CHOICES WE MAKE IN LIFE

Today I shall talk about the choices we make in life. For some, they think that since your life is pre-written, according to some, then what choices do I have? It is not true to say that your life is pre-destined or pre-ordained, that everything you do is something that is assigned to you. We do have choices in life. So in life we have choices. The choices that we make, we face the consequences of that choice. Good or Bad. Now for some they consult someone else before they make a choice or decision. If you want to go somewhere or have a job change or marry someone or move house. For some they consult friends, for some they consult a priest, for some they consult the little parrot at Serangoon Road. For some they consult card reader. For some they consult God.

Whatever medium you go through, whatever intermediary you go through, the choice is still yours to make. Whether the parrot tells you to do this or the priest tells you to do that, finally it is your choice. Whether you have direct communication with God and God tells you “Yes do this.” It is still your choice. Whether you want to do it or you don’t want to do it, it is your choice. Whatever the outcome of that choice, good or bad, you have to face it. You may ask “Why is it so difficult? Why must I be given choices? If I can communicate with God, Why can’t He tell me do this?” Very simple, because that is spoon feeding, you will never grow. If forever you teach this little girl of yours and gave her all the answers to all the questions, she will never grow. Life is a learning journey, in life we have to learn, in life we grow and this growth we talk about is self-confidence. From self-confidence then you become a self realised person. So, if you are being spoon fed, every time we give you the answer, you will never learn.

Now what happens if in a situation where you really hear God’s voice and God tells you do this suddenly it did not turn out to be what you want. You cannot blame God, you cannot scold God. Then what do you do? It is for you to put your tools into action. “He is giving me what is best for me.” It is a learning process, “what is it that he wants me to learn from that action that I have taken, there is a reaction, and the outcome is not what I am looking at. What can I learn from it?” So there is always a lesson to be learnt from everything and anything that life situation poses to you. This is something that we have to realise. There is no such thing as everything given to you on a silver plate and everything, every decision that you have to make is pre-guided or pre ordained. No such thing. If that is the situation, as human being we become nothing more than vegetables, because we do not use our brains. Because we have been given the capacity to think, because we are here to learn and grow and that is why we have to make choices in life.

A situation is presented in front of you, you make a choice. Say for example job change, you want to change your job, you can consult everyone in the world, and you still have to make that decision. “Yes, I want to change my job, I resign now.” But when you move on and the job is not good for you, ask yourself “What can I learn from it?” In the short span of time in your new job, what new skills you can learn and make the best of it. That is how you remain positive. But if you have to moan and groan “You see, I consult this fellow, he said change and now I have become like this. I even consult God, God said change job and this job is worst that my previous job.” You will never grow. You never learn and you never grow. You know why? Because you are in a self defeating attitude. What happens is you go in a downward spiral because the poor me syndrome takes over. When that happens, get out of it. This is something you all have to learn. Now we ask ourselves, for the past twenty over years what is your self confidence level? The self confidence level is something that we need. Why? Because we need to talk about the teachings, we need to propagate the teachings when we meet someone in the streets. What self confidence level do you have? Are we still depending on someone to tell you and explain to you? No. This is something we have to make sure that we have this ability to explain with confidence. That can only come with opportunities given, you make mistakes, you grow and learn from it and then you pick yourself up and say “I have more confidence than say 10 years ago.”

In whatever situation that you are put into, apply this principle. No matter whom you talk to. Whichever people you have sorted the advice from, make that decision and face the consequence of the decision and then learn from it. Good or bad. The best result you must also learn from, say thank you and learn. Bad result also say thank you and learn. Especially if you consult God and then He gives you a very good job. Then you forget Him. Finish. So you have to thank Him also. Even if that is not what you want, also say thank you and then you move on. That is how you make your life journey a happy one. That is how you make yourself into a situation where you are happy all the time. Without being a happy person, without being a joyous person, you cannot spread joy. You cannot spread happiness.

Then how do you expect to practice the Morning Prayer? “Let all who come to me today have their hearts filled with joy and confidence”, you yourself have no confidence. You are so miserable. So you spread all miserable things to others. A person comes to you, you have no confidence, and you spread your non-confidence in the other person. That fellow goes away with less confidence than when he came to you. You are the starting point. So always remember this, it starts from you first, whatever it is, be it harmony, be it confidence, be it whatever it is, it starts from you first. Joy, happiness, peace, love, all starts from you. You cannot give something that you do not have. If you do not have happiness, you cannot give someone happiness. If you do not have confidence, you cannot give someone confidence. If you do not have love, you cannot give someone love. So you are the starting point, you are the fountain of all these things.