Going Upstream

Monday again. Time just flies. As usual I was out the whole of Sunday. But I had a great day yesterday. Started the day with church, and I really liked the analogy which Dr Peter used. Here's an excerpt from his sermon:

"Are you more like a salmon or a jellyfish?
Salmons begin their lives in the fresh water rivers of the frigid Northwest. Not long after they are born they begin a long swim down stream. Their destination is the ocean. It is here that they spend the majority of their adult lives.
Then something strange happens. Scientists don’t even understand how, but at some point the adult salmon begins to swim back home. Though they may have swum thousands of miles from that original river location they head back home. They swim upstream, against the current of the river as if led by some magical instinct or inner calling that must be compelling enough for them to go against all the tides and streams and difficulties in life.
They are leaping out of the water to overcome waterfalls and other barriers impeding their progress. They face predators like bears and people. Incredibly, though they’ve been gone for years many of them return to the exact spot where they were born.
a documentary on one determined salmon that even swam through a maze of pipes and nudged open a grate to re-enter the hatchery where it was born. After an incredible effort the fish spawn and then die. The new salmon are soon born and repeat the process.

The salmon is like the born again Christian who relises his true calling in being alive in Christ. He realises God has mapped out for him the path home and he homes in on it despite all the obstacles of life.
Does your life have a destination? Are you going in a specific direction and are you willing to face all the obstacles to get there?
Are you controlled by one overriding passion in life?
the jellyfish. There are numerous species of these yucky-looking little creatures. Some of them are tiny. Others have tentacles that can be measured in feet.
Jellyfish are born in the ocean and die there too.
They have limited movement, but never really use that ability to go in any particular destination. They’re moved along primary by the wind and waves and tides. They drift about stinging and surviving.

Are you more like a jellyfish than a salmon? You just kind of float from here to there. You’re carried by circumstances or other people’s plans, but you really have no particular destination of your own.

The difference between salmon and jellyfish is the same as the difference between people. Some have a direction. Most just drift.
Drifting can be fun. I’ve spent most of my life as a jellyfish. You just go with the flow enjoying life as much as you can.
The problem with that kind of life is that you don’t accomplish anything of significance. You reach your final days, scratch your head and ask, What was it all for anyway? Jellyfish people never find nor fulfill the reason for which they were created. "

The life of a salmon is truly amazing. What's more amazing is that God has left little lessons like these for us to learn. I kept thinking to myself, I don't want to be a jellyfish. After all they do nothing but just drift around PLUS sting. I spoke to a friend about this analogy, and she told me that she's been to a salmon breeding farm before. She said that when the salmon jumps upstream, it isn't an easy process. They keep jumping but falter a couple of times before they manage to take one step up. I guess that's how we are like. Faltering and stumbling along our way..but if we persevere we'll be one step higher. What a wonderful lesson the salmon has taught us. I've always loved salmon....... sashimi!!(Anyway only had tenggiri today. )

Oh, also watched Seven Swords yesterday. Kind of draggy....the cinematography was fantastic, but the plot was boring. Charlie Young was very pretty though. The movie was pretty long, about 2 hours 45 minutes. One word to sum up the movie: brutal. A lot of beheading and throwing the heads around like a basketball.

Today I met up with Mien. It was great to see her after 6 months. Brought her to my condo to have a look. Kim Kee also came to measure the windows for curtains. I'll see the samples this Sunday. Finally. Once I get the curtains up and the bed, I'm all set to move in.

Exercise diary:
25 min walk on treadmill
25 min on ellyptical machine
pushups (narrow and wide)
Dumbell row
lateral raises
upright row
double crunch
bridge

Food diary:
Breakfast: toast andmargarine, Milo
Lunch: maggi mee, ice lemon tea
Dinner: stir fried green vege, stir fried celery, fried tenggiri