Accept me as I am

put me at ground level not on a pedestal

you never need to say

I am not as good as you thought

Accept me as I am

do not pigeon-hole me by expectations

how would I know what to live up to

save yourself the surprise or disappointment

Accept me as I am

I change as I grow

give me room to be myself

accept the new me everyday

Criticize me as I am

I am not perfect

but just because you see my sin

doesn't make you a better person

Criticize me as I am

thanks for sincerely showing me my mistakes

but still accept me as a friend

love me not if, not because, but in spite of

Criticize me as I am

I too see room for perfection

but when you always dwell on what I can improve

I wonder if you fully appreciate what I have accomplished

Work with me as I am

others may be better at what I am doing

but until they are available

I am still the best

Work with me as I am

there are many ways to do the same thing

you may have a proven way to do it

but mine may be the most effective for me

Work with me as I am

advise me on what to do or not do

but still support me in whatever I finally decide

I gotta be me

 Have mercy on me

when you hurt me first

I may lose my patience with you

but remember I am the primary victim

Have mercy on me

when I hurt you as a result of you hurting me first

then you become the secondary victim

give me credit for I am still your primary victim

Have mercy on me

because I love you

you have the power to hurt me

if you love me, heal me

 Heal me as I am

Once you agree you're at fault

apologize immediately and make up

repair the attrition of everyday relationships

Heal me as I am

reasons are not justification

even if you can explain why you did wrong

it still doesn't make it right

Heal me as I am

if you agree to work for me

put aside your complexes or pride

try to do it exactly as I require

Live with me as I am

our time is our life

for each moment we spend together

we give each other a part of our lives

Live with me as I am

moments we share

the little things you do for me

speak the language of love

Live with me as I am

I enjoy being with you

will you let me lay down my life

to live for you

Share with me as I am

you may ask anything you want of me

I give gladly if I can

but if I cannot don't feel rejected or angry

Share with me as I am

I give you out of love and not obligation

you don't have to take any but please do

happiness is having my love accepted

Share with me as I am

I appreciate we may have marriage in mind

but will you still spend time with me

if I only want to be your friend and not a spouse

Communicate with me as I am

let's always be open

but never yell at each other

unless there is a fire in the house

Communicate with me as I am

hug, hold and kiss me

but the only time you hit me

is to save me from the mosquitoes

Communicate with me as I am

we may not have solutions for our problems

but we always stay by each other

be there and listen, to laugh or cry together

 I respect you as you are

I don't have to agree with what you say

but I shall protect your right to say it

we can agree to disagree

Take me as I am

whatever we share in private is sacred

unless you want me to talk

I will take those moments to my grave

There are principles for a lasting friendship

we reap what we cultivate

I am committed

wouldn't you do the same for me

I am afraid to be alone

I have a passion to share

God's almighty creation

and cultural exploration

to visit your inner world

and invite you into mine

I am afraid to express myself

you might not be interested

nor have patience and time

often you do not understand

or most fearsome of all

you misunderstand

I am afraid to explain

you hear but do not listen

spend time contradicting

instead of comprehending

evade my valid points

and deny me justice

I am afraid to discuss

you have no line of reasoning

instead of one point at a time

you confuse several issues together

get side tracked and sent on a tangent

then you forget the original question

I am afraid to listen

when you are just babbling

for the sake of arguing

when asked what your point is

then you don't even know

what you were talking about

I am afraid to ask

for I do not get an answer

you told me a lot of things

but that is not what I asked

then you forget the question

and get annoyed when I keep asking

I am afraid to be honest

when no truth is in our talk

knowingly wrong but do not admit it

not even agreeing to disagree

resorting to little games of derailing

the issue with frivolous reasoning

I am afraid to be vulnerable

when there are no rules of order

along with sincerity and honestly

to validate right and wrong

nor is there a commitment to healing

with apologies and forgiveness

I am afraid to share

I learn to hold my tongue

looking into your world

from outside your window

for all my longing to communicate

I love you

but I did not know how

It was a scary feeling for me

to surrender and submit my feelings

to completely let myself go

and fall back into your arms

putting my feelings into your hands

When I fell backwards into your arms

I was learning to trust you

that you would treat me gently

In a significant way

I put my happiness into your hand

And because I love you

you had the power to hurt me

I was heart broken

I was paralyzed in shock

I completely freaked out

I got so scared and panic

fearing you did not love me

fearing I could not live with that

When I was hurt by false accusation

Liked a raging bull I went all out

to defend my honor

to seek justice and vindication

and seek healing of my hurt from you

If we were just friends

I would not have so much problems with all that

I would not be so much hurt by you

But when I decided to spend my life with you

then I must try to resolve these conflicts

As a couple we must work on better communication

We must have a plan for conflict resolution

When I explained to you what you did or say

and how I was hurt as a result

I had to spend an unreasonable long time

to make you understand and admit to you faults

Often you did not admit and even if you did,

often you did not apologize

But when I did something wrong to you

I always admit and repent and apologize to you

When you did not admit nor apologize

I was not healed

I felt more hurt and more scared

To demonstrate to you how I feel

I thought I would give you

a dose of you own medicine

 When I treated you with the same faults

naturally you felt the same hurt

So you further accused me for being revengeful

But you forgot to notice the contradiction

If you did not admit those were faults

then they should not feel hurtful

When you did not heal me

I did not know how to deal with my hurt

It was not resolved and was just swept under the carpet

I withdrew and was unable to go forward

Liked a frightened dog with tail in between legs

To lick my wound, I was stuck on my track

When in pain I had reacted with anger

With verbal and body language

I had suffered in silence

But I had also raised my voice

I might have said things I did not mean

I must have also hurt you in return

When you hurt me

I became your primary victim

Then when I hurt you as a reaction to that

you became my secondary victim

But I could not completely empathize with your hurt

I was too obsessed with my own

I was too eager for you to heal me

When I was left hurting for two years

I began to doubt

Why she did not apologize and heal me?

Why did she repeatedly hurt me doing the same thing?

Did she love me?

Are we compatible?

Could I live with that?

I love her but is she the right spouse for me?

When I could not commit

I pressured myself

On one hand it was time to commit to you

But on the other hand I was too hurt to advance

I also got frustrated

If I could not commit

We had felt we should set each other free again

But the thought was heart breaking

We love each other

So we held on to each other

Today both pressure and frustration are answered

You finally healed me

You confessed to playing those games

You repented and apologized for doing so

I have waited two years to hear it

You also said you want to be freed again

You want to enjoy by being just friends for now

Now we are friends again

You have the space that you want

And I am healed and there is no pressure to commit

I feel objective again in loving you

I am freed to feel for my feelings towards you

and to feel for your feelings towards me

I feel how much your feelings mean to me

I feel your hurt being my secondary victim

It breaks my heart just to realize you were hurt

It breaks my heart knowing that I am part of the cause

I feel your pain

We had hurt each other

My darling, I am so sorry

Tastes bitter as gall

we will never hurt each other again

Your happiness and health

comfort and joy

beauty and desires

mean the world to me

I taste love

Now without fear and pressure

without hurt and frustration

Tastes sweet as honey

How wonderful it is

to be held by the woman you love

to feel completely satisfied being with her

and to embrace in togetherness body and soul

The mark of a scholar

is his examination of each discipline

for its underlying truth

in order to decipher knowledge of man

and our relationship with heaven

to interpret the changes in history

in order to discern wisdom for the future

Not only do we need to know the truth

but we need to be broad in scope

and thorough in depth in our search

But rather than knowing out of a necessity

its better to do out of an interest than a need

and better still to take pleasure in knowing

than simply to have an interest

Knowing the truth clears the heart

to be sincere and righteous

cultivates benevolence and courage

One who takes pleasure in knowing is not far from truth

One who applies the truth is not far from benevolence

One who admits his weakness is not far from courage

He who knows the truth is not deceived

he who is benevolent does not worry

he who is courageous has no fear

He is incorruptible by wealth

does not falter in poverty

is not intimidated by power

does not compromise under pressure

with age he gain strength

in adversity he adds determination

And the truth sets us free

to serve our family

love our neighbor

guard our country

advance world peace

and proclaim the Kingdom

格物致知

明辨慎思

求學之本也

窮天地之想

究天人之際

通古今之變

成一家之言

格物須求學無類

致知在乎窮事理

固無知者不如知之者

知之亦須求窮之博之

但為需求不如為興趣

固知之者不如好之者

但興趣不如樂在其中

固好之者不如樂之者

致知而後誠意正心

正心而後修身

為之則難者亦易矣

不為則易者亦難矣

是故知仁勇者

富貴不淫

貧賤不移

威武不屈

修身而後齊家治國

治國則天下平也