Five life lessons/ principles I've learnt from 25 years of living:
1. You gain some, you lose some.
Sounds quite sad but I was thinking..why does losing have to be negative? 2 negatives make a positive (thanks math) so..it isn't always bad! For eg you could lose sadness, lose your insecurities, lose your fears..you get the idea haha for someone who tends to feel like smth bad is gonna happen when I'm too happy..I've been telling myself that things are gonna be bad anyway..cause life is just full of ups & downs so..shouldn't be afraid to be happy! Haha
Besides..the converse is true too! You lose some, you gain some. So if you've lost smth..you're gonna gain smth else so it's okay hahah bottomline: just lose the worries and gain peace 🏖😎🤓
Another POV that can be extended from this is (& smth I believe in as well) - nobody has a perfect life. There'll always be areas that are bad when the rest are good and if someone seems to look like he/she has it altogether all the time, it's probably a front haha so no need to envy anyone! The grass is not greener on the other side. It's greener where you water it.
2. Fear = False evidence appearing real.
Haha I think this is smth I'm still learning but I've seen how true this statement is this year..cause I conquered 2 big fears (2Cs)! Hahaha probably applied to the previous years of my life also la but for now the recent events are still quite fresh in my memory so yea wheeeeee gotta remember this principle + this testimony for years to come too..hahaha (sidenote: I've no idea why the Blogger app underlines random words in my post unnecessarily?? Lol)
3. Forgiveness is important. And powerful.
I've found that bearing grudges is very tiring..and doesn't make things any better. Life is short and it shouldn't be wasted on getting angry with people! Why give them the chance to control your emotions hahah so..it's always better to choose to forgive. By doing so, you can then truly move on. For me remembering 2 things help:
#1. While others hurt you, you've hurt others too.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Luke 6:41-42 NIV
#2. Deep down, everyone just wants to be loved. Because we were created to be.
The lyrics of one of my fav songs go: "Everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing.."
4. Everything is temporary. Except God.
Achievements. Material things. Emotions. People. Good times. Bad times. These are all transient. (The people in your life might stay the same but they'd change over time too). Only God stays constant. Hahah gotta take it from Solomon, the guy who has so much wisdom and had everything you could possibly think of but felt like life's meaningless..and ended up realising and concluding that the purpose of life is to "fear God and obey his commands". But don't get it wrong - "fearing" here doesn't mean being scared of God hahha it's revering and respecting Him for who He is!
With regards to the unfailing love in the song lyrics..this is a kinda love that only God can give. Perhaps why Solomon mentioned the conclusion as the "foundation of all happiness" too.
"All has been heard; the end of the matter is: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God's providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man."
Ecclesiastes 12:13 AMPC
5. It's important to take care of yourself.
If you're an introvert, really gotta intentionally disconnect from the world sometimes and just spend time alone to recharge.
If not..you're gonna be angsty and snappy 😕
Also tell yourself:
It's okay to fail ("so what?")
Change takes time
Be patient with yourself
Don't discredit any effort made
Haha yup so this is gonna be a reminder to myself in the future. Some things will probably have to be relearnt but that's okay! Progress isn't linear and what's most important is that we keep moving forward 😎