The Priceless Coin

There was a boy who lived in this world, he didn't know what he was expected to do. He woke up every morning and lived his day through. Then one day, he picked up a coin as he was walking on his way to school. It was an ordinary coin, nothing special or unique. It was like his other coins in his wallet, simple and plain. Then he reflected on his life and thought about the coin, was he like the coin as well? Is his life just plain, simple and ordinary? No, he didn't want to be remembered as being plain, simple and ordinary. He wanted to make a difference. He wanted to do something. So he began each day differently. He still woke up the same bed, he still walked the same path to school, he still met up with his same friends but he was different inside. With him he carried the coin that he picked up, ever so ordinary ever so plain, but to the boy, this coin was special and unique. This coin was what made him realise that life has more to it then just living. This coin made a difference to his life and he made the choice to live his dreams. So take out a coin and look at it. Its plain, simple and can mostly buy you a canned drink. But use it to remember the power you have inside you to make a difference and to live your life, and the coin will be priceless and something you treasure and hold.

Bliss in the Storm

I threw away the past and forgot about the future. It was meaningless to dwell in both.

I set up a new blog called http://the-effective-leader.blogspot.com . I wanted to share what I had learned with others.

I found out a secret today. I found out how to live. Its not easy but then nothing really is. I spent more time thinking then I really do and came across these words that I felt were true.

Life sometimes throws us around and even though we want to do something, we somehow always end up doing something else. Its like the tensions in a rubber band. This frustrates us at times and we know somehow, we got to change, we got to stop, we got to let go, we got to move on. We know we should spend more time on meaningful things like volunteerism and helping people but we always end up too busy to help too busy, too caught up. So this tension swings back and forth and we do things which are different from what we know them to be. So who really wins in this pendulum swing?

I got the answer today:

Love wins, Love always wins

If you recognise this, the answer is from the the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. I read the book, saw the answer and felt the answer, and I am happy I found it.

Everyone goes through a Storm in their life, but can we find Bliss in it? Can we be happy and accept what comes out way? I pray for strenght that I may find courage to stand and face that moment.

Love wins in the end. But I look around these days and I find that many people forget how to Love. They are shy at expressing this emotion. Why can't we Love each other? It isn't hard to show affection or to give praise when it is deserved.

All of your being and who you are is filled with emotions. Don't run away, don't hide it. Acknowledge it and you will understand it.



So Live your Life with Love and you will Love your Life.



Best Regards and with Love,

Jonathan Szeto

the lost blogger who found his way

Why oh why do we Love children??

A Little Laughter can Brighten Up Your Day

Enjoy =)


A kindergarten pupil told his teacher he'd found a cat. She asked him if it
was dead or alive. "Dead." She was informed.

"How do you know?" she asked her pupil. "Because I pissed in its ear and it
didn't move," answered the child innocently.

"You did WHAT?!?" the teacher exclaimed in surprise.

"You know," explained the boy, "I leaned over and went 'Pssst!' and it
didn't move."

________________________________________________________________

A small boy is sent to bed by his father. Five minutes later....

"Da-ad...." "What? "I'm thirsty. Can you bring drink of water?" "No.

You had your chance. Lights out." Five minutes later: "Da-aaaad....."

"WHAT?" "I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water??"

"I told you ! NO!" If you ask again, I'll have to spank you!!"

Five minutes later...... "Daaaa-aaaad....." "WHAT!" "When you come in to
spank me, can you bring a drink of water?"

________________________________________________________________

One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken Little to
her class. She came to the part of the story where Chicken Little tried to
warn the farmer. She read, ".... and so Chicken Little went up to the farmer
and said, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" The teacher paused then
asked the class, "And what do you think that farmer said?" One little girl
raised her hand and said, "I think he said: 'Holy Shit! A talking chicken!'"
The teacher was unable to teach for the next 10 minutes.
________________________________________________________________

Oh I just Love Children...

Take Care and God Bless!

Jonathan

Tears from the Sun, The

Written and Composed by: Jonathan Szeto

Verse 1
In this world full of uncertainty,
Things don't always go your way.
Trouble swings around when you least expect it,
When it comes don't run away.


Verse 2
For the people who are suffering,
Their experience holds no bounds.
What would happen if it happened to you?
Would you stand firmly on your ground?


Chorus:
Crying out the tears of the sun.
Raining down the endless amounts of sorrow.
People always crying for help.
What would you do if you were chosen,
To help?

The Teen World - The Four Seeds

Let me begin with a story.

Once upon a time,
There were 4 young seedlings and each was unique.
At an experiment, they were seperated into 2 groups of 2.
The first pair was sent into the deepest ends of the jungle and the second pair was sent into the botanical gardens in Singapore.
The first pair had to fight the other seeds and trees for sun, water and all that is needed for a plant to grow.
The second pair had the measured amounts of sun, water and minerals given to them instead.
From the first pair, the First Seed grew humble, strong and majestic tree standing tall for all to see.
The Second Seed however, reached similar heights by climbing over and blocking sun and water of others. He died long before the First Seed.
From the second pair, the Third Seed became a rare species. Groomed my the botanist of the garden, he reached his peak of his growth. Standing tall, bearing much fruit, breaking new grounds.
The Fourth Seed however, did not get that same result. With the same conditions as the Third Seed, he grew lazy with the treatment. He took the sun, water and minerials for granted. He did not strive to grow and ended up a "Failure". In the end, he was given up upon and was cut away.
This is the story of the Four Seeds.

There are many many teenagers out there who are managing and coping with life to the best they can. However, there are also many many tenagers out there crying for a way out. I am 18 years old and I am one of them. Maybe you are too.

The teen world is unique in its nature. It is different from a child's and different from an adults. It is a place of transition and has its own rules, traditions, values, music, slang, style and so on. In every school, clique and group, exists a distinct culture which makes the group different from others. This is the teen world we all know

One teenager quoted:
"The teen world is about being one up. The crazy world of one-upmanship is so validated on TV; there is the sense that this is the way it should be. In the teen world, verbal abuse dosen't exist as a real thing. When people put you down, as they are 'suppose to', if it bothers you, there is something wrong with you. The world is built on this one-up, one-down idea."

Do we all fall victim to verbal abuse in our teenage lives? Only recently, I wanted to initiate an idea and my friends told me it was "crap". That I shouldn't think of going about it the other way. And that it should be done "this way" instead.

I also wanted to take up a certain course but my father was against it. He said that I shouldn't take it up as there is no future for that.

Words and phrases like "useless", "waste of time", "don't be stupid", "childish", "grow up", "what are you, a retard?", "you suck!", "It won't work...", "stop dreaming", "your still young", "you don't understand" and many many more out there are said to teenagers every single day. Do any of these sound familiar at one point? Then you are not alone.

In the end, teenagers are humans. Teenagers are the result of children growing up. Teenagers represent what adults long to return to and want to treasure. Teenagers need Motivation and Confidence to grow into the "successful" adult that all adults around us want us to be. Motivation and Confidence is however a very sacred resource and most adults use these as tools of reward. If you have come home early on time without breaking curfew, does your parents acknowledge your behaviour? What if the opposite happens? It is such a wonder to adults how "kids these days" can go astray and participate in undesirable activities. But with the little support given by these adults, I wonder why they think such. Ultimately it goes around in a circle.

Motivation is like water and Confidence is like sun. If we are to see the fruits of our little Seeds, we need to water and sun the plant daily and carefully. Too much Motivation may result in sounding too naggy and will drown the plant. Too much Confidence may result in a proud behaviour of conciteness. Both these results are negative. But the risk of it happening is forever present. If water is not given and not present daily, it may affect the growth of the plant. Same with the sun. Motivation and Confidence must be given in moderation regularly. The key words are "moderation" and "regularly". Hard for adults to do? Yes. Thats why there are so little botanist out there. Neccessary for adults to do? Yes. Thats why raising a child is the toughest, hardest and longest project for a parent to undertake.

As teenagers, we too have to play our part. We have to strive for Sun and Water or we will not get any of it. The process of striving is the process of growing and learning. If we keep at it, like the First Seed, we will grow and reach our dreams. The teenage world is not so complicated after all. Its just mis-understood. It is up to us to make them understand not the other way round. Therefore I encourage you out there. Be whatever troubles your facing. Be whatever downfalls you meet. Be whatever relations you struggle with. Be whatever confidence lost. Be whatever motivation drained. Be whatever others said and did to you. YOU are the one who can stand up and be counted. YOU are the one who can decide to change. YOU are the one who can make that difference. Remember the best way to Change those around you is to Change yourself. You are NOT alone. You never will be alone. You are stronger then what others think because they don't know what your going through.

So stand up and keep your chin up as you fight the world. Soon others will be fighting you as you grow older. I told a friend, "But thats life." and she replied "Why must follow life?" This is true for most teens. Don't be afraid to go against the flow. Don't be afraid to stand and be counted. Because if you do this, you will feel a whole lot better inside.

Your Friend,

Jonathan Szeto

The Ambassador

Written and Composed by: Jonathan Szeto

Verse:
I'm waiting for your Glory,
I'm longing for your Truth,
I can't believe that you would set me free.
I want to Love just like you,
And that's my Prayer to you,
Lord there's nothing that I need but you.

Chorus:
So come in my presence,
And set my life anew.
Assure my foundations,
And I can be a Rock for you.
Forgive my misgivings,
And all my previous sins.
Cause now I want to be,
An Ambassador for you,
Jesus!

Do you want it?

Do you want to go places in life?
Do you want to achieve something to look back on?
Do you want to be respected and loved?

These are all questions we run into at some point in our lives. Many a times, we see the person next to us stepping up the ladder of success and we wonder, why not me? We search everywhere and ask plenty of questions to find the answer. Books and videos and letters and journals, friends and family and even our bosses. Lucky is the man if he/she finds it in those places.

If you want to go places in life, you have to want to go places in life.
If you want to achieve something, you have to want to achieve it.
If you want to be respected and loved, you have to want to be respected and loved.

Now, thats all common sense isn't it?
Of course if you want to go places, you want to go places.
But what am I really trying to say here?

Its all very simple if you look at it in this way. See this from a child's point of view. Everyone of the children in class wants to do well. The all want to ace their exams. But when you look at them individually, it is those who do something that get something. Likewise in today's context, if we want to go places in life, we need to get our act together and start showing that we want to go places in life. You cannot go anywhere in the world unless you are wanting to do something.

Therefore friends, let me ask you. Do you want it? and you'll know what you need to do.

Best Regards,
Jonathan Szeto