The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet

Just finished sitting for Basic First Aid Exam on Tuesday (14/11/06) and Basic Tissues and Early Development Exam on Thursday (16/11/06). Now, I'm focusing attention on completing my assignments before the due date next week or so.

The semester exam is approaching. I have loads and loads of lecture notes to digest. I also need to start filtering through details from the thick medical books to have a good grasp of the subject matter taught by the professors.

Indeed the journey I chose is a pretty tough one. I always inspire myself with Aristotle's words of wisdom "the roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet."

I also keep reminding myself of a little story about a very wise man that could give the correct answer to every query that was posed to him. One day, a small boy caught a bird, clutched it in his hands, and approached the wise man. Then he began to ask: "I have a bird in my hands. Is it dead or alive?" Should the wise man reply that the bird was alive, he would squeeze it tightly with both hands and kill it. On the contrary, should the wise man say that the bird was dead, he would release it and let it fly. The boy was very confident that the wise man would not answer his query this time. Surprisingly, the wise man of wit and intelligence replied: "young man, the answer is really in your hands!" The small boy was completely dumbfounded by the answer and walked away shyly.
It's true the answer is in our hands. But, I still believe that the ultimate answer/decision lies with God.

No matter where we go, give the world the best that we have, and the best will come back to us;

No matter what we do, work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will finally bring right results;

No matter what others say about us, in helping others, we will help ourselves, for whatever good we have given out completes the circle and comes back to us;

No matter what we think, success is a journey, not a destination.