The Good Life

Yeaps.

Life is good. Man Utd just beat Newvastle by 2 Rooney goals, whilst Arsenal beat Liverpool with 2 classic Henry goals. Congrats to Arsenal for having pulled off the sensational signing of Steven Gerard!!!

So the pathetic red club did the Red devils a huge favour, whilst at least retaining some hope for themselves of qualifying for Europe next season.

Also, it was so cool today while we jogged. Just not too long ago I blogged abt how much I missed playing in the rain. And when we were inside MacRitchie, it really started to rain!!! =)

Today I read something really interesting. Paul Coelho, in his book “The Zahir” (Yes Edmund, I decided to pick it up and read it cos you piqued my curiosity), has this man saying that “Our true friends are those who are with us when the good things happen. They cheer us on and are pleased by our triumphs. False friends only appear at difficult times, with their sad supportive faces, when, in fact, our suffering is serving to console them for their miserable lives.”

Perhaps a tad harsh and one-sided… but I really could see where he was coming from. As hard as it is to really mourn with a grieving friend, I think its even harder to be genuinely pleased to see a friend doing so well in life, esp when your own life has been less than satisfactory. Whether it’s a wistful feeling, a jealous twitch, or even the irrational impulse to wish him ill, it is so much easier to commiserate with someone whose own life is in equal turmoil. Maybe its just because I really am by nature a petty person, with nary an ounce of generosity in my heart… but its really hard for me sometimes to rejoice with those who rejoice.

Don’t get me wrong. Good news from those dear to me, ranging from good academic results, to news of a promotion or even news of marriage always gives me a lot of joy. Yet there is also always the feeling that the joy that comes out of me for my friend is “tainted” or “corrupted” with the wistfulness that would inevitably follow. And sometimes, the jealousy that wells up is almost a knee-jerk response that I couldn’t help, leaving me to ask myself when I’ve had time to reflect on my own reaction, just how small a man am I really. Joy is meant to be innocent, unconditional and selfless. And for one prone to the more jaded and dark tendencies of the heart, I find that any joy I might bear for the fortunes of my friends are forever tainted, and I’m never able to get past myself and just be genuinely and absolutely happy for their sake alone.

It made me think of what Jesus said, that “greater love has no man than this, that he would lay down his life for a friend.”

Of course, this probably wasn’t what he was specifically talking abt… but I couldn’t help but think that love for someone always means the putting to death of self – and it doesn’t always have to take on a physical form. Of course, if you go the second mile to actually give your life for someone, then there really isn’t anything else that anyone could have asked of you. Yet in the everyday of living, learning to show love in a selfless manner to those around us… that would indeed be a challenge. Josiah Barlettt of The West Wing once said “We need more heroes, and less martyrs. A hero would willingly die for his country, but he’d much rather live for it.”

I guess living the Christian life takes quite an act of heroism.

P.S. I'm taking the songs on my blog out for a while, cos I'm dangerously close to exceeding my bandwidth. Service will resume in a couple of weeks or so I guess. Enjoy one of my all-time favorite poems in its place, till the music returns!!