Excellence @ Work

The world differs significantly from the rosy picture that was showcased in schooling and upbringing. We are taught that we should always strive to do our best, and that great work will be greatly blessed, abundantly praised and richly rewarded. In the real world most often good work goes unnoticed or considered as what is expected as a standard, great work often leads to conflict with your peers, and exemplary work leads to segregation and misinterpretation of intentions. A job well done encourages your spirit and soul, and often the benefactors of end result are not immediately visible and hopefully the experience adds value to your skill set. Excellence in work will most often challenge your superiors since it makes them look less remarkable or at worst ignorant which further invigorates tensions. Promotions are mostly awarded to people who pose no significant threat to superiors and whose existence may relay on regular lip service, quite servitude or on constant support of their peers.  Those who challenge and suggest innovative ideas and think of new dimensions walk a thin line of having the benefit of keeping their jobs if they succeed or bear the wrath of failure at many levels if their best efforts should fail.  Your failure to improve your job prospects is an evidence of your failure to cope with the ever changing requirements of the industry. A long service award is a paltry show, and a sure sign of getting too comfortable in a heating caldron. There is no one who owes you for your long service, and there is no concept of loyalty or belonging in the modern age and your job security and is as good as the insurance plan chosen by the company for you. Job hopping is a sign that you are well qualified to rise above the crowd and deliver tangible results and a quicker way to immediate promotions with doubling salaries in shorter periods of time. No matter how the organization views your effort it always pays to do your very best in the end, as there is always someone greater who will appreciate and lift you into higher ground even if may not happen in the same departments, company or workplace. Always hone your skills and talents as they define who you are and what you become.

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

Colossians 3:23-25

Tactical Improvisation

Emotional outbursts have far greater repercussions than tactical improvisation.  Being tactical requires the tempering of the mind to withstand pressure and the tolerance of a saint.  Emotional people are real; they speak their mind, and once said, move on.  Having said that, it depends on the listener’s maturity to take it in the right sense or reciprocate in similar manner.  A tactical person will have the patience to know the time, and the delivery model, if you will, to put across his viewpoints without raising others concerns or sentiments.  Avoid the class of people who are overtly egotistic and highly temperamental and cannot be reasoned with as their pride blinds their assessment of their own capabilities, and their conduct will deteriorate with their morals over time.  Always serve others with all your talents and capabilities but avoid the class of people who would consider your service as common and invaluable and consider your services to them as a right, rather than a sincere free will offering. Service is more important than glory, all glory belongs to God.  Strive to work for and work with good and godly people and befriend the right class of people in life, and their companionship will be a long and rewarding experience.

Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:  Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

Proverbs 22:24-25

A New Beginning

Every end signifies a new beginning, and with the end of a year, we have hope, with Christmas, a new beginning.  Even though Christmas it is of little significance to many unbelievers, we find that everyone, every nation, no matter believer or atheist alike try to make a fresh start, and they all make resolutions and amends for a better year, to live better lives, and this is the profound spiritual impact that Jesus has on the world.  Some may consider it co-incidence, others chance, but there are great many associations that signifies a deep and profound impact Jesus made to the world.  Jesus was born to us 2045 years ago, and his birth parts our timeline to define the ages, BC and AD.  Between BC and AD are 33 years when God walked with us in the flesh.  People who awaited his arrival searched palaces to find him, but he chose to be born in a humble manger and he choose to be born to poor but pure and holy parents.  We see later in his life, and in his ministry that even being God he was not spared from sarcasm, ridicule, insults, torture or for that matter unlawful death, at a time when there was an established law and order under one of the most prominent civilizations of all time, the Roman Empire.   We see that though he was a man of God, and did wonders, there was spiritual jealousy among his colleges, the apostles, and hatred from his superiors, the pharisees.  Jesus was able to perform miracles, far greater than any prophet before him, but only a few accepted him, and those who should have lifted him higher in fact worked against him and plotted to kill him.  Jesus washed the feet of his disciples so that they may know that the gift he gave to them, to heal, to cure and to bless was not to pull rank or authority over others, or establish a closed cult, as we see that the disciples were enraged to find others being able to perform the same miracles in his name, and wanted them to be stopped.  Jesus clearly tells them that whosoever is not against us is with us which is a clear message to all churches.  His objective was to be an instrument of peace, humility and charity and he wanted to lead them by example and so he washed and kissed the feet of his disciples to show his humility and love.  By his birth and  life, he was pure and just, he led the life of purity and faith, he taught others to be like-minded and so we are reminded of our love to God and service to others that we may be called children of God.  Let us in the true spirit of Christmas bless and share what we have with others, and lead by example that others may see and experience Jesus through us.

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:    Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross

Philippians 2:1-8

Innovation & Intuition

Innovation is the child of insight and experience; it is where knowledge or experience plays a key role in identifying new and better means to accomplish a goal.  Intuition is the child of wisdom, it is faith in what is conceived, a strong conviction that guides us to contemplating the steps in arriving at our desired goal.  Intuition is instinctively knowing to perform the right action at the right time to arrive at a desired goal.  Intuition has high probability of risks, which we are willing to overlook due to a greater conviction that our actions will yield the desired result.  The greater our intuitive capability, the lesser we rely on technical probability.  Intuition is a religious experience and can be aptly described as a walk with God, where we listen to his voice, instead of all laws that govern the circumstances.  It is the ability to rise above our situation to see a holistic view from a different perspective, which makes everything simple and clear till there be not an iota of a doubt.  The degree of clarity that is experienced with intuition surpasses the complexity of anything we encounter.  Though we consider intuition and innovation closely related, brothers at best, the fruit of labor can testify if the work was a child of intuition or innovation, as intuition surpasses innovation every time.

Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

Proverbs 4:5-10

Love Above All

Our desires and ambitions will always be far beyond the reality of our lives, and this is a common conduct of human nature.  We strive for better jobs, finer homes,  promotions, luxury vehicles, cooler gadgets, whatever be the case, it has a powerful influence on our desires and emotions.  We fool ourselves into ignoring present circumstances and live in the belief of something better and greater awaiting us and striving even harder to achieve them at the cost of quality time spent with  family and our health.  While ambitions and desires resembles faith and hope,  it could be far from the truth, where in reality we may also be nurturing a weakness, competitiveness and we need to consciously put in check our desires and ambitions which could lead to dejection and despair.  There is but one way to surpass this agitation, to remove oneself from the present surroundings, and turn away our focus from these desires, and retreat into the arms of love.  The Love of God surpasses all understanding and renews the mind, heart and body, and there exists the very same blessing in a happy marriage.  We need to realize constantly that we have achieved more than we began with, have become more talented than what we were initially, and far more secure than in the days past, and so it is necessary to take time out, to relish what we have in communion with each other, and be content with a life of Love, as there is nothing more precious, or beautiful in life than the simplicity and affection that we receive from God, God’s given partner in our life, and close family.    All uncertainties, false pride, unattainable ambitions gets washed away, as we dedicate more time with God and family.  Our plans, ambitions and attempts will be measured , and not the only focus in our lives,  and eventually become pale in comparison to a life of Love that can see and behold all the rest as just vanity.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Seeking Higher Ground

Technology often births complexity and confusion and we see that the most effective and accepted solution is more often the simplest one.  We see that every new technology is more complex than the previous generation but the end user experience is driven by greater simplicity and ease of use.  We expect machines to understand our inputs, gestures, speech, thoughts and desire even more from future technologies.  We are fostering machine learning, as we all carry within us an insatiable appetite to be in touch with a higher form of intelligence that instantly understands and supports us at our point of need.  This is our invisible driving force, that binds us together, by an innate desire to be in communion with higher ground, and this is simply our spirituality surfacing in the way we operate and work.  You can see the excitement surface even in an atheist as he explains how his latest technology acquisition is far greater than the previous one, and more intelliget the technology, the more we tend to interact with it.  Our desire becomes an obsession which enables us to put apart other pursuits in life and willingly sacrifice time, money, and even health to make it possible to own a piece of technology.  Spiritual life is a similar pursuit as we are obsessed about God and his will in our lives, and become willing to sacrifice our time, money, and health, only to realize that God is willing to sacrifice even more in return, just to be in communion with us.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

 

Technology is Superflous

The more I learn the more I wish to forget.  Focusing on technology is the most superfluous pursuit in life.  It is vain to focus or specialize on most modern technology as the rate of adoption of new ideas and the abandonment of previous ideas is happening at a tremendous rate that the half life in the usefulness of any technology is less than the time taken to absorb or fully understand its true potential.   I do not deny the fact that however superfluous technology may seem, yet it tends to be the most lucrative form of engagement.  The promise of yielding technology benefits in business is almost like chasing a mirage where the rate of change in market influence towards any technology is a downward spiral after the initial boom.  There is a constant need for rapid assimilation and cross over from one technology to another which in the real world is like changing your boat, mid river while facing head on storm with strong undercurrents where a single misjudgement is all it  takes to pull you down and drown you.  There are no friends in technology, weakness is unforgiving, experience is irrelevant, most importantly the face value of what you have in the end is worthless than what you began with.  The sum of all this lunacy are the chapters of life’s lessons, and lessons shared is the only timeless advise you can give that will truly be beneficial and sensible to someone who chances by.

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Ecclesiastes 12:12-13

The Battle Belongs To The Lord

When we make a stand to serve God in our lives, it should be our only focus, and even our conduct becomes an object of intense scrutiny. The evil one is focused to pin us down and defeat us, to kill our spirit within, and to discourage us. We are ridiculed, attacked, or criticized openly or from behind closed doors. Anything evil hates everything good and finds a way to harm those living according to God’s will and those who serve him through any channel or means available. The more we bear the better we become, as gold refined in a furnace. This is the challenge of leading a true Christian life, that we take up our cross and humbly follow after our Lord. We don’t have to do anything, prove anything, clarify anything, for it is God who leads us, blesses us and keeps us, and will decapitate every enemy and bring to light every lie. What we can forebear we can overcome, therefore we bear our cross gladly and follow after him. We will most certainly find that throughout our life we have be blessed richly and abundantly with things we cannot have perceived or known; for God is faithful and richly rewards us here in our present life and ever after.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake

Mathew 5:11

Discerning Associations

Constantly validate, evaluate and check close associates. Associates are spawned through friendship, colleagues, relations, or common pursuit. Associates can contribute, tend to be involved, or be overly interested in our activities. Any such associate needs careful scrutiny. Signs of callousness, insult, rudeness, sarcasm or even undue praise over trivial accomplishments, is an implicit indicator of closed completive aggression or growing jealousy. Encouragement, openness, constructive criticism and appreciation are the key indicators of good association, and their views and opinions can benefit the quality of your life and influence the outcome of your endeavor. Segregation and seclusion from some associates are worth more than the meager superficial worldly benefits in associating with them. We may not have much choice over those we engage with, but we need to be wary of those we provide access into our daily lives.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Celebrate Life

Celebrate life and all the goodness it offers.  Inculcate a habit to explore your surroundings, involve more people in your daily social activities,  participate in all joyous occasions, and  spend quality time with your family.  It may prove to be arduous and tiring at first, but the sum of these experiences will define and reflect the quality of life we lead.    Only when we truly involve ourselves in  something with interest do we belong to it.  Owning is the material experience whereas belonging is spiritual experience.  It is not necessary to own something to belong to it and you can only truly belong to something you cherish.  The message is – be outgoing, social, and fun loving and take care. God Bless !