LESS IS ALWAYS MORE...FULFILLING! : simplicity and humility

Mahatma Gandhi. Mother Theresa. Dalai Lama. All of them have one thing in common. Sorry, not one, but a few things. I'm not talking about their determination or their compassion towards others. Everybody knows that. What I wanna point out here is their simplicity and humility in living up their lives.

These are great leaders who dress simply, not needing fancy jewellery, expensive cars or big houses. How humble they are. It really inspires me a lot when seeing leaders who put others before themselves, who give their wealth to their people first and be content with the left-overs they have. Their perspective of life is so much different. They are no longer attached to the wants of this world which will fade off one day but instead they have security within themselves. They are not afraid of being called poor materialistically, because they know life is more than that.

There are some leaders in Malaysia that I admire too because of their humility. For instance, DS Idris Jala. He's the CEO of PEMANDU and has a great record when he managed to bring up MAS again after the company has faced couples of issues. Even though he has achieved a lot, a speaker from a summit that I attended, who was one of Idris' staffs talked about how humble DS Idris was. He didn't drive fancy car to work and he is someone who loves a simple life.

Nurul Izzah Anwar is one of my favourite people too. She wears veil and like what I said earlier, no fancy jewellery, or heavy makeup or big hair. What comes first is the people, not her own interest. How amazing!

I want to learn more about these humble people after learning one of the Psychology lessons which is about self-actualisation. A self-actualised individual is someone whose needs have been fulfilled or in this case, who needs nothing. (of course they need clothes, food and shelter.. duhh). What I mean here  is that they do not need fame, or wealth. They already know what matters the most. They are secured with themselves and don't need to please people all the time. Life will be less stressful too.

I wanna make it my goal to live a simple life. Not concern about brands or others' thoughts on me. It's tiring to meet people's expectations when actually you don't really care about it. As long as you know who you really are and stay true to yourself.

~isew_usat
(because I'm taking a break from my assignment, and has nothing better to do) :D

 

the forgotten dreams

When we were younger, we had tons of dreams which were sometimes, illogical. We dreamt of flying like Superman, singing on the world stage like Hannah Montana or being the richest person on earth. But we don't care right? It was as if nothing stood between us and our dreams. 

But as we grow older, we face disappointment and failure along the journey of our life. It seems like our expectations are too high and unreachable for us. It's very devastating when the results that we get do not match our expectations. So, to minimise the pain of failing, we lower down our standards or goals. We set goals which are within our reach so that we won't fall hard onto the ground. So in this case, nobody gets hurt right?

But, how can you expect less when you have a God that can provide endlessly? God is more than willing to shower us with His blessings. So dream big again! Do your life big! Life is too short to live ordinarily. There is always hope in God who can do great things in our life. I love a quote that says, "it's not about your ability. The only thing God needs from you is a willing heart". All you need is a willing heart to do things you're afraid off. A heart that is willing to soar high even though you are acrophobic. Sit back and relax, God will lead and strengthen your spirit along the way.

So continue working hard out of love for Him. Remove all the distractions that are pulling you away from your dreams. Move on from your past and start fresh again. And as you embark on this journey, pray so that your dreams in life would be fulfilling His will first above all else.

However, do not mistake that His blessings only come in the form of wealth or excellent grades. It is a great blessing that we are still alive today and able to be with our loved ones when there are other people out there who do not have this privilege. His blessings are everywhere.

And lastly, let's be real. I know it is hurtful when your dreams just remain dreams. But take heart, God knows what the best for you. Sometimes He doesn't give you your desires because He knows you are not ready yet or simply because He has something better in store for you. Let me give you an illustration (credits to Razel, my mentor), when you were a child, you wanted to drive a car badly. But did your father give you the keys and let you drove the car? No right? As a good father, he knew that you are not ready yet to drive and it would be dangerous for you too . But when you are ready, he will give it to you just in perfect timing.

To sum it up, keep on dreaming big. Do the best you can. Stay focused on your dreams and maximise the time and opportunity that He has given. Ask God to mould your heart into a heart that desires to fulfil His will. Because His will is so that we have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

~isew_usat