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| I stumbled across this youtube video that someone posted and later realized that apparently this is an inspirational speech that is kind of taking people by storm right now, so I guess I caught on a little late. In any case, as I am in the habit of doing with things such as videos that inspire or challenge me, I decided to watch it a number of times back to back, in this case twice. The second time I decided to take notes to enable me to further reflect on some of the things that were said. I am posting this more for my own benefit so I may look back at it and think more on it, but I thought that making it a public posting would be much more beneficial and much more edifying to others around me who don't have the time to watch a 75 min video multiple times and really soak up what's being said.
Extremel brief background, Randy Pausch is a tenured professor of computer science at Carnegie-Mellon University and he lives life in a truly optimistic and really inspiring way. He was actually voted as one of the top 100 influential people in 2008. He gave this talk as part of a "Last Lecture" Series where professors would give a lecture regarding what they think is the most important things that people should know, based on their experience. At this point, he was actually in that situation since he had just been diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer and he has actually just passed away about 4 days ago (slightly less than 2 years after he gave this last lecture). I highly recommend people to take some time out or make the time to watch the video on youtube if at all possible, since it has a much greater effect and makes much more sense than the context-less quotes I have posted underneath. He gives a very fresh perspective on life. Not one that is naive or ignorant, but one that really challenges you to push yourself and to focus on others and to lead your life in a meaningful way. It isn't even his words, but how he describes his experiences shows that he has really been living life in that way, and it's amazing and inspiring. It makes me think about certain perspectives I myself hold that I realize I should be striving to change as well. Anyway, take a look at the video if you have a chance. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo.
Here are the quotes/notes that I took out of the lecture and again, this is mainly for my own personal reflection and though some of it is cliche, it's still a good reminder. Sometimes, when we hear something often enough, we stop putting any weight in it, and sometimes, it's worth it to take a step back, and realize that it can actually mean quite a bit if we don't immediately shut it out and think "yea yea, heard it before, whatever". Anyway, here I go.
We cannot change the cards that we are dealt, just how we play the hand
Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things, let us show our dedication
You might get more from pursuing a dream than actually accomplishing it
You have to get the fundamentals down otherwise the fancy stuff isn't going to work
When you're screwing up and no one's saying anything to you anymore, you are in a very bad place because it means they have given up on you. You should cherish these people because these are the people who really care and love you.
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted
Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly ("head fake") - i.e. learn football not for football, but to learn perseverance, teamwork, sportsmanship...etc.
Wait long enough and people will impress and surprise you - if you're annoyed at someone, you just haven't given them enough time
Ask yourself, how can I enable the childhood dreams of others?
You are doing people a disservice if you set them a bar of expectation. Push them to keep going.
Can tell how well the end result produced by a team is going to be just by seeing how well the team interacts
If you're going to do anything that's pioneering, you will get arrows in the back and anything that can go wrong will go wrong, but you have to keep going with it and all's well that end's well.
When you hand something over, find someone better than you to hand it over to
Best gift an educator can give is to get someone to become self-reflective
Best way to teach someone something, is to make them think they're learning something else (i.e. he set up computer games where people think they're just writing script lines for a story but are actually learning the JAVA computer programming language)
If you are perceived as arrogant (or something like that), it will limit what you are going to be able to accomplish (because it will limit how you see things, and will limit how people see and respect you and what you do)
Learn from your students. When you're the teacher, it doesn't mean you only teach and the student only learns. It is two-way.
Teach people in a way that is presented as a story telling opportunity
Decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore in life. Very important point regarding the perspective we take in life.
Never lose the childlike wonder, it's just too important and it's what drives us
Loyalty is a two-way street
Ignore everything that people say, and only pay attention to what they do, that's what matters. This quote was framed specifically as advice for girls who are being pursued romantically by guys, but I think it is very important for everyone. As I always say, words are empty, actions speak much louder than words. If you live a certain way, they don't need to use words to tell you anything, you will know. If they use words to tell you but aren't living it, their words should not be able to convince you of anything. This is true for relationships (i.e. girls being pursued by guys or vice versa, girl interested in a guy or vice versa) but also just very generally in terms of examining someone's character.
There are moments that change your life and if you recognize it 10 years later, you're blessed, but if you recognize it earlier, all the better.
You can't get there alone, let others help you.
Tell the truth
Be earnest (long term character trait)
Apologize when you screw up
Focus on others, not yourself, it's not about you, make it about others
Don't bail, the best gold is at the bottom of the barrel of crap
Get a feedback loop (i.e. mentor, friend) and listen to it - the hard part is listening to it. Cherish the feedback.
Show gratitude
Don't complain, just work harder - Jacky Robinson, baseball player, had a clause in his contract not to complain, even when fans spit on him
Be good at something, it makes you valuable
Work hard, that's the secret
Find the best in everybody, no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it
Be prepared. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity
It's not about how to achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the dreams will come to you.
We don't beat "the reaper" by living longer, we beat the reaper by living well and living fully. The reaper will come for all of us, but what do we do between the time we're born and the time he shows up is what's important, because by the time he shows up, it's too late.
Life is not about the things in life that we regret, it is the things that we do not regret.
You need to find your passion. Don't give up on finding it, because otherwise you're doing nothing but waiting for the reaper.
Find your passion and follow it. You will not find that passion in things, nor in money, because the more things or more money you have, the more you will use that as your metric and there will always be someone with more.
Passion must come from the things that fuel you from the inside.
Honours and awards are nice things but only to the extent that they regard the real respect from your peers, and to be thought well of by other people that you think even more highly of, is a tremendous honour.
No matter what you do at work, at leisure, passion should be grounded in people, and it should be grounded in the relationships you have with people and what they think of you when your time comes.
Find your passion and find true love.
You know you've found true love when you find someone whose happiness means more to you than your own.
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| Today there was a prayer meeting and during that time, I took time and looked out the window. Now the window faced out to the back of Bahen centre and what I could see were these big grey machines, which I assume to be power generators, and they were heavily fenced off. Along with that, there was a garbage pile also, seeing how it's the back of the building, out of sight from any judging eyes.
From this picture, God opened my eyes to two things.
Firstly, regarding the garbage pile at the back of the building, as well as the fencing. I felt God was (and is) asking me to examine myself. Do I have piles of garbage that I try to hide away in the back of my mind, in an area that is unexposed to others, perhaps even unexposed to myself? Also, am I fencing away this part of myself away from God as opposed to just surrendering myself, all of me, including that back part, to Him? I just pray that God breaks down those fences in my life, that I would be able to surrender myself wholly to Him and that I would be unafraid to examine myself.
Secondly, I was brought to the attention of the power generators. Ugly and grey externally, like us, imperfect jars of clay. However, within those grey boxes, lies hidden the circuitry and the power that provides for all of Bahen centre, if not more. Provides all the electricity which is for the heating, the lighting, the technology, everything that makes Bahen one of the central areas for engineering on this campus, is fueled by what is hidden in those ugly grey boxes. Those grey boxes are really like us, no matter how "good" we look by the world's standards, by God's standards, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). However, within us dwells the Holy Spirit, sent by Christ when He reconciled us to God the Father through His blood and sacrifice. We are to have this Spirit really just fill us up and we need to walk in this Spirit, and be a living testimony to all around us. If God dwells in us, and we just fence ourselves off, like those grey boxes that are fenced off, then we are useless. We are burying our talent in the ground and that is not glorifying to God (See Parable of the Talents). We need to shine out that light and let the Spirit lead us as we walk the narrow path of salvation and righteousness and by surrendering and conforming ourselves to the will of God, that little grey box that we are can end up powering everything around us.
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| "Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, (Matt 13:32) with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air (Dan 4:20-21)."
The combination of these 2 verses provides an image of what I vision for the house next year. To give some background, for next year, I have managed to find a place that fits 12 people, and I've been planning for it ever since. The 12 ppl I have found to occupy this place (including myself) are all CCFers, though I will refrain from calling it a CCF house since it may give the impression that it's exclusive. So...onto the vision...
One day last week, while doing my devos, I was given the image of a tree, and typically when you picture a tree, you picture what can typically be seen, which is what is above ground. But the image I was given included the roots, growing far beneath the soil. This idea of a tree is the basis of my vision for next year.
The first part of the 2 verse vision statement: Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree (Matt 13:32).
The seeds are like the people at the house, full of potential, but not yet grown and nurtured. From these seeds, the roots of the tree will form. These roots are where nutrients are pulled up, and the idea of roots is what I see for us in the house next year. It is where we can inreach and grow together as a community, and as a family, worshipping together, learning together, magnifying and focusing on God day in day out, being accountable to each other...etc. In this way, each person will be spiritually fed and build up a personal relationship with Christ, as well as a corporate one with the other brothers and sisters. To grow together, I hope to encourage spiritual disciplines, which would include (but is not limited to) devotionals, prayer, musical worship,accountability/sharing, Bible reading/study, as well as other not so formal activities like forming cooking teams, cleaning teams...etc. The other key about the roots is that it is typically not seen because it is under the ground, but it is vital. So this growth and inreaching will be something I hope to emphasize at the house, but something I would actually not suggest outside of the house (i.e. on campus) so that we do not seem like a clique and seem unwelcoming to others.
The second part of the 2 verse vision statement: "with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air (Dan 4:20-21)."
This 2 verse motif is akin to the vision for CCF last year, which was "move in, move out". In the same way, as the first verse was the focus on building ourselves/each other up and equipping ourselves, the second verse is about outreach and moving out. This is the part where we are outside of the house community, be that in class, at CCF, at Kowloon, or anywhere, we are "visible to the whole earth" and so we must reflect out God's glory. Also, this is describing the part of the tree that is above ground, and in order for the tree to bear "abundant fruit" and "beautiful leaves", it means we must branch out. So one thing I will encourage next year is that when outside of the house, we actually try not to focus on hanging around our housemates all the time, and actually use our outside-the-house time to build up relationships with the others in our community, whoever they may be, believers or nonbelievers, friends or strangers. Also, since we have a house to ourselves, as I discussed with one of the others at the house next year, we were thinking of doing maybe a big dinner once a month or something, just another form of outreach and building community by providing hospitality, kind of like it says in the verse, by giving shelter and providing food (both literally, physical food, as well as being spiritual food for others by pouring ourselves out).
This is what I vision for the residents at the house next year, that we can really bless each other, and also by growing together w/ each other, w/ ourselves, and w/ God, we can also thereby really go out and bless those in our community. | | |
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