On Risk

by Thomas Heng

Risk is inherent in today's world. Some may believe that in an increasingly risky world, it would be best not to do anything at all and watch the world go by or sort itself out, that it is better to wait till it's 'safe' again. Nothing could be further from the truth.

While it may seem that the world has become a lot more dangerous today than ever before (by the way I would disagree with that, though it will probably best be left to another post!), the opportunity for ordinary people to become all that they can be is also greater than ever. Having said that, it would be prudent to examine the nature of risk before plunging headlong into a venture based on a nebulous concept of reward. For to undertake any meaningful enterprise without clarity as regards its potential risks and rewards is, well, very risky indeed.

It is essential to distinguish between the risks that are external to oneself, and those that are created within. Risks that are solely external to oneself are few and far between; most of the time such risks occur suddenly without forewarning, and can at best be managed only after the event. However, it is precisely the management of risk that can and should be the premise of the individual, that is, risk management is wholly internal in nature.

This insight provides comfort for those of us who feel that life is increasingly outside of our control, that business is becoming unsustainable, and that the future of our very existence lies in the hands of people (or other entities) whom we do not know, let alone understand. One of the keys is in our perception of risk and the occurrence of unexpected events. How one handles major global events is not identical to how another deals with them. Which means that we have the power of choice to determine the precise meaning of each event that 'happens' to us.

A strategic approach to life and business that incorporates the principle of risk management does not mean that we start treating the people in our lives as chess pieces. Rather, it means that we are acutely sensitive to the environment around us, and that we pay particular attention to how, on an individual level, affect others around us, and ponder upon our words, thoughts, and actions as we release them from our inner being.

On Conscience

by Thomas Heng

The voice of conscience

Eludes the wisest of sages;

Its nature often cloaked

In the unlikeliest of guises

Desire shouts it down

Fear drowns it out;

Two emotions both alike

Yet neither are true to Self

Still the soul, quieten the spirit

Notice while looking within;

Let Wisdom lead one to the

Essence of one's Being

Renewal

by Thomas Heng

"Unnoticed by the crowd;
Passed on by the world;
Discounted by the brethren."
Impaled by self-doubt.

Are these shackles not self-imposed?
Are these wounds not self-inflicted?
Are these not the chains of self-delusion?
Awaken, and watch the virtual binds loosen completely.

The time has come for self-exile to end;
As the permafrost melts, so must the hibernation cease;
As the earth renews itself, so does one's nature;
Claim the inheritance that is your destiny.

Without

by Thomas Heng

LORD, with you I can
Arrive without preconception
Enter without qualification
Partake without charge

Hope without proof
Witness without evidence
Share myself without judgement
Provide solace without comfort
Illuminate without being engulfed

Be right without being righteous
Be humbled without humiliation
Be content without avarice
Be hurt without suffering
Revisit without rancour

Toil without weariness
Persist without approval
Proceed without wavering
Persevere without vindication
Love without reward
Leave without being abandoned

May I always remain in Your Love
without losing faith in You
Amen.

Ultimate Thoughts

by Thomas Heng

The ultimate wealth is Freedom
The ultimate knowledge is Truth
The ultimate measure is Results
The ultimate pain is Regret
The ultimate folly is Greed
The ultimate failure is Inaction
The ultimate gift is Forgiveness
The ultimate peace is Being Oneself
The ultimate wisdom is Knowing the Divine
The ultimate joy is Remaining Connected to the Divine
The ultimate price is Personal Responsibility
The ultimate journey is Life

The full meaning of suffering cannot be adequately comprehended without taking into account the ultimate sacrifice of laying down one's life for the sake of people who scarcely deserve it.

Beyond the Flow

by Thomas Heng

Descent

Trapped in one's thoughts

Wrapped in one's woes

Torn by tumult

Worn by worry

Ascension

Overpowering doubt through faith

Overcoming darkness with light

Striving towards excellence

Stretching beyond limits

Transcendence 

Be beyond the flow

See beyond what is

Gaze into all there is

Absorb all things while remaining pure

Calmness amidst strife

Peace amongst euphoria

Balance without struggle

Simplicity within complexity

Governance and Management

by Thomas Heng

Management of self is trivial; one cannot function effectively without at least consciously being in control of oneself.

Governance of others is equally trivial; one need only lay down the law clearly for others in order to define right from wrong.

There are few things more difficult to manage than the management of others, for others can never be fully under one's control.

There are even fewer things more difficult to govern than the governance of self, to act with fullness of purpose despite all emotions to the contrary; such is the purpose of one's life.

On Courage

Courage is the persistence to demonstrate the validity of one's beliefs despite the awareness of one's apprehensions. Society plays but a secondary role in determining one's actions in the ultimate analysis, although it must be clarified that the two are not mutually exclusive by any stretch of the imagination. Far be it for me to claim that only the anti-social, counter-cultural elements of society can be said to be courageous; some of them may in fact be running away or avoiding from that which is their genuine purpose. 

Courage is found in both the dramatic and the mundane. The journalist that gives his/her life in order to accurately communicate the truth about repressive regimes in war-torn areas of the world; the parent who disciplines the child firmly but gently, so that the child knows the importance of respecting boundaries of space and time; or even the strength of someone afflicted with an incurable illness to keep striving for the next meal when the authorities, society and loved ones stack increasingly insurmountable odds against him/her.

A prime example of Courage in Singapore is when MP Christopher de Souza defied party lines to oppose the passing of the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA). Rare is the man who stands up for what he believes in, despite all opposition to the contrary. For this little act, you'll go down in history, so take a bow, Chris...

Life in Stops and Starts

by Thomas Heng

Life is Worth Living When We...

Stop Venting and Start Listening

Stop Preaching and Start Learning

Stop Complaining and Start Reflecting

Stop Being Right and Start Being Authentic

Stop Procrastinating and Start Taking Action

Stop Having Doubts and Start Acting in Faith

Stop Having a Job and Start Having Fun with it

Stop Expecting Relationships and Start Growing Friendships

On Maturity

by Thomas Heng

Maturity is the ability to sufficiently distance oneself from one's faults, and indeed from one's strengths as well, so that oneself and others can benefit from the collective wisdom of objectivity.

Maturity is having the strength to relate the most painful of truths directly to the one who benefits most from such revelations, without causing unnecessary collateral damage or hurt to others.

Maturity need not mean that one deprives oneself (and others) of one's innate sense of humour about the things and events in this world, inane as that humour may well be!

Maturity is the clarity of oneself to remain focused and committed to the primary priority of one's essence of being, in relation those of others, so that what has been created remains a matter worth cherishing and striving towards.

Maturity comes from the gift that is Wisdom; apart from Wisdom what remains more often than not turns to Cynicism.

Wisdom, the mother of Maturity, is the craft of reconciling all known possibilities within one's scope of experience towards a fundamental decision that one can genuinely sustain through the course of time and space, so that once that decision is made, there is little or no need for review -- the result brings Joy, Hope, and Peace to oneself amidst the fickle vicissitudes of life.

Resolution

I came across something that I find rather meaningful. The original post, as far as I know, can be found here. And apparently the originator is none other than the CEO of Coca-Cola. Brian G. Dyson.

Basically it says that Life is like trying to balance 5 balls -- Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirituality. Sometimes it is easy to see all these 5 balls as the same thing, but there is one very important difference. Work is a ball made of rubber, even if I drop it, it will bounce back to me sooner or later. But the rest of the other balls are not made of rubber, they are made of glass. So if I drop one of these balls it will chip, crack or even shatter...

In good times I appreciate that such a goal is not easy to accomplish. However, what I do realise is that in challenging times such goals are perhaps even more important to strive towards. All too often in the pursuit of material things, or more relevantly today, in the struggle for survival, people can forget their innate needs for connectedness, and become mean and downright nasty to the ones they care most about. Also, wishing that Life isn't as what has been observed by Mr Dyson doesn't make it so. No matter how we slice or dice it, there are matters in life that are so important to us that even if we ignore them our entire lives, they will return to us with either the price that we pay for neglect, or the rewards that we reap for taking heed.

The choice my friend, as ever, is yours..

Choose Freedom

Have you ever felt unappreciated for the things you do, or worse, for being who you are? I have, and trust me, it's not the greatest of emotions! I mean, after working hard for something that I truly believe in for almost all my life, only to realise that the things I hold dear mean next to nothing to the organisations that we shall collectively call SpongeDry Inc. Sure you may say 'The company is not supposed to consider employees needs and wants, let alone feelings', which begs the question, just what on earth is a company for anyway? To satisfy the owner's ego, or siphon off shareholders' equity, or to create havens for money that is ill-gotten? Doesn't anyone create companies for something other than for their own shallow selves anymore? Or are we so blinded by the profit of the here-and-now that we forget that organisations have the potential to outlive their owners and their descendants?

Some time ago, I have had the last straw in my experience of being in full-time employment. Somehow, being in the position of employee entitles the employer to shuffle staff like a deck of cards, with little or no regard for prior results, preliminary consultation, nor the space to address potential disagreement or resentment from the person most affected by such a move.

So out of the realisation that I would never be able to reconcile my values with those of SpongeDry Inc, I wrote these as a postscript to my resignation letter:

• People Above Profits
  
• Family Above Career
  
• Truth Over Rules
  
• God Above All
  

Maybe my mind has indeed gone to cuckoo-land, but if organisations don't realise that there are limits to what they can do to their employees, then pardon me, but they must be Crazy...

Inspirations 005 -- Being Myself

Being Myself

by Thomas Heng

Who would I be

If I didn't say what I mean?
What good external piety
If deep within I'm unclean?
A confession proclaimed
Or one silently professed
The goose and the gander
Both equally ad-dressed
Pronouncements are but vanity
Prescriptions of insanity
Minions remain not blind
To the suffering of our kind

I'm not a role model
I'm not a saint
I'll share with you what I believe
But I can't be what I ain't