Reflecting on the last couple weeks, I've come to realize that I've been complaining... a lot. Not necessarily to others though I have been doing that, but also to myself. I've griped about...
... school (in general).
... exams.
... profs.
... the weather.
... how hectic my life is.
... transit.
... my love life (or lack thereof).
... the seeming lack of time.
... probably a bunch of other things I can't think of in this moment.
No wonder I've also been more cranky lately.
What I see in all of this is how everything is me-focused - how things are inconveniencing me, how things are not going my way. Wow, pretty self-centered, eh?
In the last few days, I was reminded of how blessed I really am.
I have my basic needs abundantly met.
I have an excellent education.
I have many many exciting opportunities waiting for me in the future.
I have a healthy family.
I live in safety.
Above all, I have Jesus who fulfills and satisfies everything.
Why are we so forgetful of these things?
It's no wonder Paul exhorts us by saying,
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things... And the God of peace will be with you." - Philippians 4:8~9
... because our eyes start wandering from God's goodness and start focusing only on ourselves, and nothing really good ever comes out of that.
*This is not to say that we should stuff our problems under the bed and say everything is fine. I believe we ought to see things as they are (ie. if it's a stressful time, then acknowledge it) and be honest with ourselves and with God, laying our lives at His feet. The most important and hardest thing to do is to do exactly that, be honest, but then also to not dwell and complain about it either.*
April 29, 2010
April 7, 2010
Homeless...
Yup, that's right. You heard (read) correctly - I am homeless.
Ok, I'm not living on the streets or anything so you can stop worrying but I am without a permanent home for the month of April. Mizuho moved back to Japan the last week of March, Jed and Renae moved down to the States, and I moved out because well... I can't pay rent for a whole house by myself! Some of my friends and I found a 5-bedroom place for May last week so I will have a home in about a month. Hurray!
God has blessed me with great friends. Many of them graciously offered me their homes so I feel well taken care of. It'll be nice to spend some extra time with them.
One thing I've been learning from this whole process of moving is that I really can live a much simpler life and be totally fine without all the other stuff. Not that the other stuff isn't always necessary (I had to go dig through my friend's place where I'm storing everything to find my winter gear for a recent snowshoeing expedition), but we really do own a lot of materialistic goods here in North America.
Another thing I realized that living in a country with 4 seasons sorta forces you to have more things. If we all lived in Latin America, anything winter related would be totally unnecessary - no huge coats, winter pants, boots, sweaters, etc. All these things take up a lot of room! So in that sense, some of this accumulation of things really can't be helped unless you want to either be a human icicle for the winter or a bucket of sweat during the summer.
Having many interests in different things also adds to the problem. Music-wise I own a boxful of piano books, a flute, bells, a recorder, a piano, a guitar, and many CDs. Art-related stuff, I have drawing pencils, colored markers, pencil crayons, colored Sharpies, paintbrushes, watercolor paint, black drawing markers with varying tip sizes, black ink, calligraphy tips, metallic gel pens, charcoal pencils, drawing pads, origami paper, knitting needles, crocheting needles, balls and balls of yarn, etc. Sports/outdoors stuff I have many swimsuits, cleats, a baseball glove, hockey skates, a bike helmet, a bike, hiker's pack, some camping gear, etc. And I could go on... Most of this stuff are compact but small things add up and take up more room than you think.
Sometimes I think I need to simplify interest-wise... but at the same time, I really do love doing all these things, not at the same time obviously. As one friend put it, however, you go through different seasons so for a certain period you will spend lots of time drawing, then stop that and play piano, then get into knitting, then maybe go back to playing piano, etc. I have noticed this pattern in my life so in that sense, it's difficult to simplify.
Sigh, I'm not sure where I'm going with this... but I guess I can end with the fact that I am realizing how much God has blessed me material-wise and interest-wise and I am very grateful. Now the question that remains is how can I maximally use these things so that it is not a waste and be able to make it a blessing to others as well?
Ok, I'm not living on the streets or anything so you can stop worrying but I am without a permanent home for the month of April. Mizuho moved back to Japan the last week of March, Jed and Renae moved down to the States, and I moved out because well... I can't pay rent for a whole house by myself! Some of my friends and I found a 5-bedroom place for May last week so I will have a home in about a month. Hurray!
God has blessed me with great friends. Many of them graciously offered me their homes so I feel well taken care of. It'll be nice to spend some extra time with them.
One thing I've been learning from this whole process of moving is that I really can live a much simpler life and be totally fine without all the other stuff. Not that the other stuff isn't always necessary (I had to go dig through my friend's place where I'm storing everything to find my winter gear for a recent snowshoeing expedition), but we really do own a lot of materialistic goods here in North America.
Another thing I realized that living in a country with 4 seasons sorta forces you to have more things. If we all lived in Latin America, anything winter related would be totally unnecessary - no huge coats, winter pants, boots, sweaters, etc. All these things take up a lot of room! So in that sense, some of this accumulation of things really can't be helped unless you want to either be a human icicle for the winter or a bucket of sweat during the summer.
Having many interests in different things also adds to the problem. Music-wise I own a boxful of piano books, a flute, bells, a recorder, a piano, a guitar, and many CDs. Art-related stuff, I have drawing pencils, colored markers, pencil crayons, colored Sharpies, paintbrushes, watercolor paint, black drawing markers with varying tip sizes, black ink, calligraphy tips, metallic gel pens, charcoal pencils, drawing pads, origami paper, knitting needles, crocheting needles, balls and balls of yarn, etc. Sports/outdoors stuff I have many swimsuits, cleats, a baseball glove, hockey skates, a bike helmet, a bike, hiker's pack, some camping gear, etc. And I could go on... Most of this stuff are compact but small things add up and take up more room than you think.
Sometimes I think I need to simplify interest-wise... but at the same time, I really do love doing all these things, not at the same time obviously. As one friend put it, however, you go through different seasons so for a certain period you will spend lots of time drawing, then stop that and play piano, then get into knitting, then maybe go back to playing piano, etc. I have noticed this pattern in my life so in that sense, it's difficult to simplify.
Sigh, I'm not sure where I'm going with this... but I guess I can end with the fact that I am realizing how much God has blessed me material-wise and interest-wise and I am very grateful. Now the question that remains is how can I maximally use these things so that it is not a waste and be able to make it a blessing to others as well?
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