Others' Behavior

Watching the way some people behave can sometimes be disconcerting, but who are we to judge or comment?

Bad Toilet Manners

Yet again another encounter of bad toilet manners today. Here's a notice I've placed above the toilet bowl for the user.

Toilet Manners

This is a regular sight in the toilets of office building at level three of The Synergy, International Business Park (IBP) @ Jurong East.


Welcome to Singapore!

Here's where the civilized and the not so civilized stay together!

Could it be the user has forgotten to clear his stuff after doing business?

Unfortunately, this is not the worst of sights! There are days where the bowls are overflowing with waste spilling off.

Totally disgusting!

Traveling and Culture: Eye Opener

Traveling has always been a part of my life, an eye opener to the different cultures of the world and the different human behaviors. I've learnt much through traveling, things that I'll never be able to learn or see if I have not traveled.

Traveling helps people adapt to new environments, understand why people of different cultures behave differently, so as to enable us to understand why people do the things they do. This is especially useful to me because I work in a multi-national company that is made up of people all over the world. It helps me adapt and not to expect others to do things the way we do.

For example, if we see people spitting around, people who eat things and leave their waste to be cleared by other people, people who talks out loud in public, people who blocks every passageway and sidewalks, we can understand why they will never do what we expect them to do, such as to give way to us so we can walk the sidewalks, soften their chatter onboard trains and so on.

Not all imported behaviors are negative however. I've learnt many things from foreign cultures which I wish are being practised here. For example, ever since I visited the USA for the first time many years ago, I've learnt to clear my own food trays and waste at every fast food chains. Not to do so, to me, is to be uncultured and inconsiderate.

One of the many things in life we should all learn is that we must do things with consideration for others. We should not make decisions on our own without forseeing how our decisions may affect others. My principle for living is simple. I follow the Bible verse Philippians 2:3 which says:

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;

Learning to be graceful and less inconsiderate can go a long way. If we wish to live our lives meaningfully, we'll need to know how to behave and live our lives. If you, like me, are willing to strive to make our nation state a place to live in, read my article on Learning to be Graceful.

Intolerable Agitation

I am an attention grabber, not because I am handsome or a hunk, but because I get agitated with inconsiderate people blocking everyone's way in train, bus, shopping mall and on the streets, agitated enough to express it in action of hurried gesture and frustration with ever growing impatience.

I know this is not good for my heart, especially when I have recently been admitted to hospital for irregular heartbeat. Yes, my agitation and impatience have taken their toll on me. With my desire to always be considerate and to put others first before me, I have expected too much of others to do likewise, and in this, I have been constantly disappointed to the point of agitation.

It appears I am one who does not know how to take things easy, and with the high expectation I set for myself, I have been miserably mistaken and over confident to expect the general mankind to recipocrate. All I learn daily is that rather than responding in kind, people take advantage and become even more inconsiderate. To give in to their abuse however is pushing me to the limit, and I am breaking down, not knowing how to enjoy or live my life while I am still here on earth.

Life is full of disappointments, and it is too much to expect much from others. Maybe I should care less and behave like the inconsiderates, but then it is against all I hold fast to and believe in, and I cannot, because not only is it against my principles, but it is just not me.

Teach me, therefore, O Lord, to stay calm in the midst of agitation, not expect too much of others, and to live life peaceably in co-existence with people of different cultures and different behavior.