Inspiration & Paradox 53: Great Minds Think Alike...

I'm sure many of us know and commonly use this witty English proverb "Great minds think alike" to flatter oneself or another, but do you know the second part of the proverb? If I tell you, next time you would probably think twice when you want to use this proverb.

Very ironically (I wonder what was the attitude and perspective of the author when he first coined this proverb), the second half of is "Fools seldom differ".

Very paradoxical, insightful, and full of sarcasm, right? Sounds like one of those remarks we sometimes hear "she is cute but ugly"...and reminds me of Hong Kong's famous "chou dou fu" (smelly fried tou fu).

Inspiration & Paradox 52: Compassion and Accountability

I just read this article on "Compassion Paradox"which I see many people wrestle with as they manage their subordinates.

The dilemma or struggle to show emphathy or to demand accountabilty with the right person and at the right time can be a skill which comes with some experience. Many people are either expert at holding people accountable or great at showing compassion. Learning to be excellent at both is key to becoming an effective leader. People who are comfortable with accountability view compassion as too "soft". And, people who are comfortable with compassion see accountability as too "hard". The paradoxical truth is that neither extreme is either "soft" or "hard". They are simply different responses to different leadership situations. You cannot be too soft if you want to be compassionate. Similarly, you cannot be too hard if you want accountabilty.

Inspiration & Paradox 51: Sheer Luck or Plain Effort?

The great scientist Louis Pasteur said this more than a century ago:

"Chance favors only the prepared mind."

By this, he meant that sudden flashes of insight (“Aha!”) don't just happen by pure chance, but are the product of preparation and hard work. Most of his great discoveries and insights were not those he was pursuing, but since his mind was prepared to make sense of them from his countless failures, he discovered much and was considered as “lucky”. He believed that nobody could accomplish goals or make discoveries by waiting for it to happen out of chance or sheer accident. Chance can only be encountered and appreciated if the mind is prepared to receive it. The prepared mind will recognize the "chance" as good fortune or an opportunity and act on it to make it happen. The unprepared mind cannot see the "chance" and keeps on going without benefiting anything.

Many great people shared the same belief as Pasteur:

"I am a strong believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." -- Benjamin Franklin

Fortune has rarely condescended to be the companion of genius. -- Isaac Disraeli

"When you work seven days a week, fourteen hours a day, you get lucky." -- Armand Hammer

Inspiration & Paradox 50: Paradoxical Proverbs

lThis blog marks something significant -- I have come thus far and now am celebrating my 50th Paradox!

Read these proverbs and muse over them, the paradox in them, the philosophy and truth in them.....

Begin to weave and God will give you the thread.
— German proverb

More company increases happiness, but does not lighten or diminish misery.
— Thomas Traherne

If God is, why is there evil? But if God is not, why is there good?
— St. Augustine

Amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic.
— Author Unknown

As the island of our knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance.
— John Wheeler

It takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow.
— Author unknown

The smallest deed is worth more than the greatest intention.
— Seen on a church marquee.

It is good to have an end to journey toward;but it is the journey that matters in the end.
— Ursula LeGuinn

The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see, and knows what the mind cannot understand.
— Robert Vallett

Inspiration & Paradox 49: Our best may not be God's best.

Perhaps one of the greatest ironies in my own life is having two daughters. As all my three other siblings are girls, since young I longed to have heros and brothers who could stand up and protect me like what was often shown on TV and movies. Ironically, my mum put me in a girl school for six years until secondary one, a welcome change for me. Later in life, before settling down, I still had a social life, then I liked to hang around a lot with guy friends. I enjoy their company, I like their culture, straightforwardness, no wishy-washy, in Mandarin we call it "shuang kuai". When my husband and I decided to have kids, I yearned for a boy, I wanted to have boys. It was as if my hopes were build around bearing and raising up fine boys and strong men. When I was pregnant, I was almost sure that I was carrying a boy, I felt it was a boy in all my nerves. During my second pregnancy, I had the same feelings. But in both cases, I was wrong, they all turned out to be girls. I name them Jerrie and Jackie -- both very strong female names, in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong, I love my girls a lot, and I love them with all my heart, and I don't have the slightest sense of regret of not having any sons. I often think that if God then had given me boys instead, I would not be as blessed and happy as now with my girls and their loveliness and gentleness and all the precious lessons they taught me to be a better mother. I am just sharing with you how ironical life sometimes can be, and how sometimes we may be wrong about what could really make us feel contented and fulfilled in life.

Inspiration & Paradox 48: "Acidic" foods are alkaline-forming foods

You heard of acidic versus alkaline foods?

If you have, I am sure you must have also been advised to include in your diet more alkaline-forming foods for better promotion of health. What I find very interestingly and also very ironically, a food's acid or alkaline-forming tendency in the body has nothing to do with the actual pH of the food itself! Take for example, lemons and limes are very acidic foods, however the end-products they produce after digestion and assimilation are very alkaline, so lemons and limes are considered alkaline-forming in the body -- which is good for our bodies. Likewise, meat will test alkaline before digestion but it leaves very acidic residue in the body so, like nearly all animal products, meat is very acid-forming. Hence, stomach acid or the pH of the stomach is an entirely different matter from the pH of the body's fluids and tissues. The body has an acid-alkaline (or acid-base) ratio called the pH which is a balance between positively charges ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming). If you are interested to read more, go to my honey web resource: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/vinegar-and-honey.html

Inspiration & Paradox 47: What is Perfect Vision?

Recently I had my short-sighted vision corrected to 6-6 using Lasik. I was told that in 5 years time, I will not be able to escape long-sightedness. I find the idea of long sightedness and short-sightedness all very paradoxical if taking them apart from all the scientific reasonings we learn in school. Short-sightedness seems to be easier to understand -- you can see only near and not far, your vision is limited. Long-sightedness is not so easy to understand, if one cannot see things from a short distance, how are they able to see things that are faraway? In life, if the short term needs are not met, how will one be able to have the drive to go for things in the future? I have heard of people having a problem of short-sightedness on one eye and long-sightedness on the other, I cannot imagine what the world is like for them..... But may be then having a perfect vision is not about having 6-6 for some people who choose to just see with their mind and not eyes -- they only focus on things they can see. It is perhaps all about seeing what you want to see. Like bablies, don't they only focus on what is around them and what they are interested in or what catches their attention? So perhaps a real perfect vision can only be envisioned with the mind -- all our needs of seeing something is met when our focus is only on that something, that is, there is no need to see at a distance when our focus is only on all the happenings right in front of us, and similarly, there is no need to see where I am when my mind is on an object faraway.....

Inspiration & Paradox 46: Aggressiveness could mean Timidity

I noticed that when a person encounters uncertainty, insecurity, or threats and is overcome by fear and stress and pressure, aggression can easily set in. That is, the more one is gripped by fear, the more agressive his/her behaviour can become. It is like a defensive mechanism. So behind an aggressive and confrontational person, there could be a real timid, and insecure personality.

Inspiration & Paradox 45: Honey Fights Tooth Decay!

I am a honey enthusiast and I just found out that some university professor believed that certain honeys could stop plaque-forming bacteria in teeth and gums from growing. The honeys work to reduce acid in your mouth and stop the production of dextran, a gummy substance that helps plaque stick to your teeth. And the result is less tooth decay and fewer cavities! Ironical isn't it, I mean, I am very surprised because we always warn our children not to take too much sweet stuff as they are not good for the teeth.
PS: You might want to learn more about what honey is and its amazing benefits from my web resource: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/. You will be amazed that a tiny little creature like bee could create such extraordinarily huge goodness for the human body. Yet, another paradox in life.

Inspiration & Paradox 44: When Less is More

In the pursuit of simplicity in our modern, hectic lifestyle, we are challenged to reflect upon our ambitions, possessions, career, and attachments and ask ourselves if we could let go of any unnecessary baggages. Having a mindset that "Less is More" can help us put our feet on the road of freedom and simplicty .

Inspiration & Paradox 43: When great understanding of each other in verbal communication leads to great misunderstanding in others

It seems paradoxical that the more you understand how and what the other person thinks, the lesser the verbal signals you will provide, and the more bizarre the conversation can become for outsiders, and the greater the misunderstanding it could cause in others. Give you an example that I encountered this morning:

I hit my little toe real hard against an old table leg accidentally this morning. It was excruciatingly pain, and I told my husband that I was going to sell the table to the “garong gunu” man (man who goes from house to house to look for old stuff to buy) as it was getting too much in my way. I said I will sell it for 100 bucks. He said the garong gunu man would laugh. Even though I knew that he actually meant my price was ridiculously high and I was asking too much, I purposely added “you mean the garong gunu man will be too thrilled to know that it’s only 100 bucks, ok, then let it be 200 bucks, how about that”. I knew my husband understood that I wasn’t serious about it and I also knew he wasn’t serious and what he meant exactly when he next said with a plain smile on his face – “Okay, 200 bucks then”. That’s how our conversation on the table ended. And I thought in my heart no outsider would ever understand our kind of language. Interestingly, many things are somehow left unspoken when two persons know each other well enough to interpret words the way they are supposed and intended to mean.

Inspiration & Paradox 42: Like attracts like or unlike?

Paradox strikes when I think about chemistry between people. There seems to be two different laws of attraction at work. People say that like attracts like and for a couple to sustain a relationship, they need to have common interests, likings, and share the thoughts and aspirations, but I also commonly hear people say that opposites attract, people look out for attributes which they do not have themselves in their other halves and even argue that opposites can be provide a complementary element in the relationship and they could live in mutual dependency.
Ask yourself how you would reconcile this paradox....

Inspiration & Paradox 41: Who can we best learn parenthood from?

As a child, I had a very difficult relationship with my mum. Basically, I could not agree with anything she did and I gave her a hard time. And when I had my first baby, I went through a very "blue" period. Strange enough, I did not have any natural mother instinct to tell me what were the expectations of a good mother. Having no mental picture of what an ideal mother should be, I was very fearful, felt very helpless and lost.

I realise that by the time we know well enough what is correct parenting and learn how to act and communicate like good responsible parents, it is the end of parenthood, our children have grown up and entered into parenthood themselves, and they start to wonder what they are supposed to do as responsible parents. And this vicious cycle of parenting struggle goes on and on. It seems that no children actually have known or seen before or could even envisage in their mind what perfect parents should be like. If this is really so, how can we learn to be perfect parents when parenthood cannot be repeated there will never ever be perfect parents for us to model after?

Inspiration & Paradox 40: Be glad when you feel lonely?!

I have friends who see loneliness as an emotional pain and fail to see any possibilities of good things springing from it. They undermine their sense of self-worth and feel they are not sufficiently loved by others as a result of feeling lonely.

But only as we thoughtlessly throw ourselves into the maddening mass, and start to compulsively secure relationships with all our might, fill our agendas and crowd every single bit of our own space, we then realise what we actually need after all.

Loneliness could be a place of solitude to discover your true self, a clue to help us find that stable inner security which will build us meaningful friendships, an amplifier to help us hear that still small voice within us telling us which direction to go, and an energising potion upon which we depend to engage in life pursuits.

Inspiration & Paradox 39: The Liar Paradox

If you love paradoxical statements, take a look at this one -- the Liar Paradox which revolves round a self-referential sentence:

(A) This sentence is false.

The statement in itself is a contradiction. If (A) is true, then (A) is false. On the other hand, assume (A) is false, then (A) is true. Since (A) is true if and only if it is false and (A) is one or the other, then it is both -- true and false, which is not possible!

Inspiration & Paradox 38: Beginnings are Endings & Endings are Beginnings

I understand why people say "All beginnings are also endings."

The beginning of life is usually marked by celebrations and joyful thoughts, however every beginning will surely has its ending, and when life marks its ending, it is remembered by just the opposite -- only grief and hard-to-let-go feelings. Similarly, beginnings of trials, sickness or persecution will bring tears, pain and suffering, but all trials will eventually come to end, and their endings bring relief and a heart of restfulness.

So, beginnings are also endings, and endings are also beginnings.

Inspiration & Paradox 37: Trouble with recalling unforgetable dreams

I am a dreamer, I tend to dream a lot, I mean having frequent dreams and long dreams at nite while asleep. And there is one thing that I always find very unexplainable and bizzare -- whenever I am awoken from a dream in the middle of the night, every scene and detail of what I see and hear in my dream seems to so vivid and deeply etched in my mind that I am always so very sure that I could remember everything becasue it was so real and I tell myself that I will describe it to my husband the next day. However, strangely, whenever morning comes, I wake up with hardly any recollection of the contents of the dream no matter how hard I try to recall. And I get very frustrated and confused because I just could not remember it anymore.

Inspiration & Paradox 36: Confusion is Positive

Have you ever been told by others when you are confused that "confusion is good" or have you ever told someone who is confused that "confusion is good"? Probably. The rationale is confusion shows that you know enough to actually recognise conflicting ideas and unclarity and it could indicate the beginning of knowledge. And if you know nothing about the subject, there will absolutely be no ground for confusion and thus no chance for learning to take place.

Inspiration & Paradox 35: Wish to change the wish to change

A couple of days ago, this TV host contester was asked “if there is one thing that you could wish that you could change in your life, what would that be?” His answer was original and unexpected – “it would be the wish to change the wish that he could change something in his life.” The whole beauty and glory about life itself is that it could never be repeated. Yes, he felt that there would always be some regrets in life, but instead of wishing he could do it all over again, he would rather think of how to face the consequences of those regrets.
I thought the way this guy has put his response across was quite interesting.

Inspiration & Paradox 34: Office workspace and Creativity level

Probably you might hear this kind of argument before when people in the office start to debate over whether work space should be improved to crank up the creative tempo in the organisation -- If we already enjoy a thriving creative culture, we really don’t need to talk about wrecking our brains in giving special space for creative work. If, on the other hand, creativity is not an integral part of your culture, this sort of workspace will then not be needed to contribute to a more creative organization. Question to this paradox then is: So when do we really need creative work space?

Inspiration & Paradox 33: Can you ask what you do not know?

I am pretty sure that you can identify with me this problem-- whenever people blame us for not taking the iniative to ask or clarify with others about a matter and hence not being able to contribute to the final resolution of the issue, we sometimes can't help but to protest "how am I supposed to ask about anything when I do not know anything??!!"

Inspiration & Paradox 32: Have you ever had the feeling of being so finite in this infinite world?

When I was not even a teenager, I mused a lot over my existence in this world and state of my existence. The fact that I actually existed as part of this amazing universe then overwhelmed me a lot, so much so that I felt that that my being was so small, insignificant and even absurd. I was very sure that if I were to just disappear in a split second from the surface of this earth, it wouldn't mean anything at all to this world. Trying to put dimension to my existence in this universe made me feel trapped and imprisoned. The deep consciousness and the fullness related to the acknowledgment of my finite existence was overpowering and actually caused me to feel that I was but an empty shell that is just a micro bit part of the infinite universe.

Inspiration & Paradox 31: Motion is an illusion?

Have you heard of the famous Zeno's Paradoxes which have interesting arguments about motion?
The first one I know is called the Dichotomy Paradox. Basically it says that if you want to get to a point that is say, 100 meters away, you must first get to the 50-meter mark, and to reach that, the you have to complete 25 meters. But to do that, you must first finish 12.5 meters, and so on and so forth. Since space is infinitely divisible, we can repeat these 'requirements' forever. Thus you have to reach an infinite number of 'midpoints' in a finite time. This is impossible, so you can never reach his destination.
Another one is known as the Arrow Paradox: A flying arrow at any given time has a certain position, and so does a motionless arrow. The question then is: which arrow then is actually moving?