Mother earth backlash

It's been a while since I got in touch with environmental issues. For starters, I think we as humans and as living creatures who have been granted the gift of the mind should not neglect the fact that even though we are are constantly introducing new technologies to improve our lives, we have taken our earth for granted.

When was the last time any of us sat down to just ask ourselves, "will the world be a better place for my future generations?". The picture below is probably the most commonly used photo of our earth from space.

I don't know about you, but I think the earth is one of the unexplained wonders of this universe. Who would have thought a big rock sphere could sustain lives of so many living beings from the very minute form of microbes to sea creatures, land creatures and we humans? Did you know that the very blue planet in the picture sustains approximately the lives of close to 9 billion people?

At this juncture, our planet earth is suffering from global warming - a problem of which close to none of us care about or even think about in our daily lives. We get on with our lives, our daily routines and just live as if everything's okay. But the sad truth is, everything's not okay and very , very far from okay. Take a look at the graph below that illustrates how much the anomaly in temperature has drastically become over the years from 1880 to 2000, and believe you me at 2008, it has only gone higher - possibly bringing to light the term "off the charts". The source of the graph - NASA, for those who want to do some further reading.

No doubt, the trend of highs and lows in the temperature are still visible but the anomaly has clearly been going up and up. How much further are we going to ignore this clear warning from our mother earth? Countries worldwide are already in the Kyoto agreement leaving only the USA and Australia, which have not signed up yet, but we have to realise controlling the emission of CO2 is not merely a political act and there is only so much governments can do. It is up to us to make the change if we want a better tomorrow for our children.

To date, we have witnessed some drastic changes in the weather - increased in number hurricanes especially in the USA and Japan, unpredictable tsunamis, increase in seismic activities. I leave in Malaysia, and I can sure tell you the rains today and the rains I used to experience when I was kid are so different. Wind speeds have picked up ever since the mountains were mowed down to make room for development, temperatures 10 years ago in Kuala Lumpur used to be a comfortable 27C in the afternoon, now afternoon temperatures average between 33C to sometimes even 37C. Isn't that a clear enough sign?

Virtually all of us are stuck in this paradigm, ignoring the grave truth of global warming. If we want a better tomorrow, we have to start today; in fact we should have started yesterday or even the day before yesterday. One of us making a change isn't enough, but if all us can start spreading the word and changing our lifestyles to a more sustainable approach, I believe we can assist in bringing a more sustainable earth and future. Remember - 9 billion of us on earth can really make a change.

Further understanding: watch "The Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore, visit The Green Guide, Reuters Environment Blog

~you are enough~

So very often, I question my own abilities, doubt myself and feel inadequate. Sometimes I wonder if it is wrong to think that way. Thing is, it is something that comes naturally and I can't help it. Although there are many who tell me to just put such thoughts aside and just live life naturally, I find myself in a snag.

I constantly question myself as to what I have learned and how I may have improved on a daily basis. I guess that's how I benchmark myself and keep track of my progress. I set monthly goals to achieve, and I mean rational, achievable goals. Basically goals that are more incline towards personal growth. About 4 months ago, I began to find myself in a snag finding myself stuck and somewhat on a down trend. In addition, a personal SWOT analysis churned out rather disturbing results. Ultimately, it all lead to my decision to move on from my current job - audit.

I have had feedback from numerous people that think I have been pushing too hard too soon. I have had people saying I might be having a complex.

Did some praying, looking around and I bumped into this interesting literature.

You Are Enough
The root of most of our problems is a faulty self-image. But three little words can help us have a happier life...
By David J. Walker

Undoubtedly, the catalyst behind many successes in the world is a need to prove something because one feels inadequate, but the best path, the path that satisfies the soul, is one of completeness at every step of the way. Taking this path makes living a joy, because it doesn't postpone that feeling of being enough. Being enough is not something we achieve. It's something we are.

The most satisfying path, then, isn't so much what we are accomplishing as what we get to be, while we are accomplishing.

We get to be the creative power of the Universe, conscious of itself. We get to be whole, complete, enough!

The purpose of life is to satisfy the soul, and though acknowledging your accomplishments can help in this effort, it cannot take you the full distance. The only thing that can satisfy your soul is an answer to the question, who am I? You are an individualized expression of Life, of greater consequence and magnitude than anything you will ever accomplish.

When we focus on the fact that we are enough now, the beginning, the middle and the end of every journey—whether it's finding a mate or getting a better job—is filled with a sense of well-being. We may complete an experience and even be thrilled by the outcome, but we know that we are no more complete than when we started out.

You see, we are either enough right now or we're not; and if we are, then we're challenged by our enough-ness to live that way.

The problem is, most of us don't listen to the inner voice that says, "You're enough because you exist." We ignore it because being enough doesn't fit the image we have of ourselves. We have spent so much time thinking of ourselves as not being enough that enough-ness seems very far away. We may have a sense of being surrounded by the Life Force, but we forget that the Life Force is also within us. And if the Life Force is within us, we are enough.

How easy it is to be Bible-oriented and still gloss over one of its most important statements, "Man was made in the image and likeness of [the Life Force we call] God." And if the Life Force is enough, we must be enough.

Being made in the image and likeness of God isn't something we have to strive for. It's something we must have the courage to accept.

The root of all of our problems, then, is a faulty self-image, because the natural tendency of mind is to surround itself with whatever it has embodied. If I embody fear and doubt, I will surround myself, to one degree or another, with people and circumstances that reflect fear and doubt. If, however, I embody faith and trust, I will surround myself with people and circumstances that reflect faith and trust.

Moving forward.....

After due deliberation, I finally made up my mind to go for a secondment to tax advisory. In many respects, it is a different job scope and probably requiring different set of skills compared to my current job as an auditor.

Why the change? With all due respect, I have nothing against audit. For me, audit is interesting since I get to experience and look at different sets of controls and operations done in different companies. There are many different types of companies in the business world, ranging from small ones to really big ones. But, I think it is time to stop and relook at the which direction I am headed towards.

I believe I have reached a point where I just keep walking into a brickwall everyday I go to work. Personal goals I have set to meet on a monthly basis have become unachievable and I now start questioning my positioning in the auditing field. The moment I start doubting my own capabilities, that's when I know I've got a problem.

I remember walking into the firm the first day of work with the absolute gung-ho spirit beaming all over me! The only thing in my mind that time was a bright future ahead. After one and a half years, I now understand that one cannot force everything to bend the way you want them to bend. Muddling through a sticky situation can get you places but unfortunately one cannot muddle through forever. It simply drains your energy and motivation, leaving you in a very hateful state.

Well, after all the thinking and evaluation - I decided on the transfer but I thank God that I have been given the opportunity of a secondment first to see if I am comfortable in the new department before I actually do a transfer......... see how it goes from there! :)

Knowing your days are numbered....

It is not wrong to say that all of us go through our daily lives doing the routines we do everyday without thinking about dying. Not surprising since no one really wants to die too soon, neither is death a wonderful thought to have.

But when we go through an experience that really puts us close to the white light, the thought of death really becomes a serious thought that goes through your mind. Death questioning experiences really emphasises the fact that our lives are nothing spectacular but like fine thread that can be cut off very easily, or like a candle that can be blown out.

I heard a song, and it is a song that I truly like. It is a chinese song entitled , "If I had only one day". I won't go into the full lyrics but the gist of the song is that, if a person had only one day to live, all the money in the world would be of no use and a simple drink of water, food and a roof over one's head would be sufficient. Everytime I listen to that song, I get reminded about how fragile my life is - I may be writing this tonight and I might be dead tomorrow.

Not often we get reminded about how we can lose our lives so easily. One week ago, I lost my squash coach, who was also a good friend to cancer. A nice guy who taught me a lot about playing squash and being a good samaritan. It is just so sad that someone has to pass on. I never had a chance to speak to him before he passed on.

Always treasure this fragile life of ours...................