Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Back to basics

"...Now I know my ABC, come along and sing with me."
A song we learnt by heart. A song we grew up with. A song to teach all children the English language, and therefore the necessity of embracing the alphabets. A song, by now for most of us, as easy as ABC.

Really? As we progress through the Singapore school education, ABCs no longer seem as simple. A for apple. B for boy. C for car. Or could it be: A for average, B for bingo, and C for champion? Must it be A for excellence, B for satisfactory, and C for passable. And what's with the 'pluses' and 'minuses'. A and A+ doesn't make a difference, to your scores, other than the additional strokes. Welcome to the world of CAPS! Yes, perhaps an old familiar idiom has been made obsolette, superseded by lamentating cries of we need to "pull up our CAPS". It is as easy as climbing C-B-A in ascending order. No? Oh i forgot it's cummulative.

Even the ABCs are made so complex in the adult world. I much prefer the light-hearted jingle that accompanies my childhood years. Why can't we delight in singing the song, be it in recognisable or unrecognisable melody and lyrics. Whatever the outcome may be, the joy of learning and unlearning is immeasurable.

Yes, why not.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Courage in embracing weakness

Have we at times forgotten that courage is not about doing the impossible? If courage is a matter of tangible actions, then fear factor shall be the tool of measurement. Oh the world measures courage in such superficial terms!

When was the last time we summoned courage from the depths of our hearts? My last encounter was 1-2 months back. Sometimes summoning courage changes our course of life, well it did for mine at least. One week ago, i witnessed the courage of a sister in Christ. She may not have thought so, but in my eyes she displayed magnificent courage from within her. True courage will differ from individual to individual. For most, courage is facing our own music, trying to overcome our own weaknesses. For some, perhaps REAL courage lies in saying 'no'. The courage to say we can't do it. It is true, we are weak and vulnerable beings.