New Year Superstitions

“a belief, not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, that future events may be influenced by one's behavior in some magical or mystical way."

... that is how SUPERSTITION is defined on the wiktionary. In a much stronger tone, Charles Swindoll (Come before Winter..., 1985) wrote, “conceived in the mind of ignorance, superstition cultivates insecurity and sends a legion of structural cracks through our character. It feeds on exaggerated, self-made lies which grow so thick that the boughs hide common sense and worse, God.”

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Whether we like it or not, we find superstition everywhere. In sports, professional players testify how they go through strange warm-up rituals to get properly "psyched up" for a game....

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Most would agree that the Chinese are generally a superstitious lot. As the Chinese New Year approaches, there are many superstitions that are believed and practiced for good luck. One example is the color red which is considered to bring luck. The practices of tossing of “yu sheng” or exchanging mandarin oranges, by virtue of their sound (pronunciation), are also associated with good fortune and wealth. On the other hand, washing hair or sweping the floor on the first day of the Chinese New Year should be avoided as this is believed to wash (or sweep) away the good luck. Similarly, do not use scissors or knives as it is believed to cut off good fortune and wealth. And the list goes on and on…

Over time, these superstitions have become a tradition. Just as a foreigner in Singapore observed, “While many Chinese people today may not believe in these do's and don'ts, these traditions and customs are still practiced. These traditions and customs are kept because most families realize that it is these very traditions, whether believed or not, that provide continuity with the past and provide the family with an identity.” Source:

http://wuerstelstand.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-year-superstitions.html

Recall that at the beginning of this year, we celebrated the New Year in the deep south of America. Not unlike the Chinese, we learnt that the Americans also have some interesting superstitions pertaining to what food to eat to bring good luck on January 1. In particular, U.S. Southerners eat pork, black-eyed peas and collard greens (served with rice and cornbreads) on New Year’s Day because they are supposed to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year. We learnt of this interesting traditions when we visited Stacy Sirmans’ family on New Year’s day:

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Because of their resemblance to coins, the black-eyed peas are considered lucky.

Collard greens being green, is associated with the US dollars, thus, symbolizing more money. The collard greens, despite its uninviting look, tasted surprisingly good (like the chinese 'mui choi') that we went for 2nd helping.

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Pork is also considered lucky because pigs eat their food moving forward, thus eating pork on New Year’s will assure the year ahead will be bountiful.

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Hog jowls (left) are a tough cut of pork that are typically smoked and cured, and taste similar to bacon, except more fatty. Note: The jowl comes from behind the jaw of the pig, weighing a pound and a half at most.

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The Life of a Flower

"Heavenly Father, give me vision to see the wise and inspirational message that you have placed within a flower. The life of a flower, like the life of a man, is measured not by what other are doing for it, but rather the enjoyment it is giving to others" - HSR

photo: "bleeding heart" (State College)

Sometimes when faith is running low
And I cannot fanthom why things are so...

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I walk alone among the flowers I grow
And learn the answers to all I would know

For among the flowers I have come to see
Life's miracle and its mystery...

And standing in silence and reverie,

My faith comes flooding back to me.


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Reflection: Hope is the lone flower blooming in times of life's desert.

What All Good Leaders Do?

"Those of us who are strong and able in faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, "How can I help?". - Romans 15:1-2 (The Message)

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This evening, I was browsing through the journal I kept for my sabbatical. In it, were a number of loose papers and sticky notes in which I scribbled some nuggets of truths, words of wisdoms, or inspiring thoughts that I came across. I believe most of them came from books or articles I read or sermons I heard during that year. Regretfully, I didn't do a good job recording their sources; thus, I may not be able to cite or acknowledge where I got them from. The scrap notes are currently all over the place. Over the next few weeks, I will be revisiting these gold nuggets, reflect and share them on this blog. Trust they will be a good reminder for you and me.

The first one is entitled "What All Good Leaders Do?". One, they get the job done. Two, they get people to produce. Three, they teach people how to do things right, and four, they delegate authority. Whilst all these are true, there's a simple answer that covers all that ground. It is:

"to bring out the best in the people you are leading."

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A good scripture to accompany this thought is Romans 15:1-2 (above). In summary, strength is for service, not status. Leaders need to look after the good of the people around them, asking "How can I help them to be succesful?" We can have enormous influence on the people with whom we come into contact. That influence could be for good or for bad. Similarly, as a professor and an educator, my legacy will not be my research papers nor the awards, but the success of my students.

Field trip to Sentosa Cove (2006)

You have heard of MSG, which is often used in chinese cooking as a flavor enhancer. Well, have you heard of life enhancers? They are people who improve, strengthen, and beautify the world around them. In their interactions with other people, they bring out the best of people. They see something good in us, and then they help us see it too. More important, they help us tap into it... .

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The bible has a lot to say about bringing out the best in people... "Let your words be for the improvements of others, as occasion offers" - Ephesians 4:29; "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other" - 1 Thessalonians 5:11; "The mouth of the upright is a life-giving fountain - Proverbs 10:11; "Say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing" - Ephesians 4:29.

In closing, good leaders bring out the best in other people. It's better to build up than to tear down.

Wakulla Springs, Florida

"The principal reason for visiting Wakulla Springs is to enjoy the scenery and to appreciate a part of Florida that remains pristine after hundred of years." - The Rough Guide to Florida

Fifteen miles south of Tallahassee, Wakulla Springs State Park is a 6,000 acre wildlife sanctuary quietly hidden in Spanish moss-draped Florida woodlands. The heart of the park is the world famous Wakulla Springs, which is believed to be one of the biggest and deepest natural springs in the world, pumping up 1/2 million gallons of crystal-clear pure water from the bowels of the earth every day. In addition, the Wakulla Springs Lodge, styled in Spanish architecture and completed in 1937, provides a quiet retreat from the modern world.

Note: "Wakulla" means "river of crying bird" or "strange and mysterious waters." A number of films have been shot here, including several of the early Tarzan movies and parts of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

One of Wakulla Springs' main attractions is the guided boat tours that operate 365 days a year, depending on the weather. The 45-minute river cruise glides under moss-draped bald cypress trees and past an array of creatures, including precious manatees, massive alligators, tribes of turtles, and graceful wading birds, such as anhingas, green herons and white ibeses, up close.

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Below is a slide show of the photos we took on our visit to the Wakulla Springs on 31 Dec 2009.

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land - a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig-trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills - Deuteronomy 8:7-9

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source: The Rough Guide to Florida, Lonely Planet Florida, & Florida State Parks' brochure.

Hedgehogs vs Foxes

“You want to know what separates those who make the biggest impact from all the others who are just as smart? They’re hedgehogs.” – Marvin Bressler, Princeton professor.

In his famous essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin divided the world in to hedgehogs and foxes, based on the ancient Greek parable: “the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”

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The story: The fox waits in cunning silent at this juncture in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own business, wanders right into the path of the fox. “Aha, I’ve got you now!” thinks the fox. He leaps out, bounding across the ground, lightning fast. The little hedgehog, sensing danger, look up and thinks, “Here we go again. Will he ever learn?” Rolling up into a perfect little ball, the hedgehog becomes a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions. The fox, bounding toward his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack. Retreating back to the forest, the fox begins to calculate a new line of attack. Each day, some version of this battle between the hedgehog and the fox takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins. (p. 90-91).

The fox is a cunning creature, able to devise a myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks upon the hedgehog. Day in and day out, the fox circles around the hedgehog’s den, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Fast, sleek, beautiful, fleet of foot, and crafty – the fox looks like the sure winner.

The hedgehog, on the other hand, is a dowdier creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between the porcupine and a small armadillo. He waddles along, going about his simple day, searching for lunch and taking care of his home.

Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity. They are “scattered or diffused, moving on many levels,” say Berlin, never integrating their thinking into one overall concept or unifying vision. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything. It doesn’t matter how complex the world, a hedgehog reduces all challenges and dilemmas to simple – indeed almost simplistic – hedgehog ideas. For a hedgehog, anything that does not somehow related to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance.

To be clear, hedgehogs are not stupid. Quite the contrary. They understand that the essence of profound insight is simplicity. For example, what could be more simple than e = mc2? No, hedgehogs aren’t simpletons; they have a piercing insight that allows them to see through the complexity and discern the underlying patterns. Hedgehog see what is essential, and ignore the rest. (p.91).

In his best selling managment book, Good to Great, Jim Collins, argues that those who built the good-to-great companies were, to one degree or another, hedgehogs. According to him, the essential strategic difference between the good-to-great and comparison companies lay in two fundamental differences. First, the good-to-great companies founded their strategies on deep understanding along three key dimensions (what you can be the best in the world; what drives your economic engine; what are you deeply passionate about). Second, the good-to-great companies translated that understanding into a simple, crystalline concept that guided all their efforts - hence, the term the Hedgehog Concept.

"Are you a hedgehog or a fox?"

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source: Jim Collins (2001) "Good to Great".

I Believe There is More!

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God." Ezekiel 11:18-20

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Happy New Year! What is your wish for the new year/decade? I am not sure about you, but what I asked from God is an undivided heart and a new spirit. Hence, my meditation over the last few weeks of 2009 focused on the above verses in the Bible.

This time last year (31 Dec 2008), I reflected on how God has filled my cup till it overflows. http://happyvalley-prof.blogspot.com/2008/12/he-fills-my-cup-till-it-overflows.html. Yes, I have been blessed abundantly... Another year on, I am still overwhelmed by how much God has blessed me and my wife... BUT "Since you are already so blessed, since your cup is already overflowing..." some may asked, "..., what is there to look forward to?" Well, I still believe there is more. What resonates in my heart this new day is a song declaring, "I BELIEVE THERE IS MORE". Written and sung by Don Moen, who shared the following in his blog:

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“People everywhere are sensing that God has more for them to do. They are tired of the “status quo” lifestyle. My friend, I really do believe God has more for you to do. He has more for me to do. We have to be willing to step out by faith into the “new thing”, whatever it is that God has put in your heart. This certainly does not mean what you have done to this point is insignificant. I believe it was all preparation. God is NEVER finished with us and no matter what the enemy tries to tell you, God has more for you to do. I am thinking I need to write a book about this. There is so much here.”- Don Moen

It is a beautiful song with inspiring lyrics:

You have been good to me (x2)
You have been gracious
You have been faithful
Meeting my needs
Lord, it's so plain to see
You have been good to me
I have been given so much I can't even
Begin to thank You

Chorus:And still I believe there is more
I believe there is more
I believe
So I open my hands to receive
All that Your love has in store
Lord, I believe

Everything I have done
All that I've said and sung
Lifting Your story, giving You glory
That's just the beginning

Father, I know there is more
Power to heal and restore
Miracles, wonders, blessings unnumbered
Love never-ending

(Chorus) Exceeding abundantly
More than our minds can imagine
Love overflowing
You are bestowing
Day after day after day

Lord, I believe; Lord, I believe; Lord, I believe

Faith Prayer for 2010: So, as we move into the new decade, join me to believe that there is more to your life! Let's open our hearts and lift our hands to receive - All that God's love has in store for us. Love overflowing. Love never-ending. More than our minds can imagine. Lord, we believe!