A great legacy to be continued...

It has been the fourth day since the passing of our first prime minister on 23 March 2015, 3:18am. I have been overwhelmed with emotions (not one that lead me to tears but one that stirs up my heart so much to want to do something) as I watch the numerous pictures and videos online or on television when various parts of the world send their condolences as well as stories from his past.

A man highly respected for turning Singapore from a 3rd world country to a 1st world country (with an average per capita GDP of just $427.9 in 1960, Singapore surged more than a hundred times to over $55,000 in 2013, making the country one of the richest), a man who had the foresight of making English our first language as well as to promote bilingualism and of course the list just goes on and on.

There are just so many lessons to be learnt from him and I wish my children can catch on them and run with it in their lives.

I was just speaking to my husband, Chee Tiong about how he is a perfect example to what I call a great leader. If you take up books on leadership off the shelves and read through their recommendations of how to be a good leader, I know Lee Kuan Yew has most or even all of those points ticked off.

So as I reflect on his achievements, but more so his personality, I think about what speaks to me most and how I want to pass this on to my next generation.

After learning so much about him over these past few days, the first thing that strikes me most is his discipline. And because he was so disciplined, he was a man of great intelligence, with no patience for mediocrity. He excelled in what he pursued and was very focused on what he wants and with that, the rest comes in for e.g having a strict diet, accompanying with exercise, to master his languages to make that connection with people all around (even till he was 90 years old, he was still learning Chinese). His determination and fighting spirit is so evident in his life even during his final years.

Secondly, what I hope to pass on to my children, is his kindness he never failed to show to the people around him. Hearing interviews from his children and from the public who had a personal encounter with him all spoke the same time about how he never fail to keep in touch with his friends, ask about them and spends time with them.  He appreciates relationship and makes effort to sustain them. Simply put, he deeply cared for people.

Next is his reliability. Families and friends all know that they can depend on him if anything goes wrong. A very responsible man who takes care of the country as well as his family. And because he is a man of integrity, all of us knew he can be trusted with the country. (Singapore became one of the least corrupted nation in the world) As long as it is corrupt-free, then the country can progress! 

I remember reading in the news that Lee Kuan Yew rejected a bribe of US$3.3 million from CIA when he discovered their covert operation in Singapore in 1960. That would be worth about US$26 million today. Instead, he asked for US$33 million in economic-development aid to Singapore and Malaysia instead. What he did instead was to use his advantageous position for the betterment of the nation.

And despite being such a great man of influence and inspiration, he remained simple and humble. They had no shower for the longest time, preferring to scoop water from a large earthenware jar at bath-time. It was only after Mrs Lee had a stroke in London in 2003 that their children installed a shower before she returned home.


Definitely a man to be respected and admired. So what life lessons from Mr Lee are you going to teach the next generation?

Perspective

Lately, I have been reminded of what life is, which route to take and where I should be focussing on. As the year draws to a close, it definitely makes people more reflective during this time of the year- makes me reassess what I have been doing, my goals and whether I am heading in the right direction towards them.

My simple goals as a wife and mother used to be
1) make my husband happy
2) make my children happy
3) make myself happy

I guess one glance at this, most wives with children would probably adopt this as well.. But my goals aren't that anymore as I feel that the more you focus on the above goals, the more you will be disappointed. For example, I try to make my child happy by doing things for them, buying what they like. Instead, this may end up not being able to be more independent, or fight over the toys I buy for them and even stop playing after a short while because they get bored of it. Its an endless cycle that will only spiral down to dissatisfaction, disappointment and disillusion. And of course, this wouldn't lead to me being happy in the end. So I have decided that it is useless chasing after these goals or striving to achieve them.

I realised throughout this year that there's only one thing that could bring me and my family JOY and that is to focus on God, my heavenly Father and spend time with Him. (Not too cliché, I hope)

Do take note that I used  the word, JOY and not happiness. Happiness is temporal- like sipping a nice glass of coffee for that ten seconds while joy is the fibre of your soul and it is eternal. It means that bad things may happen around you, but you can still sense the joy in your heart and take comfort in that.

So what is your focus? What are your goals in life? Reassess them and see if they are temporal or eternal.

I used to wish I can go Iceland and dip in hot baths, go Alaska to see the Aurora Borealis (or also known as Northern Lights) but to be honest, all of that seem so faint now that I think of what's more important. I think of a person lying on his death bed, would he wish for all those? I doubt so.. To be honest, I have travelled to so many parts of the world since young as my dad used to bring the whole family around for holidays. But after that, so what? So what if I have been to South Africa, even Hawaii two times, to New Zealand more than four times? It really doesn't matter and no one really cares.

As I focus on my Creator, I know I need to focus on the things He would focus on and that is life eternal. If you compare the life here on this earth, approximately 80 years for most people as to the life you have after death which will be forever and ever...wouldn't you then realise that life here on earth is just going to pass like the wind where everything you try to strive for will just be blown away quickly and not remembered? So why focus on that? Why spend all your time, money and energy on things that will pass away quickly?

 

I know I need to look at the bigger picture and what is really important.

So, if you are going a rough patch or suffering so much that you ever wonder if there is a God up there, I am here to tell you that: "For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is- limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death- He had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine. Whatever game He is playing with His creation, He has kept His own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile" (Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos? p4)

May you take on an eternal perspective on things and start thinking about your eternity. Where will you be going? Because THAT really matters!