The Presence...

As humans, we have always been bogged down by decisions. No matter how small they may be, we still have to make a choice, no hiding from them... What to eat? What to wear? What to do? Where to go? How to go? To buy or not to buy? etc etc...

Sometimes, its so hard to make a simple decision... for eg. What to eat? Imagine having to make a life-changing one. I've learnt one thing... Being human, we certainly cannot predict the future. All we can do is make the best decision, based on the information that we have at hand. If all that fail to still make any sense, then we seek guidance from the Omnipotent One - God.

Recently, I've had to make what could possibly be, one of the biggest decisions in my life. It's nothing serious really, but a life-changing one nonetheless. It has got something to do with having a medical procedure done. I was mixed about it. I really couldn't make a firm decision, despite having all the information and weighing the pros and cons. So I looked to my heart and asked for divine guidance... You know, I'm not one who is extremely pious. Though I don't pray as much as I should, I never fail to acknowledge His presence in my daily life. And I always try to be the good person as how He would want mankind to be.

There were signs... that something about me, was just not right. The discomfort, the twitching, the headaches, the blurring vision... It all suddenly became clear recently, when the doctor diagnosed that I could be suffering from a disorder. Again I stress, it's nothing serious, nothing that cannot be remedied over time...

When told of my condition, as I drive back home, I had many questions running through my head. At the top of it is of course... Why Me? But knowing little about the condition, I decided to do my research before jumping to any conclusions. So I got home... I searched the WWW and I read... and read some more... and more… until I finally understood.

That all these while, He already has a plan for me. Knowing too well that I will have a tough time deciding… He already planned it in such a way that I will have to go through the procedure, no matter what! What I found out from my research was that – the procedure can actually help to relieve the condition that I was recently diagnosed with. Coincidence, maybe… Divine planning, Must Be!

I guess it all falls into place… I am meant to go through with the procedure after all. I guess all that happened in between, are just merely nudges pushing me to the right direction, without me even knowing where I'm heading to. You know all that talk about there is good, in the bad. Well, this is certainly one of those moments.

It all depends at how one looks at it. Half full, or half empty? In the face of adversity, do you crumble? Or… do you trudge on and seek to find the light at the end of the tunnel? The rainbow after the rain? The silver lining behind the dark clouds?

All you need is to have a little faith… in Him. And understand that things happen for a reason. It may not be easy to comprehend at first, but if you look deeper... It will become crystal clear. We just have to trust Him, and learn to see things from a bigger perspective.

Ok folks... just a quick one this time... Try out this site...

http://www.samorost.net/samorost2/

It's actually a very intriguing game. Don't worry, it's not a hoax full of pop ups and viruses/malwares/spywares(/tupperware? =p)... Seriously, I've been to the site myself and it's clean as a whistle...

It's probably the most fascinating & imaginative game I've played thus far. I mean this game really engages the mind. You gotta be observant, intelligent & most importantly, patient to complete this one. It really tests you on your pattern recognition and logical thinking. The first chapter is free... the next few ones have to pay of course... afterall nothing is free in this world.

I'll say it again... the game is simply... intriguing! 100 points for the developers.

Enough said... go figure.

BYOBD

In case the abbreviation sounds unfamiliar, it actually means Bring Your Own Bag Day. It's an initiative driven by supermarkets in a bid to Save the Earth. Well, I'm all for it actually... I'm definitely one who advocates preservation of Mother Earth.

But what I have a problem with, is the restrained manner in which the BYOBD initiative was executed. I think one day a month is not aggressive enough. For a start, it'll be difficult for people to keep track of the day itself. Yes, first day of the month may sound easy enough... but to the busy professional, it's already difficult enough trying to keep track the day of the week and... I'm sure there is a significant number of folks out there who don't mind paying that little bit extra, for the convenience of not having to come back on a non-BYOB Day. At this rate, we'll never send the right message to the masses. Our message should be: "Bring your own bag, so that it will save on overheads in the long run, and also you get to Save the Earth at the same time". How do we do that? Now hear me out.....

My suggestion: Let's do it the other way round. Instead of only making them pay for plastic bags on the first day of the month, why not on top of that we give them a discount on every other day that they come to the supermarket with their own bag. It does not have to be a huge discount... I guess a rate of 20cents per bag will do just fine. The average shopper will need... maybe about 4 bags per visit(depending on total items purchased... the details can be worked out later)... Though that will add up to only 80cents, in the long it would be significant!

It makes a whole lot of sense. This will not only help to remind us to Save the Earth on a daily basis... it also sends the message across that; Helping to Save the Earth will, save us some money. I think this will be better received than their current campaign of having BYOBD once a month. Saving the Earth should be made a daily routine, and not a monthly one.

I can understand that the authorities are probably trying to lay it easy on the people. "Let them slowly get used to it first", they said. But I get the feeling that the only thing they will get used to is: paying for bags at the start of every month. If it's not that, then it'll be: avoid supermarkets on the 1st! I think this has got to be changed, if we are ever going to get anywhere with this initiative!

Changing people's attitude is always difficult, but we can always change the strategy that we use in convincing them.