We may spend most of our lives on land. (Well, most of us NORMAL people, anyway.)

But sometimes, life certainly feels like you're treading water.

And sometimes, you have to fight so hard just to keep your mouth just above the water so that you don't sputter.

But... life decides that seeing poor mortals struggling to stay afloat is not enough, and decides to slap on a few weights to our limbs.

So, ambition gets strapped to our hands.

Family committments to our ankles.

The chase for that ideal romantic partner.

Our thirst for wealth, power... success consumes us so much we're willing to drink all that water in the sea. But the salty water makes us feel even more thirsty. So we drink more... and more... and more... knowing that no matter how much we drink, our thirst will never be quenched. Knowing that the more we drink, the worse we'll feel..

But we'll do it anyway. Just for the momentary relief. And as we drink, we get more and more bloated, and more and more unable to keep afloat... and before we know it... we're getting sucked deeper and deeper into the ocean.. but we still want to drink.. more and more and more.

So the dilemma is this: We're so overwhelmed by the demands of this mad mad world that we are almost drowning. Yet, we still want to bathe in all the things that keep us trapped in this big pool of life.

Some of us don't even realise we're drowning.

I used to be one of them.

All I could see were the grades that would be on my certificate when I graduated from JC. The University degree that I would get. The job that I would secure. The pay rises. The big glass house.

The big, cold, empty glass house.

So God took pity on me.

He threw me a lifebuoy.

He let me see "the shiny thing"-He showed me something worth treading water for. Something that would be worth just one more breath for a glimpse of.

And by giving me the lifebuoy, He made sure that I didn't start drowning again.

I've been swimming with the lifebuoy for slightly more than a year now. It's not all been easy, though it's definitely been easier keeping my head out of the water.

But I'll confess, there were times I wanted to let go of the lifebuoy.

There were times I wanted to dive back into the world of success. The world where I lived for myself. The world where I chased what I could enjoy now. Where I chased what I could see and touch.

But even though I considered letting go of the lifebuoy, the lifebuoy was always nearby, waiting for me to cling onto it any moment I wanted to.

Are you clinging onto the ankle weights of ambition?

Are you shackled by family committment?

Or are you drowning in your never-ending quest for wealth, power, fame, success?

But.. whatever it is you're clinging onto now..

Look around you, because there may just be a lifebuoy God threw right next to you.