Making [THING] a lifestyle.

This represents my lifestyle. I have made cycling a lifestyle. The bicycle is the symbol of this lifestyle. Graphically, it is often simplified to this: 

But do not be deceived, this is only a simple representation. There are many moving parts that are not represented in this simplified model. There is a Wikipedia entry detailing the parts of a bicycle and the practice of cycling if you want to read about it. Also, if you are interested in learning to ride a bicycle, please feel free to read this WikiHow article too.

Some people don't believe me when I tell them I ride from my place to where I was presently meeting them. They tell me things like, "Isn't it dangerous?", "What if a car knocks into you?", "What if it rains?", "Don't you get tired?", "Have you been in an accident before?", "Why do you want to cycle on the road?" And in that order, the answers are,

"Yes, but I wear helmet/have lights."
"I can't help it if someone else doesn't pay attention when driving."
"I have a raincoat/Sometimes I bring a change of clothes too."
"Yes, some days worse than usual."
"Not counting those dumb ones where I crashed into stationary stuff, zero so far. Near misses are not uncommon."
"I enjoy cycling because it brings me great pleasure."

I draw your attention to the last answer. I do it because it gives me immense pleasure in life to be cycling. As a cousin puts it, it is a "freedom machine". I couldn't agree more. The wind in my face, the freewheeling down long slopes, the weaving around obstacles, the freedom to stretch out my hands and ride hands-free on quieter roads, the wonder of seeing things I wouldn't normally pay attention to while zooming past in a car, the trepidation of exploring a new route or unknown path. These things in cycling make up the pleasure I feel while cycling, and it is not the bike that makes me feel that way. I must concede though, a high quality bike will make all these things more pronounced and increase the pleasure even more. The act of cycling brings the pleasure.

For the sake of this lifestyle, however, I have had to make many tough decisions, and some sacrifices. For example, I have to find a parking spot that I can lock my bike to when I reach my destination. In Singapore, shopping malls are not exactly bike-friendly. It is okay, I do my best to find a spot to secure my bike to. However, twice I have had my bike stolen, and both times really hit me pretty hard...both financially and emotionally. I have since replaced those stolen bikes and I own more bikes than I can effectively ride at any one time. Hah. I carry tools, a spare inner tube and a folding air pump in my pannier bag, in case of any punctures. One can never be too sure what could happen when you are on the road, so I carry a simple first aid kit too. It is all worth it, because this "freedom machine" gives me immense pleasure in life.

Now that you've bothered to read this far, welcome to the real point of the post. For you, my dear reader, I needed to draw a parallel. For you see, while cycling is indeed a part of my lifestyle, it is not the whole picture. Because, in truth, there is more to my life than cycling around on a bike. I am also a teacher to my students, a son to my parents, a learner to my lecturers, a leader to my lifegroup members, and hopefully one day, a father to a bunch of children. Even then, it may not completely tell you about all of me.

Regardless, this which follows is my real lifestyle. And graphically, this which follows is the symbol of this lifestyle,

I hope you made it to this line, so please continue reading. Some people don't believe me when I tell them that being Christian is my lifestyle. They tell me things like [INSERT RELEVANT STATEMENT HERE], [INSERT ANOTHER PERSONAL REASON HERE] and [INSERT RELATED BAD EXPERIENCE HERE]. Well, my answer to any of those questions is this,

"Jesus set me free so I could know and have Him as my supreme Pleasure."

There are so many other things I could continue to spell out here, but I know the places where I've been in real life, and inside my mind, so I am thankful Jesus died for my sins. And for the sake of this lifestyle, I have had to make many tough decisions, and some sacrifices. My parents aren't believers; they don't appreciate their only son of three children having contrary beliefs. My Saturdays are spent with my church community; I have missed numerous opportunities to meet up and hang out with good friends. Some days, especially recently, have been spent on interceding with a heavy heart for beloved members who have strayed from the Lord. But, it is all worth it, because Christ is a greater and better pleasure than cycling...or any other. If you don't know how to take on this lifestyle, I am sure you have a decent Christian friend who could tell you. If not, this will tell you how to do so, straight from the Bible.

Postscript: The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. - 1 Timothy 1:15

Lessons from driving lessons.

I have received formal instruction in driving from two different instructors in my life, and both showed me very different approaches to instruction. Before I get started, let me provide a bit of background to why I needed training twice. First time, it was for my Class 3 driving course in NS. This was when I was utterly clueless about driving and the sum total of my driving experience was from Daytona arcade racing. The second time was for my civilian Class 3 driving license. By this time, I had acquired a fair bit of experience of driving on the public roads (thanks to NS) and also a number of bad habits.

Back to the point, I want to bring out the biggest and most distinct differences that I recall from both types of training. In the military training, I had an amazingly skilled instructor who made everything look easy but I always felt that I was always lagging behind. Also, I noticed that the instructor's side had a brake pedal that mirrored the one on my side. Later on, I realized that the purpose of that is to act as my back-up, in case I was to mess up while driving.

The latter and later training I had for my civilian license had no such safety 'feature' installed. In fact, during my first driving lesson with my civilian instructor, he pulled over as soon as he found out I knew how to drive...and switched seats with me. I found myself in the driver's seat, bad habits and all. A mere fifteen minutes into the lesson and already driving the car, that was memorable. I recall the first time I had to pull off the legendary 'half-clutch and hold at biting point' in his car. I revved the petrol-fueled engine extra hard, thinking it was a diesel Land Rover from the '70s. I managed to carry out the maneuver, albeit poorly and unskilfully. All he said was something to the effect of, "Okay, next time let's do that better."

And often times, we think that the Lord is like my first driving instructor, only keen to show me how good He is. Some of us would prefer that the Lord be like my second driving instructor, letting us take the steering wheel immediately.

Truth is, God is like both of them, or rather, He is even better than both of them put together.

#1: God is better than all the best instructors put together.
Need I say more? He is perfect. He really does know what He is doing.

#2: God is in charge...and yet He put you in the driver's seat.
We will mess up, yet He still puts us in the driver's seat. Isn't that more grace than we can ever ask for? He wants to share His glory with you, though He clearly doesn't need to. He's the one with all the 'mad skillz' but He wants to pass it on...to you. Let that sink in.

#3: He's got 'brakes' on His side too, in case you forget who's the Instructor.
Never too wise to get smart with the One who put you in the driver's seat. It is enough for the disciple to be like the master, and the son to be like the father. He is still God, and still in control.

#4: He knows your bad habits, yet He still wants to teach you.
My driving instructors were paid to instruct me. God sent Jesus to pay the price, so we could have a relationship with Him...because? He loves us and wants to be with us on this merry ride we call "Life". As if that was not enough, He wants us to be with Him forever in Eternal "Life".

Post-it #2.

I struggle with sin, not because I don't have big dreams...but because I don't have the kind of foundations that skyscrapers are built on.