Reflections on Father's Day with the Birthdays of Fei and Ern

So much to reflect on this Father's day so read all about it at Dad's Heart and Mind webpage(This link can only be read on a PC explained below). It was sandwiched between two birthdays of Fei on June 14 and Ern on June 16 so their birthdays are also included there. Enjoy!

Post-dated development:

Due to new technology today, where old web pages need to be altered to fit smaller smartphones, rather than spend time making all the transformations of the old web pages meant for PC only today, I would at random pick only those old websites that I feel are meaningful or relevant to transfer the content over to the new blogger platform here. Blogger was bought over by the giant Google company and has become very advanced today and already smartphone friendly!



People and Great Deeds 

As long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed listening to or reading the stories of People and Great Deeds. As a child, I remember reading the story of Gautama Buddha, a rich Indian prince who grew up in an environment free from suffering and poverty. He soon realized that these were found just over the wall of the palace that he was confined to and he became curious about life beyond the wall. The story continues that he crossed the barrier and exposed himself to a life quite different from the rich and abundant life that he was exposed to and saw a life that was filled with misery and human suffering. The rest became history as he sought to find 'Nirvana' or Enlightenment and left behind his teachings of life that have impacted the world.



I read of the contributions of many other men such as Johnny Appleseed, a lesser known pioneer of the American frontier who planted apple seeds wherever he went so that others could enjoy the fruits and shade that the apple trees could provide.


Of the American frontier, I read of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and many others who contributed to the growth of a nation that would become a world superpower. In the Asian continents, I would be touched by Mohandas Gandhi and his passive resistance methodology of challenging Great Britain to obtain India's independence with the least violence. In the field of Science, I would read about Marie Curie and her discoveries of radium or the ideas and inventions of Galileo Galilei or Thomas Alva Edison. Then there is the jungle doctor Albert Schweitzer who built his hospital in the village of Lamberene now in Gabon, west central Africa (then French Equatorial Africa). Reading the stories of such people as can inspire one for a lifetime!


In the final year of my University life, I came to know of another man and his great deeds whose name is Joseph Smith. He helped me to appreciate the founder of the Christian faith, Jesus Christ. I had read little about Jesus when I was young as maybe he was presented more like a God than a human being and therefore was not categorized as an ordinary man in the books I was reading. As my parents were not religious nor my older siblings, the males particularly, I wasn't exposed much to religious books about Jesus. However, through the man Joseph Smith, many things about Jesus and the Christian faith were clarified for me. Interestingly, a series of events not only led me to join the Church but also to become one of the pioneer missionaries to spread the faith in Malaysia. (Refer to Spiritlane) The life of Jesus indeed has become a strong influence in my life for good.

There are indeed many in the list of people and great deeds that touches my heart and mind. As I grew up in life, I could see many around me who are great examples to me of people with great deeds too. They do not necessarily have to be famous in the annals of history but their acts of devotion, passion for truth and a desire to serve others with the talents they are endowed with greatly touches my heart. Some are close family members and friends. I have noted that these Men can come from any race, color or creed irrespective of any religious or nonreligious backgrounds. The combined influence of the famous and less famous people and great deeds has always spurred me to do my part in society and this sometimes required me to leave my own position of comfort to follow the desires of my heart and mind. 

Events or a series of them can have a strong influence in affecting the heart and mind of a man and I have found that such has been the case in my life. That could be the reason why I have become very detailed in recording events either through writing or photography, ever since I was young. I got married early at the age of 24 which started a series of events that led me to become a (C)ommunicative father, a (S)ynergistic worker and a (F)uturistic professional.


It has been said that it is easier to become a father than to be one. I can testify to that and if you live long enough as a father like I have and also my father, you will learn that it takes a lot of effort and consistency to achieve great deeds. No father is perfect I'm sure but I have often thought about the famous People and their Great Deeds. Achieving their great deeds must have had some sacrifice on their role as a father. It takes more than just a balancing trick to be able to serve mankind and become a good father. Maybe that could be the reason why in the annals of history, not much is said about their roles as a father if they had ever become one themselves.

My father was a quiet man with few friends. Born in 1921 in Penang, he studied in Penang Free School built by the British and had the opportunity to be sent to England to be qualified in Photogrammetry and Aerial Surveys. 


I am grateful for my own father and on the day after Father's day, I sat down at his office with a reminiscing feeling. I related to him my recent incident of being assaulted by workers of a local bus operator and showed him a newspaper article it. He is now 87 years old and still goes to his office every day. I reminded him that about 25 years ago, on the same desk that he sat which is the smaller office that he now occupies, was the desk he assigned to me to help me start off my small consulting and IT business. I reminded him that as my Father, I had always consulted with him on my career moves or changes. It was he who influenced me to become an Accountant but from there I have since made many changes.  (Post-dated development: Came across this video of an Asian man describing his father.)

To my surprise, my father suddenly made a very true comment about me. He referred to my office door that is now on the same 7th floor of the same building as his office and remarked, "You're the only one on the whole floor that never locks the grill door of your office and that's how different you are! " 


I smiled and it was at this point in time that I told him of my new move for the second half-century of my life! I explained that since he is enjoying a long life, I believed that with his genes and my current good health at age 50, I may live for another fifty years. With that assumption, I held up my left hand with five fingers opened to symbolize my life up to this date. A full 50 years of doing what I felt was an opportunity to learn all about life with hands-on experience. It has led me to now write my journals under the classification of Body Mind and Spirit. What then will the next hand symbolize? 

Post dated events : My father passed away suddenly but peacefully the following year on 20.11.09  Our last Father's Day celebration together was on 21.06.09



My Past and Future Deeds 

A series of events in life can sometimes be seen as coincidences or messages from beyond that help to shape our destiny. It is interesting that these events or coincidences can sometimes be influenced by our very own thoughts and hence the proverb, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he".( Refer to Proverbs 23:7 and also the book of James Allen inspired by the verse.) As I told my father, my first 50 years was really a life of learning and testing. I grew up with a curious mind and a heart that seeks to connect to people and things around me and even beyond. I developed a unique optimal view of life that keeps me sufficiently motivated in all the things I do or chose to do. I told my father with the usual style of great enthusiasm, holding up my right hand, I want the next fifty years of my life to be quite different from that of the first. In retrospection, I guess what I meant was in the past I was very busy doing many things in the learning curve. I went through academic life in my adolescence be it science, maths or the arts. Then as I was about to turn into a real Man at 21, I received the priesthood and an inspired call to serve as a voluntary missionary in my own native land. When that was over, I started another mission where I became a husband and a father of a great family of 6 children. To become an effective provider for the family, I turned to the business world and became an entrepreneur and a consultant in the forefront of 'sunrise' or cutting edge technology businesses as my preference.


In mid-2003, I gathered some staff, a family member and friends to join me in focused research on 'Optimal Performance and Thinking'. I was seeking to synergize my vast experience with the latest research in human development & performance to find 'breakthrough' solutions for our modern day challenges. I would first share that with my family members. Later it will be shared with everyone else in the private and public sectors of our country, eventually reaching out to global communities. The ultimate aim is an educational contribution towards improving the quality of life in communities for purely humanitarian reasons. This web page series of 'My Heart and Mind' (for PC view only) is the early beginning of my work based on the focused research that has been going on for over 4 years now.

Toastmasters trained to public speak

My public speaking skills used in a post-dated event.

The unfortunate recent incident that occurred to me has inspired me to hasten my work to reach out to the community. It had woken me to the fact that the citizens in the city that I lived, as with many other cities in the world, are facing unprecedented challenges due to the rapid changes that are occurring in the world. How do you manage, cope and find success or happiness with such rapid socio-economic and environmental changes will be the focus of my work and life of the next 50 years. My success will depend on the level of collaborative intelligence I can harness with the groups and communities I will labor with. I will not be riding on a political or religious platform as they tend to be biased in ways that divide communities rather than to unite them. I like to ride on a universal platform that uses Common Sense Factors that come from optimized Hearts and Minds of the people, by the people, for the people. Wish me luck!



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The CSF journals 
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Whatever my deeds for the future, one thing I know is that my role as a Father will never change and my web journals will continue. My educational role is first and for most for my children who for better or for worse have been influenced by me in their lifetime especially in their youth. It is interesting to note that most of them have asked me at some point in time, "Dad what do you really do for your work?" I guess they have noticed, as my own father has noticed, that I am quite different from most other men. I may be different but by the end of the second phase of my life, I hope that all will know me as the (C)omunicative father, a (S)ynergistic worker and a (F)uturistic thinker. A new series of CSF journals is spawned as the research narrows down with specific solutions for specific problems. Look out for it in the links of my intricate web pages(For PC View only) that have become almost as complicated as the networked fibers of our brain!

Birthdays this Month

 Chong Fei Min - 14 Jun 2008


Chong Woon Ern - 16 Jun 2008


Archives of their birthday celebrations





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A Picture paints a thousand words 
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General MacArthur’s Prayer for His Son

Build me a son, O God, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know thee-and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail. Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men. One who will reach into the future, yet, never forgets the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never takes himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain!”

Postdated website: www.AbacusToCloud.com

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C
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My Interest

Connect * Synergize * Futurize



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