complete, why compared and why fret, if he loves you to make you, he loves you to bring you through it but you have to stop thinking that you are small.

My prayer goes out to my friend and all who are struggling in any aspects of their lives and I prayed that you do not look to the past,nor to anyone but to Jesus -and things would get better...

My wife just read this lens and she loved it. That is enough to spur me going on to write more of it, I have one fan. How difficult it is today in the clutter environment even to get your article read, but I have one fan!

Hmm...this fan of mine, told me that this lens spoke too little about her, so from now on, you are probably going to read more and more about my missy -mummy heng.

And this lens is dedicated wholely to her, because she loves this chinese delicacy known as bird nest -expensive taste.:)

I do not know if any of you reading this has ever tasted this chinese delicacy known as bird's nest. It taste like jello, has tons of medicinal properties and is charge by the hundreds for a small portion of it.

This bird's nest is actually the vomit of the swallow bird and I cannot help but wonder how it is that the vomit of these birds can be so valuable, and they are not eating any special feed.

These swallows feed like any other birds yet what comes out from them are so highly prized. Similary, in us human, it is the things that comes out from us that is highly prized and not what we take in.

Sure, we might have degrees, good careers, big houses and other things that "define" us, these inputs supposedly would alleviate us to be the "upper class" people.

But, do you really know everyone that lives in those big houses or people that drive past you in big cars? These seemingly does not make one a better person, only a person character would.

I just read a story about Moari by Ms Lee Wei Ling (btw, she is the daughter for Mr Lee Kuan Yee, Singapore first prime minister) and it was about how this simple lady without much education manages to inspire so many people at the hospital.

She is like the swallow "feed" on the simplest of all food. She has no education, no great career, no flashy title, no big houses. But, in the end, she was a source of inspiration for what she did.

So, what did she do that make her a source of inspiration to so many people. She go through life joyfully never once lament on the bad hand of cards that life has dealt her (her husband passed away young and she has to support the whole family single handedly).

And she count her blessings. Among the things that she counted as valuable to her, are friends she has make.

Friends and loyalty which used to be such a valued trait, are so rare these days. It is so common for friends to be betrayed so that one can climb up in the coporate ladder.

That is human nature, so many articles and self help books even put forward this idea that self interest is alright. But, thus far, I have yet to read a legend or a history piece that glorify self interest.

Whether it is chinese or western folklore, it is about loyalty and friendship that stood against all adversity that is being talked about, and stay on to become a part of history.

Maori did not invent the next big thing, she did not even wrote any block buster stories that inspire the whole generation, she merely live a joyful life and count her blessings. She choose to live a life the best she can

The fact is, if the swallow would have chosen their feed, they might not have time to make their bird nest using their vomit and they probably would not be such good things around. The premium thing came out from them because they just live the life the best they could.

So, if the next time you think about how bad life is to you, the choice remains in your hand to make it better or worse. Remember smiling is 17 muscles, while frowning takes 47 muscles, it seems a better choice to smile, don't you think so?

And if you would, committing your day and life to Lord Jesus would make going through very much easier because he promise to lead us through it:

Isaiah 30:21 (KJV)

21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

I was thinking about dreams today and I wonder if everyone has a dream. It is a hope to keep him or her going, a compass to direct their path. Life would be so lost without a dream.

People always say do what you love most, dream big and for me, throughout my life, the thing that really excites me is "not to work like the rest of the folks".

I hate morning rush, squeezing or being stranded in some traffic jam. Waking up early so that I can have a 10 minutes breakfast before rushing to work so that I would not be late.

So, I choose to do my own work, build my own business. Hard, is an understatement. But, I know the deal when I step into it, prayed about it, discuss with wifey and move forward into it.

For every reaction, there first need to have an action. In order to "make it", you need a few elements, if you have loads of money it is not that hard to make money, if you put in real hard effort it is very likely to be successful, lastly is the amount of risk you have to take.

In this business that I am building, I do not need to invest loads of money, but I have to put in real hard work (those with sweat and blood sort), then of course the risk I take is huge (if failed, I would be a number in the unemployed category!).

What spurs me on other than excitement of my dream is Matthew 6:26. God take care of everything, although he works in his own timing and he works mysteriously. If that is one thing that I am confident about having throughout this time that I am building my business is peace, of course that is only possible through awareness that God is always with me.

From time to time, I have folks asking me if the risk untaken is huge. I have no doubt that it is. Then, I remembered the story about the crow.

You know the story about the crow that was stuck inside the bottle? It went in to take some food with the beak but cannot get out of it. To me, the bottle is like a secured job, you would not go hungry but you would never really be satisfied.

You can see the world through the bottle and all the "good things" that are happening, but until the day you let of that food, and leave the bottle, you can never really experience the "good things".

Of course, once you are out of the bottle, you might not find food for the longest time, but you would learn to hunt and foray for it and ultimately you would find it.

If you stayed in the bottle with the food, the danger is there that you would be eated out by your natural predator like cats and stuff.

Now, leaving the bottle is tough and heavy stuff, lets talk about some fun stuff -my dream. what is so special about "not working like the others".

I am a greedy man, I not only want to attend my daughter graduation, excursion and those usual parents school outings. I would want to be with her as she explores her world.

Perhaps, she wants to build her own ant nests, maybe she wants to go find some dinosaurs bones, or perhaps she wants to sail like columbus.

This is a dream and it is what I am building now. If you read this page and wonder what are the odds that your dreams would come true. The moment you make the step -it is 50% done. Not too bad a deal right?:)

I have talked much about how the bird just go and be fed and not dwell in worry like us, but this focus on feeding pattern of the bird also mitigate one of the greatest ill of human being -vanity.

Whenever you embarked on something, be it a new job, a new business venture, you are at peace, until you see someone doing better than you or someone make a comment that you are not doing so well.

That is pride, envy, vanity and many other not so good stuff. It impedes your progress. You probably would spend a few moments thinking why did he have that, and I don't or why did he say that etc.

Time wasted.

Unlike us, the birds always move forward, if there is no food here, they simply move on. If you have ever noticed how the birds feed, even when their food is being snatched by other birds, they simply move on.

They have no worries because they have no pride.

As I am writing this, the world seems to be in turmoil (then again, it always is in turmoil, isn't it?), North Korea is hinting at war, H1N1 is still spreading uncontrollably, share prices is suffering, retrenchment is the flavor of the month.

You get it, the world is in a bad shape, and many people are laden with worries and burden. I too have been a victim of people's expectations, and was not too happy. Then, this verse come out and it soothes me.

Galatians 5:18,26 (KJV)

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Prayer works wonderfully, things of this world, anger and other things that are consider to be "human nature" works against the spirit and the body, it makes you unhappy. So, let go of it and be led by the spirit and contentment would set in. Peace would check into your life...

Last few posts, I have talked about how the birds was eating noodles and how brave they are at eating the food that are not conventional, but there is another point to learn from there -they are also not choosy.

The birds are fed because they want to eat. I do not know if any of you hgave encountered it, but I have seen folks that would not eat certain food because it is not to his or her standard.

People are talking about recession but there are jobs that are still not filled, people out of jobs are still choosing their jobs, why is that so? Pride.

Even for myself, I choose not to discuss about my own business venture because it is not really making money now, I feel small to discuss about it. I guess it is easy to talk about success, it is really difficult to talk about failures -pride.

And it is this pride that prevents people from doing all that is required to succeed. Perhaps, I could try harder to cold call so that I can have some sales. In my case, I am choosing my customers (I justified with the reason that I only have so much time, I need to do things that generate the most returns).

Anyway, the next time you wonder why you are in lack, the "food" might just be there, it is a question of whether you want to eat it or not...try to eat like the birds and be contented...

The world are full of birds of varying sizes and skills. There are small birds like the sparrows and magnificent birds like the eagles. You would see most commentary and inspiration statements using the eagles instead of the sparrow.

Of course, it would be pretty difficult to find an inspiration statement from the chickens. Isn't it true that everyone wants to be like the eagles, want to soar high and be magnificent like the eagles?

The question is of course, do you dare to eat like the eagles, do you dare to hunt like the eagles? Chicken nowadays are mostly fed by farmers, they just wait for their turn to be fed.

Even for those that are not fed, worms is simply about digging for it on the ground. It is all around them, there is not much of a change that need to take place in order for them to get fed.

But, for the eagles, the changes are huge. First, they young eagles need to learn to fly. It is a harrowing experience if you think about it. From the comfortable nest to trying to flap your wings at unthinkable depths, a sure death if you are not able to fly.

Then, after learning to fly, the hunt for food is solely on your own. The older eagles can only show you so many things, the rest of the equation you would have to figure it yourself.

Of course, I am not surprised that there are young eagles that failed to make the grade and probably perished along the way. But, for those that make it, they are magnificent birds.

The question is, do you dare to eat like the eagles? Do you dare to leave your comfort zone and foray for a living in the midst of uncertainties.

I dare say that everyone of us has a dream, a type of lifestyle that we longed for, and I do not think it is many people's dream to be slogging away in a little cubicle, clocking in at 8am day after day.

That dream is constricted and even killed off by the so called "conventional wisdom", worldly advice that says seeking your own dreams is so "dangerous", what if you did not make it?

And that is the reason why there are so many folks out there that are "domesticated" like the chickens, they need to be fed, they need to a job. Being domesticated, they have lost the ability to hunt, to live freely. They need security, and is willing to turn in their freedom for it.

What about me, have I learn how to hunt? At the time of the writing, I am still learning, I am still horning my skills. I have yet to make my first kill, but the learning and the living the wide expanse of the world is simply amazing, I am relearning to be un-institutionalized.

I experienced situations, gestures and human relations both good and bad like never before. Given that all of us have only one life, I think these perspective itself is rewarding, rather than the life of "getting into the circle" in order to rise up in the corporate ladder.

So, what if everything goes wrong. Well, you can always go back to the "farms", stop listening to the naysayers about jobs being scarce, if you want a job, there is bound to be one...

This lens might come across as harsh to many folks, I wrote this after reading a little girl with tumour and her greatest wish is to be an adult and how her parents try to get it fulfilled for her. Then, I think about why many people with a long life is nothing like this young girl, pursuing their own dream.

There is only one way to be an eagle -live like one.

I do not follow the American Idol and is neither support allen nor lambert, but what allen did is in line with what i want to talk about today.

Many sites are talking about why he won, you can check out one of them here. personally, I think his innovativeness in doing different things would really have added more votes for him.

Lamber is always singing like a rocker and in high pitch. Allen does many different things, playing the piano, playing the guitar etc. I call this changing spots and it is this change that probably brought about his success, of course being a christian, i believe his church prayer and rally behind him is another crust in him being crowned.

Now, if you take a look at the birds, this is also what they do. They hop around looking for food, never stationary in one place. They can probably hop the whole football field in one morning.

So, change makes the difference between success and failure, if what doesn't work for you today, you might want to change your spot. One question always bothers me -some folks talk about preseverance then here we are talking about moving on.

You never change your vision and objective but your way of getting there. If you have a new idea, you would focus on that idea, but you would change many routes before finding one that allows you to fulfill that idea...

The birds did it and they are fed, kris Allen did it and he won the contest, so keep trying until you reach the place where you want to go -you would get there. Have faith.

2 Corinthians 5: 7

For we walk by faith, not by sight

Bird brain is the last thing that anyone wants, it is not associated with positive things. People that call you bird brained, are mocking rather than praising you.

But, this bird brain is what leads the bird to food, feed them, and equipped them to survive, why is that so? Now, I am not a scientist and would not attempt to explain the complex working of a bird brain, but this is my own observation.

Birds look for food, sleep and look for food. It is that simple. When they tried to have some food, and we chase them away, they do not lament, they do not despair and they do not worry.

They simply go to another spot to look for food. We, human beings, having much more advanced grey matters, do things differently. When we look for something regardless what it is, and do not get it, we do lots of "thinking".

We think if "this is about us", we think "if we can make it", we think "this is a very bad situation. In another words, it is in our nature, to evaluate and worry.

We worry alot. When the bus is late, when the queue is long, when the traffic is slow, even if your baby is not walking the same time other babies is developing, can be a cause of worry.

Worry takes time and thinking about the situation unfortuntately does not give you the time to do anything to alter the inevitable or change tomorrow. It simply weight you down. It takes away the time which you can use to look for new opportunity.

Worry is so bad that depression remains the number one killer in humanity. Why are people sad? In recent financial crisis, many bankers commited suicide.

Even if they have lost a lot of money, these folks are still rich enough to buy bread and survive, so why did they lose the will to live? WORRY.

Now, do you see the logic why having a bird brain is good, why being straight forward and looking for solution instead of mopping around is good.

If you want to know how to change that situation in your life, I do not have the step by step, but someone two thousands years ago already provided the blueprint to off load your worries:

Matthew 11:28-30 (King James Version)

28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Yes, his name is Jesus. I thought this verse is very appropriate. It is common to have worries and be facing uncertainties. Just know that there is always one person that you can always count on.

I know, because during this particular time in my life, I am always leaning on him, and his support is amazing.

This is how the birds got fed, and you being his child would be provided with much more good things....

Think for a moment, if you are a bird, would you be happy? You do not have a secure food source, you do not have a permanent place over your head, you do not even know when would be your last meal.

Consider that with what people are going through now, isn't the birds in a very much worse shape? But, have you ever heard a bird groaned? Instead, they provide some of the most soothing sound that nature can ever create.

Their chirping is so melodious that many people kept them because of this fact. They are in fact contributing and doing their part by providing beautiful noise regardless of their well being.

So, what do you think is the major difference between you and the chirping birds? Self-centred.

We are always worried about our next meal, our next pay and our next this and that. It is always about us. By being self centred, this becomes our blindspot.

It fails us to see what is good in our life, how blessed we are and it becomes a vicious cylce. When you dwelled in misery, it leads to fear, and fear crippled your whole life.

It limits the steps that you are going to take and worse of all, it destroys any dreams and hope that you have with the "are you sure".

I guess that is the reason why people moan about their job, but still go to it faithfully for 10, 20 and for some even 50 years.

Isn't it sad, to go to a place where you do not like so that you can have bread on the place. What makes you so sure that if you pursue what you like, you would not have bread on your table?

Just as people appreciate the bird singing, if you "sing" by doing what you enjoy most, you would be appreciated. Nobody appreciate a moody person with a grim face.

So, put on a smile to face the day, the birds did it regardless if they are fed and being a person that is so much more blessed, don't you think you should too?

It is in the middle of the week, I prayed that this post would bless at least one person today, I think it should be YOU!:)

Most of us know that a chicken heart refers to someone that is very timid and definitely not the sort that would go for big win. But, if birds' heart is anything like that of a chicken, having that, might actually be good for you!

In a posting earlier, I mentioned that instead of worms, birds are now eating noodles that are left by us human beings. If you think about it, it is not an easy or gradual change, there are so many unknowns and variables that would deter the birds from eating the noodles.

If I am a bird, I would be thinking about whether "that thing" is edible, would I die from eating it. Then, there is this new environment, would I be caught or be killed while eating it.

Of course, it is also a very fast changing environment, with the cleaning aunties and uncles, clearing it like every one minute, so if I wanted to eat, I have to be fast.

But, eat they did, and the birds survived well under such circumstances. Although they are equipped with what is known as a "chicken heart", but they dare to do things that was done by their forefathers.

So, you complained that life is not fair to you. You did not prosper in your job, you were not making enough money, you did not have a big house, do not drive a big car, but, what were you doing all these while?

We know that being a boss is difficult to be rich, so being an employee meant that you would never make it big, so what do you want to do about it?

There is nothing restricting the birds from making a choice, the same applied to you. If you unhappy about MOndays, then you do not like what you are doing.

The question is, do you have the "chicken heart" to do what you like to do? Someone once said that people stay on a job because it is secure, it offers security, then they hate the rigours, the process, the structure.

Hey, in the first place, you were the one who wanted the security, and all the others comes with this security -you would lose your freedom. Do you know where is the safest place on eart, the most secure?

That would be the prison -that is the reason why it is known as maximum security.

If you loath what you are doing, then have the "chicken heart" to pursue your heart desire, it might be tough, but the freedom that you enjoy would be priceless, so regardless when the money is coming in, that freedom is already a big win...

It is the start of a week, so i thought we start with something light. I remember this joke abt a young man that wanted a car from his dad, so he tried to behave himself and read the bible.

When his father asked him how can the father trust him to behave himself and get him a car. The young man replied that he is just like Moses: Moses has long hair, always hang out in groups, is never home and knows the word of God.

The father simply replied, if that is the case, you do not need a car, Moses never drive!

Well, life is a matter of perspective and expectations. And it is on this note that I want to point out about why we think we are always not fed. You see, to the young man, long hair, not going home and hanging out in groups is acceptable.

To him, the old testatment saints seems to be doing it as well, but we all know that that is not the benchmark for good behavior right?

He thinks his behavior is correct and he should be rewarded. How often have we thought the same? We worked hard in the office and think we should get a raise, a promotion. We definitely do not deserves to be retrenched!

Then, because we worked hard, we need to get that designer handbag, that expensive shoe, that beautiful necklace, that very big house and so on. We justify the huge amount that we spend on simple things.

The world is full of simple items with ridiculous charges. A sound system that can cost up to half a million dollars?? A watch that is selling for a $100 000?

And because you have expectations, you have set a benchmark on what is enough, and because expectations is based on what the world is communicating, so chances are, it would never be enough.

How often have you hear people from developed country with their own apartment, cars and many other good things complaining that life is unfair to them?

If only they would set their sights on folks that are going without meals in many parts of the world!

What we need is a roof over our head, some clothing and enough to eat, the rest are really just bells and whistles. As I am writing this, I am also in a way trying to remind myself not to indulge in setting benchmark that is on par with the world.

So, the bottom line is, it is not difficult to be fed, but first of all, you must not choose what you want to eat!!

As a person that run his own business, I am always worried. I have left a good paying job, that comes with a pension fund and with plenty of perks and incentives.

And now, I have to pay for all my expenses for the business and on top of that, nobody knows when the next pay check is going to come in or if it is going to be enough to pay the bills.

This, I find is the greatest difference between me and the birds. Have you ever seen a bird on the road "stoning", thinking about where his next meal is going to come?

Or have you seen a group of birds congregating, talking about plans to find their next meal?

Trust me, you would seldom, if ever, see these sights. The birds, they are always on the move and they are very flexible.

They used to hunt for worms, when city start sprouting up, they changed their appetite to noodles (it looks like worms alright) that city dwellers left behind.

That is how they got fed. They have never once doubt or think about where it is going to come from, they are always looking for it. It is in their nature to know that food is there.

How about you? All rather us. When things do not go well, we start to panic and then fall in depression, we slump around, complained that life is not fair to us.

If only we take the time spend mopping around and do something useful, it might just change our life.

Moreover, if one can live to about 70 over years old and we need to spend a few months or even years looking for a job that fits us -is that a lot?

The worse thing for me, and think maybe for you is envy. When people starts to have good things, we tend to think why them and not me? That again takes up some time, which if we would to use it properly might add some value to our life.

Personally, I think the birds are better than us in this aspects, long before we starts to talk about change management like "Who Moved My Cheese?" or "Habits of highly effective people", the birds are adopting change.

This is because they know they need to in order to survive.

So, if something is not going well today, look at it in another perspective, learn from it and move on. Life is much more than that ONE incident.

For Christians, I always think Colossians 3:2 is very good. If we set our sights on things above, all things should fall into place.

Take a cue from the birds today and cast your worries away. He would provides because he has been providing...May he richly bless you...

Do you like magic? You know how people can conjure things out of thin air, how items can float by itself. In the same manner, people all over the world are amazed by miracles.

Many worshipped certain Gods because it is said to be "real" and they can get blessings from these Gods. In return, they would be blessed with riches and good fortune.

That is the currency for the religious market, you worshipped God, and they bless you. So, if you do not worshipped them, they would not bless you.

What about My God? There is this story that is being told and retold many times -The footprints, it best illustrates the God that we follows.

The story has it that I was walking along the beach with God and there is two sets of foot prints, then I noticed that on some occassions, there is only one set of foot prints, I was of course puzzled.

I asked God, why did he leave me at that point (I also discoverd that it was the lowest point in my life). God replied that he had never left me, when I saw one set of footprints, this is because he is carrying me!

He that feeds the birds, how much more would be not be feeding you and taking care of you!

Sometimes living a life by itself is a miracle, it is just that it becomes so common that we do not even think about it, until we lose it. Asked anyone that is dying and great career, lots of money would probably not be the thing that they wished they have!

So, how are you as you read this short article? I believe that if you chance upon this, it is not by chance, but by some divine intervention. This article was meant for you!

Do not worry what would come about, neither think about how bad the situation would be. Remember this two things, what is to come, you cannnot control, and think back, once upon a time, you do not have anything and you were living fine right?

I lay my trust on him that carry me when I am down and I would strongly recommend that you do the same too! God Bless you and there is nothing that you and God cannot handle today!

I do not know what situation you are in now, maybe you have just lost your job, or is going to lose it, or maybe your family is breaking out, or you lost a huge amount of money due to this crisis?

There are so many sad and unfortunate incidents that are happening right now, I believe we can just keep on writing. So, it is very easy to lose your happiness, your outlook in life, your values and unfortunately -Hope.

And it is hope that I sincerely prayed that with this lens is one thing that you would not lose. Without hope, there is no future to look towards to, sort of like a boat without a compass, no direction on where to head to -a recipe for trouble.

I do not know and would not even attempt to know why you have lose hope, but as I have just asked you to look for birds, they are in fact your source of hope.

For Christians, you can identify with this verse Matthew 6:26

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Matthew 6:26 (KJV)

Even if you are not a christian, you would know that someone must be feeding the birds, they have lived with us for so many centuries. Sure, there is that grandmother or grandfather that always go to the parks with a big bag of bird seeds, but they cannnot really feed the whole world of birds.

Being a Christian, I have my hope in my heavenly father, I know that he that feeds the bird would also feed me.

For those that are not yet in this faith, this is to send you a message that the birds have never worried once what tomorrow is going to bring, they simply look for it when the day comes.

Similarly, when the trouble to you seems too much to bear, life seems too hard to go on, think about the birds that have not being "trained", nor any skills of survival, but yet they are being fed.

You who have so many tools at hand, so many government agencies willing to help, heaps of people around that is willing to help (if you wonder where, simply go to your nearest church and I can assure you that you would find help), are you not better off then the birds?

I do not know if this is the voice of God, but there are many times there is this nudge to write something for him. Hope is the keyword that always pop up.

I have tried starting a blog, but did not really stick to it. Then, couple of days ago, I simply thought of this title, and I pray that he would give me the strength to carry on writing it and may it bless someone.

Now, back to the "why feed the bird", why Matthew 6:26 out of thousands of verses in the bible?

I left my job about 6 months ago, to start my business. And before I left the job, while teaching my kids in Royal Rangers, this is the verse that really strikes me.

You can imagine my worry and apprehension when right after I tender my resignation letter, the whole world economy collapses.

This verse encourages me alot, but it did more than encouragement, I see his blessing throughout this six months, and I continue to ask for his blessing in the months and years ahead.

Firstly, I do not have a major breakthrough during this first six months, there are many times when I was sad and wonder if I have made the wrong decision, but this verse kept me going.

God never failed to bless his people. The bible are full of stories on that, and even right now, I hear stories and testimony of people experiencing his blessing.

In fact, I am one of them. I was drawing a very healthy paycheck back then, and together with my wife paycheck, we manage to pay all the bills. Now, without my pay check, we still manage to pay all the bills and only dipped into our savings because we are giving out loans to others!

Praise the Lord for his Grace and Goodness. This is my testimony, and it is amazing and I cannot imagine how that works out. Sometimes I am still sad, and I still doubt (that is the reason why I want to write about this and hope to keep it on a daily basis so that I can always remember his goodness).

Nope, there are no money falling from heaven or a packet of dollars on the floor, but I do not have any want because he provides.

So, if you have a need and are feeling improvised, turn to him and ask him for a blessing. Now, if you are thinking that you are so common and ordinary and God would not be blessing you, here is a quote for Abrahma Lincoln:

"God must have loved the ordinary people -he make so many of them!"

How to pray? It is like talking to someone that is close to you: Dear God, I know that you provides all, I do not know how to go forward in this situation and ask for your blessing in this. In Jesus name I asked,amen.