House

"Cos I was born with a heart three sizes too small." - Gregory House, M.D.

Why do I like House?
He makes me feel like, Oh finally somebody gets me.

think for yourself

It is not a good habit to stuff one's text with quotations from prominent thinkers, except to make fun of them or provide a historical reference. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Murakami

13Hakuna jaribu lo lote lililowapata ambalo si la kawaida kwa wanadamu. Na Mungu ni mwaminifu; hata- ruhusu mjaribiwe kupita uwezo wenu. Lakini mnapojaribiwa atawapa na njia ya kutokea ili mweze kustahimili.
1 Wakorintho 10:13

Oh, that was in Swahili. Maybe this one:

13πειρασμος υμας ουκ ειληφεν ει μη ανθρωπινος πιστος δε ο θεος ος ουκ εασει υμας πειρασθηναι υπερ ο δυνασθε αλλα ποιησει συν τω πειρασμω και την εκβασιν του δυνασθαι υμας υπενεγκειν
ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Α΄ 10:13

Or this?

13 你 們 所 遇 見 的 試 探 ， 無 非 是 人 所 能 受 的 。 神 是 信 實 的 ， 必 不 叫 你 們 受 試 探 過 於 所 能 受 的 ； 在 受 試 探 的 時 候 ， 總 要 給 你 們 開 一 條 出 路 ， 叫 你 們 能 忍 受 得 住 。
歌 林 多 前 書 10:13

Different versions, same concern: the way out - how, where, and when exactly?

"So no one should keep dirty little secrets.."
Have you said so because you are vexed that people have chosen to keep their secrets from you, or do you genuinely believe in total transparency of character?

Well then, shall you bare all your thoughts, exhibit all feelings, expose all desires, disclose all mistakes.. and still expect people to like you and be willing to work with you, learn from you?

Too many people love only when they like to.

Many thanks to our unnamed adviser :)

When it comes to men that are romantically interested in you, it’s really simple: just ignore everything they say, and pay attention to only what they do.

Ephesians 3:16-21

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:16-21
New International Version

Efficiency and Effectiveness

Peter Drucker (1909-2005), an influential business guru, is often quoted for his saying:
Efficiency is doing the job right.
Effectiveness is doing the right job right.

Interestingly, a parallel can be found in the poetic and prophetic writings of Isaiah (ca. 8th century BC):

Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the spelt in its place?
For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.
For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever.
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.
(Isaiah 28:24-29, NKJV)

The Many Words for Love

Someone once wrote: Love is another word for pain.

That is true, but only partially.
Consider the many faces of Love:

Love suffers long

Love is another word for Pain

and is kind;

Love is another word for Kindness

love does not envy;

Love is another word for Contentment

love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

Love is another word for Humility

does not behave rudely,

Love is another word for Courtesy

does not seek its own,

Love is another word for Selflessness

is not provoked,

Love is another word for Serenity

thinks no evil;

Love is another word for Forgiveness

does not rejoice in iniquity, rejoices in the truth;

Love is another word for Righteousness

Bears all things,

Love is another word for Strength

Believes all things, hopes all things,

Love is another word for Faith

Endures all things.

Love is another word for Perseverance

(1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)

Love can indeed be painful. Nevertheless, somewhere down the road (most) people learn to be less self-centered and (begin to) see that in loving and giving, there is joy, peace, and fulfillment. People then learn to be less reactive and more responsive towards Love.

Consider:
Mothers who sacrifice their rest, even their lives, for their babies.
Parents who endure the troubles caused by their children.
Husbands who bear demanding professions to provide for their families.
Wives who forgo their careers to raise families.
Married couples withstanding each other’s weaknesses and annoying habits.
Engaged couples who sacrifice a more comfortable lifestyle to save up for marriages.

Even God Himself. Because of Love Christ “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant… humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8)

YET

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him…” (Philippians 2:9)

Consider:
The peace in watching your loved ones sleeping.
The joy of parents when seeing their children utter their first words, and walk their first steps.
The excitement of becoming grandparents.
The intimacy of couples who have together endured years of hardships.
And more.

Yes, Love is rewarding.

All parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, and a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair.

– Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven

The happiness of a man consists not in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.

- Anonymous
Quoted from a radio ad ;)

This is the way of the work force: using women as if they were men; using men as if they were animals.

~Yu, Shanghai University graduate

The Chinese have it right again.

Rules to date by

We've had to learn them the hard way -- and some of them, we're still learning.


By Nancy Hass


That dashing sport who pursues you with wild romantic gestures has probably pursued other women with those same gestures in the past -- and will probably do so in the future, perhaps even while he's using them on you.


When a man tells you he wants a woman who has "her own interests," that means he wants you not to complain when he golfs twice a week.


The little tics of his that bother you at the beginning either become instantly unimportant once you fall in love -- or bug you more each day until you want to blow your brains out.


It's not always better to start off a relationship with super sex: The hotter it is at the beginning, the more disappointing the inevitable leveling-off.


How much he makes you laugh is more important than how much he makes -- or even how much he makes you happy in bed.


Personal hygiene is very, very important.


The two questions you should ask early in a relationship are, "How young a woman would you date if you could?" and, "Would you choose a woman with breast implants over a woman with small breasts all her own?"


If a man tells you he "loves really smart women," check out how he reacts when it's you all the people at the dinner party are listening to raptly.


The most romantic words a man can say are, "I can't wait to hear what you think about this."


The most romantic words a woman can say are, "Just lie back and relax."


Sex on a beach only sounds romantic; the older you get, the more sand doesn't mix with your anatomy.


Just because a man is making passionate love to you every night doesn't mean he isn't cheating on you.


The man you thought was "too nice" to date in your 20s will look shockingly good at your college reunion.


"Bad boys" turn into bad men with drug and alcohol problems.


The eternal relationship dilemma is not "Do you love me?" but "How much togetherness is too much -- or not enough?"


Being single is preferable to being lonely in a relationship.


Other couples' relationships, which may look enviously romantic from the outside, are, behind closed doors, probably just as screwed up as yours.

The blame of our misdeeds not to be cast upon God.
The one power which rests with man is the power of volition.
~ Tertullian

Love me when I less deserve it,
because it is when I need it most.
~Chinese proverb

Supportive caring relationships are a biological necessity and not a luxury. No matter how well balanced we feel on our own, we need others to help complete us. We need others to help us find our rightful place in the world, and feel truly at home. To be genuinely happy and healthy, we need to expand our sense of self to include all those that play a significant role in our life.
~ Charlie Badenhop, the originator of Seishindo

"When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good, you will not."

A favorite line from the movie Love Actually:
"I'm very busy and important. How can I help you?"

We need to do more than existing - we must live
Spending 40 years working overtime is not living

"I made an agreement of peaceful coexistence with time: neither he pursues me, nor I run from him, one day we will find each other." ~ Mario Lago