It is 6 in the evening. The sky is slowly getting dark. Melinda looks out the window. She sees her neighbor, Pie Wan, drive by heading home after a hard day at work. She had left home as usual at 9am and her day was filled with meetings with clients, telephone calls and camaraderie with office colleagues. It had been no different from any of the other working days and she was looking forward to the next day when she could once again immerse herself in her job which gives her security, self esteem and self-satisfaction.
Soon, Melinda sees a cab stopping a few doors away from her house and Su Lin stepping out of the cab. She watches Su Lin trudge home carrying with her some files. She seems to have some unfinished work to do this evening, Melinda says to herself. Su Lin seems bogged down by the weight of the files she carries and slowly opens the door to her house. She had left her home early that morning so that she would not be late for work. She was harassed by her colleagues and insulted by her superior during the day. Although she had been in this organization for as long as she could remember, she had never once felt a sense of pride in the job that she was doing. She always wondered why she had to work!
Melinda was looking out the window and grateful for her position in life. She had a comfortable home, doing a job she loved doing and having ample time to help others. She felt fulfilled and grateful for her simple lifestyle. She was even more grateful because her needs were minimal since she was not influenced by society and the demands of modern living.
* The names in this story are made up and in no way relate to anyone. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Introspection
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Of Goals and Plans
Do you regularly take stock of what you have done in the past and decide on whether you want to carry on doing the same thing or change the way certain things are done. A new year is normally the time for such resolutions to be made.
Have you made your resolutions for this year? There are many people I know who live from day to day without ever making any plans. They just live for the moment. However, I feel that we need to plan so that it will give us a general idea of what to look forward to.
If we do not plan, we may not be ready for certain events in life. I know of some people who not only plan their month’s, week’s and day’s activities, but also when the activity is over, they evaluate the activity and keep a record of their achievements.
It takes a lot of discipline to keep a record of all these events but it is a morale booster on days when things do not seem to be going right!
Let’s make our resolutions for a better more meaningful life for ourselves and let’s try not to break these resolutions.
Have you made your resolutions for this year? There are many people I know who live from day to day without ever making any plans. They just live for the moment. However, I feel that we need to plan so that it will give us a general idea of what to look forward to.
If we do not plan, we may not be ready for certain events in life. I know of some people who not only plan their month’s, week’s and day’s activities, but also when the activity is over, they evaluate the activity and keep a record of their achievements.
It takes a lot of discipline to keep a record of all these events but it is a morale booster on days when things do not seem to be going right!
Let’s make our resolutions for a better more meaningful life for ourselves and let’s try not to break these resolutions.
New Year Greetings!
I received such a variety of SMS greetings this year that I thought deleting them after reading them would be a waste. So here I would like to share them with you.
1. Wishing you a blessed, healthy and eventful 2011.
2. Wishing you and your family a happy and prosperous new year.
3. New Year comes every year but 2011 is a special year which will happen once in a lifetime. It will start with a combo.
First is 1/1/11;
after 10 days 11/1/11;
after 10 months1/11/11.
Then it will be 11/11/11.
Isn’t that fantastic? I wish you a wonderful year 2011 and all the best.
4. Thank you for the wishes for 2011. May you also experience the wishes that you have sent.
5. The four blessed looks….. Look back and thank God
Look forward and trust God
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God.
6. I asked God, “How do I get the best out of life?”
God said, “Face your past without regrets.
Handle your present with confidence
And prepare for the future without fear!”
Have a blessed new year filled with happiness, good health and prosperity.
7. With God helping us, let’s make 2011 special!
8. Keep the smile, leave the tear,
Think of joy, forget the fear,
Cheers to a new beginning of 2011
I wish you the best in life.
9. The biggest success is getting others to succeed.
Service to mankind is service to God.
Let’s serve mankind selflessly so that all may succeed.
10. May 2011 bring you peace, joy and happiness.
11. May the New Year bring you rich blessings from God!
12. I wish in 2011 God gives you..
12 months of happiness
52 weeks of fun
365 days of success
8,760 hours of good health
52,600 minutes of good luck
3,153,600 seconds of joy.
13. May the Lord shower his abundant blessings on you always.
Have a healthy, happy, prosperous and fabulous New Year.
14 A very happy 2011 to you and your family. May you all be blessed with good health, wealth and abundance of joy this new year.
15. Another new beginning,
another new resolution and
a new chapter of life will be written.
No matter what the outcomes might be,
let’s not forget where we come from.
May 2011 bring you abundance of health,
plenty of wealth,
unlimited love and joy and most of all,
happiness and peace of mind.
16. A beautiful world can only be seen through the eyes of a happy heart.
May you always have a happy heart to see the beauty God made especially for you.
Happy New Year 2011.
17. May your hair, your teeth, your facelift, your abs and your stocks not fall;
And may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise. Have yourself a great year ahead.
18. Look for truth and find God.
May 2011 bring cheers, prosperity, divine health, happiness and fulfillment to you.
19. Remember the past, learn from it;
Live the present, don’t stay in it;
Embrace the future, plan for it.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2011.
May it be another great year for all. Cheers!
20. The year is gone but it has also made us strong.
The path was long but we walked it with a song.
There were fears and tears but we also had reasons for cheers.
God bless as we usher in the year 2011!
21. A very happy New Year to you. Thank you for being in my life. God bless.
22. Before the sun sets on 31st December and the lines get busy, here are my 10 wishes for you:
1. Happiness always.
2. Serenity at every sunrise.
3. Success in every facet of your life.
4. Family beside you.
5. Caring friends around you.
6. A love that never ends.
7. Good health.
8. Beautiful memories of yesteryears.
9. Bright days with much to be thankful for.
10. A pathway leading to better tomorrows.
Happy New Year 2011.
23. A very happy New Year to you and your loved ones. May all your hopes, dreams and desires come true in every way.
24. Wishing you a beautiful year ahead and keep in touch!
1. Wishing you a blessed, healthy and eventful 2011.
2. Wishing you and your family a happy and prosperous new year.
3. New Year comes every year but 2011 is a special year which will happen once in a lifetime. It will start with a combo.
First is 1/1/11;
after 10 days 11/1/11;
after 10 months1/11/11.
Then it will be 11/11/11.
Isn’t that fantastic? I wish you a wonderful year 2011 and all the best.
4. Thank you for the wishes for 2011. May you also experience the wishes that you have sent.
5. The four blessed looks….. Look back and thank God
Look forward and trust God
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God.
6. I asked God, “How do I get the best out of life?”
God said, “Face your past without regrets.
Handle your present with confidence
And prepare for the future without fear!”
Have a blessed new year filled with happiness, good health and prosperity.
7. With God helping us, let’s make 2011 special!
8. Keep the smile, leave the tear,
Think of joy, forget the fear,
Cheers to a new beginning of 2011
I wish you the best in life.
9. The biggest success is getting others to succeed.
Service to mankind is service to God.
Let’s serve mankind selflessly so that all may succeed.
10. May 2011 bring you peace, joy and happiness.
11. May the New Year bring you rich blessings from God!
12. I wish in 2011 God gives you..
12 months of happiness
52 weeks of fun
365 days of success
8,760 hours of good health
52,600 minutes of good luck
3,153,600 seconds of joy.
13. May the Lord shower his abundant blessings on you always.
Have a healthy, happy, prosperous and fabulous New Year.
14 A very happy 2011 to you and your family. May you all be blessed with good health, wealth and abundance of joy this new year.
15. Another new beginning,
another new resolution and
a new chapter of life will be written.
No matter what the outcomes might be,
let’s not forget where we come from.
May 2011 bring you abundance of health,
plenty of wealth,
unlimited love and joy and most of all,
happiness and peace of mind.
16. A beautiful world can only be seen through the eyes of a happy heart.
May you always have a happy heart to see the beauty God made especially for you.
Happy New Year 2011.
17. May your hair, your teeth, your facelift, your abs and your stocks not fall;
And may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise. Have yourself a great year ahead.
18. Look for truth and find God.
May 2011 bring cheers, prosperity, divine health, happiness and fulfillment to you.
19. Remember the past, learn from it;
Live the present, don’t stay in it;
Embrace the future, plan for it.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2011.
May it be another great year for all. Cheers!
20. The year is gone but it has also made us strong.
The path was long but we walked it with a song.
There were fears and tears but we also had reasons for cheers.
God bless as we usher in the year 2011!
21. A very happy New Year to you. Thank you for being in my life. God bless.
22. Before the sun sets on 31st December and the lines get busy, here are my 10 wishes for you:
1. Happiness always.
2. Serenity at every sunrise.
3. Success in every facet of your life.
4. Family beside you.
5. Caring friends around you.
6. A love that never ends.
7. Good health.
8. Beautiful memories of yesteryears.
9. Bright days with much to be thankful for.
10. A pathway leading to better tomorrows.
Happy New Year 2011.
23. A very happy New Year to you and your loved ones. May all your hopes, dreams and desires come true in every way.
24. Wishing you a beautiful year ahead and keep in touch!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Memories
Ask any kid where they would like to grow up and they would say they would want to be exactly where they are because they do not know any different. Ask any adult where they would have liked to have grown up and you could get a myriad of responses because having seen the world and all it has to offer, we adults are always craving for something better.
As a child growing up in Ipoh, life was idyllic. Traffic was minimal, life was simple and uncomplicated. Girls went to girls’ schools and boys went to boys’ schools. Entertainment was the occasional film show at the local cinemas, Lido and Cathay. You never hung out at shopping malls because there were none to speak of. A day out with friends would be a show and maybe a visit to a coffee house nearby.
This was in the 60s and 70s when families were close knit and life revolved around school and home. On weekends, it was church services. Black and white TV sets were not found in all households till the late 60s and the dial-up telephone was found in most homes only in the early 70s.
When I look back, I wonder how we managed to pass the days and nights in those days. This is especially so when I look at the younger generation today. Our parents would never have dreamt of buying us a notebook or a handphone. These would have been considered luxuries that we could do without. We managed to survive without these luxuries. Even clothes were considered a luxury and we lived on hand-me-downs, not only from siblings but also from cousins and close friends.
How times have changed! How fortunate (or unfortunate!) the younger generation is today. I pity the parents who are forced to give their children the best, for if they do not, their children will not fit into society. If I was asked when I would have liked to be born, then or now, my answer would definitely be then, not now. Not having what I really wanted and using hand-me-downs has made me a more understanding, caring and compassionate person, I am sure!
As a child growing up in Ipoh, life was idyllic. Traffic was minimal, life was simple and uncomplicated. Girls went to girls’ schools and boys went to boys’ schools. Entertainment was the occasional film show at the local cinemas, Lido and Cathay. You never hung out at shopping malls because there were none to speak of. A day out with friends would be a show and maybe a visit to a coffee house nearby.
This was in the 60s and 70s when families were close knit and life revolved around school and home. On weekends, it was church services. Black and white TV sets were not found in all households till the late 60s and the dial-up telephone was found in most homes only in the early 70s.
When I look back, I wonder how we managed to pass the days and nights in those days. This is especially so when I look at the younger generation today. Our parents would never have dreamt of buying us a notebook or a handphone. These would have been considered luxuries that we could do without. We managed to survive without these luxuries. Even clothes were considered a luxury and we lived on hand-me-downs, not only from siblings but also from cousins and close friends.
How times have changed! How fortunate (or unfortunate!) the younger generation is today. I pity the parents who are forced to give their children the best, for if they do not, their children will not fit into society. If I was asked when I would have liked to be born, then or now, my answer would definitely be then, not now. Not having what I really wanted and using hand-me-downs has made me a more understanding, caring and compassionate person, I am sure!
Laws and Values
Values are instilled into our lives from the time we are born by our parents and caregivers. Values come in the form of religious and cultural beliefs and traditions. To instill positive values into our lives, rules or laws have been formulated. Some say that laws have to be made because of a lack of values. To make sure that the rules are adhered to, there is enforcement.
Just recently, I heard of a case where an intruder molested a senior citizen as she was entering her house after visiting her neighbours. Why are our neighbourhoods so unsafe? We have grilled our doors and windows. We have even installed alarms and fixed locks for exits to the airwell. We dare not even walk in the park nor take up jogging as a form of exercise. We are too afraid of the consequences.
Across the border, however, windows of bungalows are left wide open. There are no grilles and no locks. People can be seen jogging and taking their dogs and children for a walk at a leisurely pace at any time of the day or night. Life seems so safe and secure.
Why is there this disparity between the two neighbouring countries? Have Malaysians lost their sense of values? Haven’t these values been successfully instilled into the lives of the residents of Malaysia? With the teaching of Pendidikan Moral (Moral Education) in schools, why is there still so much crime? Are the perpetrators not afraid of the punishment if they are caught? It is time that we try to find a solution to this problem. We should try to deal with the cause and not the symptoms.
Just recently, I heard of a case where an intruder molested a senior citizen as she was entering her house after visiting her neighbours. Why are our neighbourhoods so unsafe? We have grilled our doors and windows. We have even installed alarms and fixed locks for exits to the airwell. We dare not even walk in the park nor take up jogging as a form of exercise. We are too afraid of the consequences.
Across the border, however, windows of bungalows are left wide open. There are no grilles and no locks. People can be seen jogging and taking their dogs and children for a walk at a leisurely pace at any time of the day or night. Life seems so safe and secure.
Why is there this disparity between the two neighbouring countries? Have Malaysians lost their sense of values? Haven’t these values been successfully instilled into the lives of the residents of Malaysia? With the teaching of Pendidikan Moral (Moral Education) in schools, why is there still so much crime? Are the perpetrators not afraid of the punishment if they are caught? It is time that we try to find a solution to this problem. We should try to deal with the cause and not the symptoms.
Choices
One of my student’s responses for everything under the sun is “I had no choice.” Are our lives really devoid of choice? In ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost, we can see that we need to make choices at every step of the way from the moment we wake up in the morning till we lay our heads on the pillow for the night.
Yes, we do have choices. However, most of the time, we are afraid to make the wrong choice. What do we do then? We decide to join the crowd and do what everyone else is doing. Life does not become a threat then! We ‘go with the flow’.
If, on the other hand, we decide to break free, there will be a lot of opposition from friends and relatives. This is when our true lives as human beings will be tested. Can we take up the challenge to be different? Will we be ostracized? If we dare to venture into unchartered waters, what will our lives be like?
Yes, we do have choices. However, most of the time, we are afraid to make the wrong choice. What do we do then? We decide to join the crowd and do what everyone else is doing. Life does not become a threat then! We ‘go with the flow’.
If, on the other hand, we decide to break free, there will be a lot of opposition from friends and relatives. This is when our true lives as human beings will be tested. Can we take up the challenge to be different? Will we be ostracized? If we dare to venture into unchartered waters, what will our lives be like?
Of things bizarre!
How many times have you come across incidents that were bizarre. An acquaintance considered my life bizarre as I had stayed in the same house for more than 40 years. On the other hand, I considered his life bizarre as he had shifted home on a yearly basis, not only within his country but also internationally (because of various job opportunities that came his way).
Pondering on life, I sometimes can’t fail to wonder why our lives are so very different from one another’s. What would happen if we were in the other person’s shoes? Would we have taken the same precautions and actions that he or she were taking and doing? Life indeed has many routes and each of us has taken our own course of action. Some bizarre, some not so.
For example, I recently heard of a lady who pays her live-in boyfriend RM30 per day to look after their baby. She works twelve hours a day while he stays home with the baby. Somehow, it would not sound so bizarre if it were the man who was earning and she was a stay-at-home mum, don’t you think? Or am I just biased and prone to stereotyping?
Pondering on life, I sometimes can’t fail to wonder why our lives are so very different from one another’s. What would happen if we were in the other person’s shoes? Would we have taken the same precautions and actions that he or she were taking and doing? Life indeed has many routes and each of us has taken our own course of action. Some bizarre, some not so.
For example, I recently heard of a lady who pays her live-in boyfriend RM30 per day to look after their baby. She works twelve hours a day while he stays home with the baby. Somehow, it would not sound so bizarre if it were the man who was earning and she was a stay-at-home mum, don’t you think? Or am I just biased and prone to stereotyping?
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