The feasting and break that is celebrated following a month of fasting around the world has quietly settled back into the workweek in Singapore. It is an interesting holiday here. On one hand, it is an important. On the other, by most measures it was a quiet celebration. Grocery store shelves were more empty than normal. While people were out and about, everything seemed to be subdued. It was a time for enjoying food and friends.
As I cooked and shared conversations, I found myself going back to the fundamentals. I am old enough to remember good times as well as difficult ones. When one is experiencing life to the full, I always find it to be a mix of both. The present is no different. In is in this reflection that I find myself going back to the basics. An old observation is a truth that I find myself holding deep within. “For right now, until that completeness [of see God clearly], we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” (1 Corinthians 13.13)
The mantras play out in our lives in an unending dance. Trusting opens us to possibilities. Hope gives us strength. Love supports relationships. The combination shapes our experiences and memories in ways that sustain and nurture. Ironically, in the spirit of all three I find that they are as challenging as they are easy to say. It takes courage to trust, even God. It is a battle to let hope live. Love is most important and at the same time most dangerous with its potential to hurt.
I think of the other mantras in my life. I find each to be a variation of the core three. How one does business is one perspective. The way one treats associates and peers is another variation. Even the way one responds to life is a twist.
We hold the freedom to do something with the mantras of our lives. It will be our story.
