2022 is the year for planting!

 You never know what’s the outcome is until you try!

 Late last year 2020, National Park Singapore sent me some seeds upon request for seeds when they sent me an offer email. As I have no experiences in gardening, I handed the seeds to my wife. Her initial reaction was that we, staying in HDB flat do not receive enough sunlight for seeds to grow. Nevertheless, she tried. And she planted the seeds on good soil, search for the best place (which is at the corridor near the common area) for sunlight.

Within a week, new shoots begin to flourish! During dinner on the previous night, we told us the good news. My thought was …

Ecclesiastes 3:2b “… A time to plant and a time to harvest.”

As the thought wonder, I remember the Parable of the good soil in the Bible (Matthew 13:1-9). The parable assume that sunlight is provided for all kind of soils – good soils, path, rocky soils, even among thorns & thistles. But in reality, sunlight is not easily available in high rise flats. Seeds planted in good soils do not guaranteed fruitfulness. Environmental factors play a big part – water, sunlight, weather conditions and pests all can derail us even as we try to be the “good soil”. And worst still, environmental factors are often beyond our control. But that is not an excuse for not trying to plant the seeds on good soil.

 There’s always be failures, lot of them, and maybe a bit of success. The failures are for us to learn, to improve and to try again and again. This is how we grow stronger, courageous and more resilience with each failure if we don’t give up and believe in ourselves.

Step out of your Comfort Zone!

2022 would be a year for us to dare to try new things. Gardening, planting and growing some simple plants may be a beginning.

2022 is also going to be a tough year for the stock market. Stock prices are going for a correction (that is – dropping) in January. It will stay this way for the rest of the year. Will we see a market crash this year? To some, a stock market crash is a crisis. To many, it is an opportunity! Stock market is not for the faint-hearted. Weak hands will always be shaken out to sell their stocks at miserable prices, only to see them rise later. This is always the game play of the stock market. To win in the stock market, step out of your comfort zone. Don’t act in haste. Hold as much cash as possible. Wait for the best market timing even though we can never time the market. We will always make mistake in the stock market. So learn to manage your risk. Start small and grow it slowly on profitable companies that pay good dividends every year. I like the Singapore Banks.

 

A time to plant and a time to harvest. 

Hopefully, at the end of 2022, we can see our money tree and get some harvest. Time is the only resource God has given to everyone. Don’t let 2022 skip pass without doing any planting.

Agape