Friday, 19 February 2010
Did You Know 3.0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8
After watching this clip, one thought had permanent residence in my mind. That if I had any intentions of being more than a passer-by in the future in which I am going to live, I will have to get to work from yesterday.
"Heights attained by great men were not achieved by sudden flight. But they, when their companions were sleeping, kept toiling on onward through the night"
Thoughts - 18022010
Life is a game of wits, opinions and points of view. And as is the nature of our world, a day rarely goes by that we do not meet people that see things a different way to how we do. Our natural reaction is to go defensive and try to defend our beliefs and this often creates unnecessary conflict. The case is often that we feel so strongly about what we believe that we give no audience to what anyone else might have to say. But is this the best way to deal with this ever present conflict?
A single-minded arrogance is definitely not the way to deal with the situation. As much as you might think and/or know that you are right, your failure to listen can be highly counterproductive. The greatest leaders that have ever walked this earth have all been great speakers and great listeners. Jesus Christ spoke many great words but the Bible also records Him listening to people and responding to their queries with relevant words that met their needs and we all know how that story goes. At the other end of the leadership spectrum, another leader who understood the power of attending to people’s needs and fear was Adolf Hitler. As much as he has gone down in history as one of the most evil men to ever live, he was able to take the concerns of a section of the German public that feared the Jews would take over and use that as a point of entry into the hearts and minds of his people and we also know how that story ends. Closer to home, the British National Party are fast gaining ground by feeding on legitimate concerns on immigration and the rise of Islam and using that as a platform to propagate their other distasteful messages. We don’t know how that story will end but as long as the major parties seek to push the “we know what’s best for the people” agenda, get ready for more success from the BNP.
In similar fashion, people of faith, especially Christians, need to be very careful with their beliefs and how they choose to pass them on. One of the underlining factors in the rise of Christianity and the early church was the ability of the apostles and early Christians to reason with the people they came across. The Bible records Paul reasoning daily in the halls of Tyrannus where many people came with their various philosophies. Reasoning is defined as the process by which you reach a conclusion after thinking about all the facts and this is something I do not think many Christians pay attention to. Many are too preoccupied with their self righteousness and pride that they are missing the glaring needs and resounding groans of the people. Christians need to cultivate a listening ear if they are to be relevant in our ever changing world. Things are changing at the speed of light and no one can afford to rest on their laurels. The battle is eternal and the enemy is reinventing himself every day. Failure to keep abreast with the world around you will make your Christianity as relevant as ski boots in Miami.
We all need to learn to humble ourselves enough to listen to whatever people have to say, irrespective of whether or not we think they are spewing the vilest rubbish in the history of human speech. This breeds a trust that a speaker knows that whatever they are saying is being heard and will therefore be more likely to reciprocate the listening. It is also in listening that you identify the legitimate concerns of the people and see how what you have to say can address those concerns. Otherwise, the probability missing those concerns and addressing the irrelevant ones
Single-minded arrogance and ignorance are, in my opinion, not too far apart. One doesn’t know and the other doesn’t want to know. Perhaps you can argue that single-minded arrogance is more dangerous as it has very little interest in knowledge.
A single-minded arrogance is definitely not the way to deal with the situation. As much as you might think and/or know that you are right, your failure to listen can be highly counterproductive. The greatest leaders that have ever walked this earth have all been great speakers and great listeners. Jesus Christ spoke many great words but the Bible also records Him listening to people and responding to their queries with relevant words that met their needs and we all know how that story goes. At the other end of the leadership spectrum, another leader who understood the power of attending to people’s needs and fear was Adolf Hitler. As much as he has gone down in history as one of the most evil men to ever live, he was able to take the concerns of a section of the German public that feared the Jews would take over and use that as a point of entry into the hearts and minds of his people and we also know how that story ends. Closer to home, the British National Party are fast gaining ground by feeding on legitimate concerns on immigration and the rise of Islam and using that as a platform to propagate their other distasteful messages. We don’t know how that story will end but as long as the major parties seek to push the “we know what’s best for the people” agenda, get ready for more success from the BNP.
In similar fashion, people of faith, especially Christians, need to be very careful with their beliefs and how they choose to pass them on. One of the underlining factors in the rise of Christianity and the early church was the ability of the apostles and early Christians to reason with the people they came across. The Bible records Paul reasoning daily in the halls of Tyrannus where many people came with their various philosophies. Reasoning is defined as the process by which you reach a conclusion after thinking about all the facts and this is something I do not think many Christians pay attention to. Many are too preoccupied with their self righteousness and pride that they are missing the glaring needs and resounding groans of the people. Christians need to cultivate a listening ear if they are to be relevant in our ever changing world. Things are changing at the speed of light and no one can afford to rest on their laurels. The battle is eternal and the enemy is reinventing himself every day. Failure to keep abreast with the world around you will make your Christianity as relevant as ski boots in Miami.
We all need to learn to humble ourselves enough to listen to whatever people have to say, irrespective of whether or not we think they are spewing the vilest rubbish in the history of human speech. This breeds a trust that a speaker knows that whatever they are saying is being heard and will therefore be more likely to reciprocate the listening. It is also in listening that you identify the legitimate concerns of the people and see how what you have to say can address those concerns. Otherwise, the probability missing those concerns and addressing the irrelevant ones
Single-minded arrogance and ignorance are, in my opinion, not too far apart. One doesn’t know and the other doesn’t want to know. Perhaps you can argue that single-minded arrogance is more dangerous as it has very little interest in knowledge.
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Thoughts - 13022010
How many times do we hear about people meaning to help but getting it all wrong? How many times do people complain of smug, self righteous people who have no idea of other people’s predicament taking an unwarranted moral high ground?
I am of the opinion that most of us are still eager to help our neighbour (contrary to public opinion) but somewhere between the thought and the action, we get things incredibly messed up. We often forget that we are not the star of the show and get carried away in a sense of good-doing and forget that without the people we are trying to help understanding what we are trying to do, we might as well keep our goodwill to ourselves.
The image of a hairdresser (or barber) springs to mind. Imagine you hadn’t had your hair done for a while or never even had your hair done before and all of a sudden find yourself under the armpit of the hairdresser. Yes, your hair might need some work but to hold you down against your will and apply methods that might seem a bit extreme for an outcome that you are not so sure of will not look like an inviting idea. In the same way, just because someone you happen to come across seems to be in need of help doesn’t give you the right to “help” them. I am not for one second saying that we should pass up an opportunity to help. What I am saying is that you don’t dive in at the deep end at your first time in the pool. You get familiar with the waters before you proceed to the tricky parts. I believe nothing in life should be rushed or rushed into. But you find that most people don’t even know their neighbour’s names or their children’s name or any of the softer details of their life and think they can just jump and play saviour.
In cases where I have been guilty of the issue in question, it has often been because I was in too much of a hurry to get the job done, add that notch to my belt, pull out the cape and soak up the applause. We are too often so caught up in ourselves that we forget that the problem we are trying to help with has very little, if anything, to do with us. We often help out expecting to be praised or rewarded for our efforts. We often give waiting and expecting to get some back in return. But I’d like to propose a different attitude – DO THE RIGHT THING BECAUSE IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. It might sound like something you expect to hear in a Sunday school class but that doesn’t stop it from being true. If we do good expecting people to do the same to us, then what credits do we expect? Don’t even the most evil of men do the same? We have to cultivate the habit of doing the right thing without any thought for who is looking on and who might pat us on the back at the end .
One of our greatest responsibilities is to love anyone that needs our love in the way we would expected to be love. In other words, do to others what you would like them to do to you. If you find your neighbour in hard times and feel like helping, put yourself their shoes and try for a second and think of the best way you would like to be approached and offered help if you were in a similar situation. You must never lose sight of the fact that you are not the main attraction in that episode and that at the end of it all, no fingers should be pointing in your direction
In today’s world where people are obsessed with stardom and fame, it is no surprise that many often hesitate to get involved in anything that doesn’t seem to have any reward in sight. People are more concerned about looking good rather than being good. And more worryingly, we are starting to accept this as the norm. So much that if one person should “do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do”, it feels like they are doing something out of the ordinary. We need to bang the drums of change and determine in our hearts and minds that we will do the right thing regardless of public opinion, regardless of reward or ridicule and regardless of how far out of our comfort zone it may take us. SELAH
The Telligent Blog ©
I am of the opinion that most of us are still eager to help our neighbour (contrary to public opinion) but somewhere between the thought and the action, we get things incredibly messed up. We often forget that we are not the star of the show and get carried away in a sense of good-doing and forget that without the people we are trying to help understanding what we are trying to do, we might as well keep our goodwill to ourselves.
The image of a hairdresser (or barber) springs to mind. Imagine you hadn’t had your hair done for a while or never even had your hair done before and all of a sudden find yourself under the armpit of the hairdresser. Yes, your hair might need some work but to hold you down against your will and apply methods that might seem a bit extreme for an outcome that you are not so sure of will not look like an inviting idea. In the same way, just because someone you happen to come across seems to be in need of help doesn’t give you the right to “help” them. I am not for one second saying that we should pass up an opportunity to help. What I am saying is that you don’t dive in at the deep end at your first time in the pool. You get familiar with the waters before you proceed to the tricky parts. I believe nothing in life should be rushed or rushed into. But you find that most people don’t even know their neighbour’s names or their children’s name or any of the softer details of their life and think they can just jump and play saviour.
In cases where I have been guilty of the issue in question, it has often been because I was in too much of a hurry to get the job done, add that notch to my belt, pull out the cape and soak up the applause. We are too often so caught up in ourselves that we forget that the problem we are trying to help with has very little, if anything, to do with us. We often help out expecting to be praised or rewarded for our efforts. We often give waiting and expecting to get some back in return. But I’d like to propose a different attitude – DO THE RIGHT THING BECAUSE IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. It might sound like something you expect to hear in a Sunday school class but that doesn’t stop it from being true. If we do good expecting people to do the same to us, then what credits do we expect? Don’t even the most evil of men do the same? We have to cultivate the habit of doing the right thing without any thought for who is looking on and who might pat us on the back at the end .
One of our greatest responsibilities is to love anyone that needs our love in the way we would expected to be love. In other words, do to others what you would like them to do to you. If you find your neighbour in hard times and feel like helping, put yourself their shoes and try for a second and think of the best way you would like to be approached and offered help if you were in a similar situation. You must never lose sight of the fact that you are not the main attraction in that episode and that at the end of it all, no fingers should be pointing in your direction
In today’s world where people are obsessed with stardom and fame, it is no surprise that many often hesitate to get involved in anything that doesn’t seem to have any reward in sight. People are more concerned about looking good rather than being good. And more worryingly, we are starting to accept this as the norm. So much that if one person should “do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do”, it feels like they are doing something out of the ordinary. We need to bang the drums of change and determine in our hearts and minds that we will do the right thing regardless of public opinion, regardless of reward or ridicule and regardless of how far out of our comfort zone it may take us. SELAH
The Telligent Blog ©
Monday, 1 February 2010
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Common Sense
The saying goes that there is no such thing as common sense and that if there was, it's not very common. But do we ever stop to think why that is? Is it fair to say that as a result of the earth being populated by almost 7 billion human beings, it will be near impossible for a majority of that 7 billion to share common reasoning(s)? Do we ever stop to think what common actually means or what sense is?
For the sake of this piece, I have chosen the definition of common that calls it anything that is found in large numbers, found often or something that is shared among a decent amount of people. I have also chosen the definition of sense that calls it an awareness or realisation of something. As a result of this two definitions, I choose to define common sense as an awareness and/or realisation that is shared or found often among a decent enough amount of people. And if you choose to define common sense this way, I don't think it will be difficult to say that common sense is not the myth it is often said to be
In years gone by, perhaps due to limited outside influence and years of doing things the same way, it was very easy to establish and maintain a status quo. But since the dawn of what many refer to as the global age, the intermingling of peoples has opened many eyes to the many other options that existed to the way they had previously operated. As a result, many methods and patterns that had previously been deemed infallible have been questioned and sometimes even shelved but that has signalled the end of common beliefs and ideologies. Many of the old beliefs and ideologies still hold common water e.g respect for elders, many common courtesies etc. And at the same timr, many new ideologies have been welcomed be the majority e.g Fair Trade, Liberalism etc
One thing that we often fail to realise or ignore to acknowledge is that what is often deemed common sense is not necessarily always the right option. For example, in the 19th century, it was common sense that blood-letting (the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient) was the best way to cure or prevent illness and disease but we know better today. In the same way, we believe today that by switching off our lights, driving less and living “greener” lives, we will in one way or another slow down global warming and save the earth from what seems like imminent destruction when historical evidence shows that the same thing we are trying to stop has happened in the past without any human help or assistance.
It is not difficult to see that if a good enough number of people of a sufficient amount of influence come out and speak for or against the existence or non-existence of a thought or a pattern among people, achieving a common sense will be less of a challenge it is proving to be at the moment.
By this reason, I humbly submit that common sense does exist and is not as impossible as often said. All that is needed is a reason plausible enough and a voice loud enough and it will only be a matter of time before a decent enough amount of people will be on the band wagon and a new common sense would have been created
If everyone comprehended at the same level, all sense will be common. - Pete Rock
For the sake of this piece, I have chosen the definition of common that calls it anything that is found in large numbers, found often or something that is shared among a decent amount of people. I have also chosen the definition of sense that calls it an awareness or realisation of something. As a result of this two definitions, I choose to define common sense as an awareness and/or realisation that is shared or found often among a decent enough amount of people. And if you choose to define common sense this way, I don't think it will be difficult to say that common sense is not the myth it is often said to be
In years gone by, perhaps due to limited outside influence and years of doing things the same way, it was very easy to establish and maintain a status quo. But since the dawn of what many refer to as the global age, the intermingling of peoples has opened many eyes to the many other options that existed to the way they had previously operated. As a result, many methods and patterns that had previously been deemed infallible have been questioned and sometimes even shelved but that has signalled the end of common beliefs and ideologies. Many of the old beliefs and ideologies still hold common water e.g respect for elders, many common courtesies etc. And at the same timr, many new ideologies have been welcomed be the majority e.g Fair Trade, Liberalism etc
One thing that we often fail to realise or ignore to acknowledge is that what is often deemed common sense is not necessarily always the right option. For example, in the 19th century, it was common sense that blood-letting (the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient) was the best way to cure or prevent illness and disease but we know better today. In the same way, we believe today that by switching off our lights, driving less and living “greener” lives, we will in one way or another slow down global warming and save the earth from what seems like imminent destruction when historical evidence shows that the same thing we are trying to stop has happened in the past without any human help or assistance.
It is not difficult to see that if a good enough number of people of a sufficient amount of influence come out and speak for or against the existence or non-existence of a thought or a pattern among people, achieving a common sense will be less of a challenge it is proving to be at the moment.
By this reason, I humbly submit that common sense does exist and is not as impossible as often said. All that is needed is a reason plausible enough and a voice loud enough and it will only be a matter of time before a decent enough amount of people will be on the band wagon and a new common sense would have been created
If everyone comprehended at the same level, all sense will be common. - Pete Rock
Monday, 23 November 2009
The Highest Point of Satisfaction is when Justice is Done
The highest point of satisfaction is when justice is done. But when I say justice, I dont mean justice in terms of a sentence, a verdict or a punishment. I mean justice in the sense of doing justice to that innate ability that lies in all humans to go beyond their mortal state and defy the boundaries of what had previously been defined as the limit to pursue, overtake and recover new territory. That ability to take hand and leg movements and turn them in to the most awesome and awe inspiring dance and dance moves. To take a few leaves, some oil and some other things that might have previously been deemed of very little use and turn it into the most mouth watering of delicacies. That ability to give life through mere words
It is in realising and understanding this ability/abilities that the champion is revealed. And it is that realisation and understanding or failure to realise and understand that does the proverbial sorting of men from boys. It is also very important to note that the champion is not the one who didn't get knocked down, but the one who didn't get knocked out. And the winner is not the one who never lost but the one who never knew when he had lost. And in similar fashion, a success is a situation where the protagonist failed to resign to a failure but understands that for as long as we occupy this mortal state, and bound to suffer some setbacks. It is in the knowledge of this and the acting out of the same that we find and fulfil our purpose in life. It is in realising that we might fall, we might fail and we might falter but we must dust ourselves down and keep on keeping on until we reach that goal we set out to achieve that we find that ultimate satisfaction
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Where is God at the LHC?
CERN's efforts to recreate the beginning of the big bang is not all about science. There are theological questions too
The simple theological answer is “Everywhere”, as the Creator of a world that contains particle physicists, CERN, and even Higgs bosons (if such there be). But what could persuade us that the Universe is indeed a divine creation? It is certainly not full of items stamped “Made by God”, for the Creator is more subtle than that. Yet science has some things to show us that encourage one to look deeper into the question of God’s existence.
First, however, we must dispose of an approach that would be mistaken, both scientifically and theologically. When the LHC was switched on in a blaze of glory, sadly only to be disabled temporarily a few days later by a different kind of blaze, there was much media hype that this new machine would enable us to look back to the big bang itself.
Scientifically, this was a foolish claim. Certainly the LHC will tell us things of great interest about physics at energies much higher than those hitherto explored, but they still fall far below the level of energies present immediately after the big bang.
Even if this had not been the case, the big bang is not all that interesting theologically. To believe in a Creator is not to answer the question of who lit the initial touch paper, but to address the much deeper question of why there is something rather than nothing. God is as much the Creator today as God was 13.7 billion years ago, for the Creator’s role is to ordain the order of this remarkable world and to continually maintain it in being.
To search for hints of a Creator, therefore, is to look to see if there might be signs of a divine Mind behind the order of the Universe. The best question to ask is: why is science possible at all, in the deep way that the LHC is seeking to exploit? Of course, we have to be able to make sense of the everyday world in order to survive in it, but why can we penetrate the secrets of the strange, counterintuitive quantum world of the LHC, with its possible Higgs bosons and supersymmetric particles? Why is the Universe so rationally transparent to our inquiry, and why is that abstract subject mathematics the key to unlocking its secrets?
Time and again physics has been found to be expressed in equations possessing the unmistakable character of mathematical beauty, so that pursuit of this beauty has been an actual technique in formulating the theories that the LHC will test. The Universe is rationally beautiful and rewards its explorers with the gift of wonder. Science exploits this fact but it does not explain it. Is it all just our luck, or is it a sign that a divine Mind does indeed lie behind cosmic order?
I believe that science is possible because the Universe is a creation and that we, to use an ancient phrase, are creatures made in the image of our Creator. That’s where God is at the LHC, as the producer of the show.
The Rev Canon John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, was Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge
The simple theological answer is “Everywhere”, as the Creator of a world that contains particle physicists, CERN, and even Higgs bosons (if such there be). But what could persuade us that the Universe is indeed a divine creation? It is certainly not full of items stamped “Made by God”, for the Creator is more subtle than that. Yet science has some things to show us that encourage one to look deeper into the question of God’s existence.
First, however, we must dispose of an approach that would be mistaken, both scientifically and theologically. When the LHC was switched on in a blaze of glory, sadly only to be disabled temporarily a few days later by a different kind of blaze, there was much media hype that this new machine would enable us to look back to the big bang itself.
Scientifically, this was a foolish claim. Certainly the LHC will tell us things of great interest about physics at energies much higher than those hitherto explored, but they still fall far below the level of energies present immediately after the big bang.
Even if this had not been the case, the big bang is not all that interesting theologically. To believe in a Creator is not to answer the question of who lit the initial touch paper, but to address the much deeper question of why there is something rather than nothing. God is as much the Creator today as God was 13.7 billion years ago, for the Creator’s role is to ordain the order of this remarkable world and to continually maintain it in being.
To search for hints of a Creator, therefore, is to look to see if there might be signs of a divine Mind behind the order of the Universe. The best question to ask is: why is science possible at all, in the deep way that the LHC is seeking to exploit? Of course, we have to be able to make sense of the everyday world in order to survive in it, but why can we penetrate the secrets of the strange, counterintuitive quantum world of the LHC, with its possible Higgs bosons and supersymmetric particles? Why is the Universe so rationally transparent to our inquiry, and why is that abstract subject mathematics the key to unlocking its secrets?
Time and again physics has been found to be expressed in equations possessing the unmistakable character of mathematical beauty, so that pursuit of this beauty has been an actual technique in formulating the theories that the LHC will test. The Universe is rationally beautiful and rewards its explorers with the gift of wonder. Science exploits this fact but it does not explain it. Is it all just our luck, or is it a sign that a divine Mind does indeed lie behind cosmic order?
I believe that science is possible because the Universe is a creation and that we, to use an ancient phrase, are creatures made in the image of our Creator. That’s where God is at the LHC, as the producer of the show.
The Rev Canon John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, was Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge
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