Self-Awareness and Self-Complacency

There was a stalk of rose so full of life. It was as red as flame, as mesmerizing as dawn. It blossomed into a beautiful flower and it was satisfied with that. Yet it stopped working hard to be the most beautiful, most lovely rose of them all. What a pity that was! For its beauty was short-lived. The rose would eventually wither with the passage of time, its beauty eventually coming to an end, leaving behind a stalk of lifeless, unappealing branch.

Humans seek self-improvement by nature. We have desires, we have dreams. Yet the realities of life such as the growing gap between the rich and poor and having to toil incessantly through the years have made some people lost their fighting spirit. “Contentment is enough”, they keep telling themselves that.

Humans are at the same time very adaptable, having been through countless changes in the history of mankind. However, in this modern world, the majority lack the desire for self-improvement, replacing natural instincts with “contentment”. By repeatedly telling themselves they have no desires and wants, these people will only end up using “contentment” as an excuse for being stuck in a rut.

Here at Lotus on Water, we are never contented. We are proud of what we do, but never complacent. Since the founding of our first Lotus gallery in 2006, we expanded to two galleries in 2009 and launched our third and fourth galleries in 2011. It is inevitable that the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth will subsequently emerge.

In Chinese, there is a saying, “人之初性本善”. “善 shàn” is a word with dual meaning, it can mean “kindness” and it can mean “change”. While the saying is usually interpreted as “Kindness is nature of man”, we believe it is really saying “Adapting to changes is the nature of man”. Change is the only constant. For us, our strong beliefs in Lotus on Water and the great visions it carries, is the constant in our lives. 

It is true that not everyone chases their goals and dreams. This is the choice of an average, mediocre man. But people who step into Lotus on Water, are people who desire change and improvement. These are people who have goals and dreams. These are people who do not settle for mediocrity. They are beyond average.

The Top Of Them All 独霸鳌头

The One And Only 一枝独秀

Instead of settling for mediocrity among all the flowers,
Why not stand out from the rest, be the best of the best.

We can choose to be an average person, we can also choose to be best among all of them. The greatest difference between these two, is while one works hard to stay at where he is, the other works harder to improve himself and his life.

When one is contented and complacent, he loses his passions and dreams. This is very much like the flower mentioned, blossoming without nutrients, proud of what it is without knowing that a lifeless and unappealing branch would be its final fate.

On the other hand, when one longs for self-improvement, growth, awareness, dreams, and live with a deep desire to improve his life, there will be countless beautiful roses that he can blossom into.

The Jadeite Leaf On The Golden Stalk 金枝玉叶

  

When I first saw this Exquisite jadeite, I saw a leaf. The longer I looked at it, I realized it is not only embedded in gold, it is also glowing with self-awareness and epitomizing self-growth.

With self-awareness, man grows. With self-complacency, man falls.

#Prosperity with Elegance#

-- Ong Yok Seong

(Translated)