Between Two Banyan Trees

 Between Two Banyan Trees

One banyan tree is too big enough to block the sun from shining through.  But what happens when there are two banyan trees next to each other ? Will the sun still shine through it ? Singapore had a 'banyan tree' in Lee Kuan Yew.  Indonesia had two 'banyan trees' in Sukarno and Suharto.  Malaysia had Dr. Tun Mahathir. And the Philippines had its share of 'banyan trees' in Ninoy Aquino and Former President Cory Aquino'.

With the passing today of the former Philippine President Aquino, what gets brought out from the shed is the fact that in one of Asia's most famous political families with 'two banyan trees' [represented by the Aquino parents], it was  never expected that the son will shine [like sunlight streaking past between the 'two banyan trees'. But, shine he did.  The lingering question is, how did he do it ?

Tough question indeed because no amount of prodding can motivate us humans to eke out and etch our own name in history.  Human nature dictates upon us that with no driving need to really shine, we tended to be passive, laid back and ready to be in the background instead at the front of things.  But this is where Asian cultures are really steeped in tradition.  If an apparent heir has to carry the mantle forward, he has to pick up the gauntlet.

Thing is, in life, challenges will be the norm of the day.  Give me a day with no challenges, that's akin to a 'lifeless life'.  You need a challenge-free life ?  You're probably at the wrong place at the wrong time.  You gotta figure it out where you should be.  Even the scions of the powerful Asian families who were born with a 'silver spoon' in their mouth, they never fail their parents, their own 'banyan trees' once they're called upon to pick up the mantle.

Question:  for you to pick up that mantle of a challenge, what else do you need ?  It all boils down to that 'LEAP of FAITH'. Summon and gather all your reservoir of energy for you to have that 'LEAP of FAITH'.  See in yourself that tiny goldfish in a fish bowl.  When that goldfish decides for that life-changing move, the 'LEAP of FAITH' is all it takes for you get that china man's chance to let the streak of sun get through between banyan trees.✅✅✅

That LEAP of FAITH

 That LEAP of FAITH

🙏 Probably a thousand times we heard about that LEAP of FAITH [a.k.a. LoF], being that proven formula of thousands of success stories even amongst folks you can relate with.  Word of caution, though.  We have heard countless debacles of 'LoF' that ended up as horror stories.  New arrivals detained in a foreign country.  Another one deported 'pronto y de prisa'.  Group of travelers all offloaded even before boarding a flight that would started off a doomed itinerary.

Oh, most of us have families and loved ones to support, people closest to us who continue to cling on us for direction, for support and even for their future.  Even for those alone in their lives, many of them have pre-set goals to achieve and that's just so laudable.  BUT.... but when shove comes to push, human nature tells us that we tend to breach that fine line of HOPE and cross-over to being in DESPERATION, and that's a red flag as early as it surfaces in one's game plan.

   

Risks, per se, is very much part of the equations in life because such is life.  Life is all about taking risks.  Don't take risks and the likelihood is that you will not achieve your dreams, your goals.  At the other end of the spectrum, execute a game plan riddled with risks, you'll end up akin to being riddled with bullets in an all-out gunfire from the unknowns.

Thing is, do assess the risks and most importantly, MITIGATE where possible with countermeasures and a Plan B or even a Plan C.  Some risks can't just be mitigated.  TERRORISM.  VOLCANIC ERUPTION.  CRUISE SHIP hitting head-on an iceberg causing it to sink fast and quick.  But other than those risks beyond your control, we gotta be reminded when it's TIME for CHANGE.  If you continue to be in your comfort zone [TILL NOW?], question yourself.  Confront yourself.  Move your ass

Who preaches that technology has tremendously helped us all.  Everyone, including my very own self.  BUT.... who says that technology does kill us as well ?  Hmmmmp, well I guess it's only me and a few others will cling on to that prognosis.  Don't look far, grab your smart phones.  Just to set your alarms, it offers you a plethora of options, options that will kill the positives in you, options that will push you down deep till you unknowingly end up in the labyrinth of the failed stories, those horror stories.  Heard of someone setting the alarm at 604am, then at 613am, then at 624am till probably the smart phone's battery gets drained ?  Holy cow, how can we abuse technology this far and this much ?

Well, there's no need to reinvent the wheel.  Let's take a leaf from Melanie Robbins, the popular American TV host who is equally popular for covering CNN's George Zimmerman trial, amongst others.  Melanie just abused that SNOOZE button over and over again until she realized that she was behind schedules, running out of time, scampering, running 'helter skelter' because she has gone kaput, not of $$$$ but of TIME !@#$%  How many of us are guilty of abuse to SNOOZE that alarm.  A lot of us are.  And that's it.  It became the turning point and realization by Melanie.  She concluded, fine i'll give myself max 5 seconds and beyond that, it's 'game over'.  Unexpectedly, the ramifications when she imposed that 5-second was just too all-encompassing.  It was a new-found discipline that was so damn contagious even to her

An idea pops up ?  Don't kill it but all it takes is 5 seconds before it dissipates in thin air.  Your confidence level is down ?  You got 5 secs to give yourself a shot in the arm.  You are in a doubtful state ?  Take that 5-second countdown.  Well said ?  Surely this is easier said than done, so let's go down to brass tactics.  The moment you perceive your instincts seem to be firing up but hesitation seems to creep in, pronto, run the 5-second RULE.  If 5 secs does run out, who's the CULPRIT ?  Not you but it's your brain because it tells you to "KILL IT" and your brain is damn patient [yet persistent] to talk yourself out of doing it.  Who pays the price of OVER-THINKING ?  It your pitiful self, SADLY.😔

To be fair, though, you yourself is/was not the culprit of that OVER-THINKING.  Who else is to blame except technology [AGAIN ???] !!!  The more you search Google, the more you scour YouTube, you end up with mountains and mountains of 'crap' [yes sireeee it's true] because most of those search results numbering millions are not gospel truths.  To set the record straight, I am NOT here to falsely allude that those Google and YouTube search results are all figments and fallacies.  On the other hand, they are factual, vetted and validated BUT 

here's the BUT....... There are tons and tons of variables injected in each of those search results and unless you are a dyed-in-the-wool statistical guru or acolyte, how the hell can you run an iteration to come up with the most optimized results ?  Not until you get back to linear programming [which we used to run over and over again to come up with the best iterations that will feed into our company's refinery operations [that was decades back though].  

In a nutshell, c'mon folks, let's fix our lives.  Oh, you might rebut by asking why fix the car if it ain't broke ?  C'mon, it may be ain't broke now but is it best optimized now ?  Is it most cost-effective now given the other cards laid out on the table ?  Again, let's get out being comfy.✅