A beautiful thought to start a brand new week ahead:

"Lord, bless our week and teach us perseverance".

Moments

It amazing how fast time flies, especially when we are extremely busy. It does feel like we are always rushing to chase things in life. It's already Friday but it's a working weekend for me. It's always a working weekend somehow.

A beautiful thought for a Friday: Every single moment in life is a pivotal moment. Every day has a moment where you can change everything ~ the problem is that we are scared to recognise this moment.

Of Baskin & shopping!

My sister is back home from Syd for a week. I've done nothing but hang out with her the past couple of days. Today we got our hair done, did abit of shopping and ate Baskin's dark chocolate ice cream. It's been a great day indeed. No day can go wrong with Baskins.
We seldom spend time together cos she lives across the ocean. Tomorrow's another day of fun; watching dvds.

Before I end the night, a beautiful phrase by the exceptionally talented Coelho: May love fill your heart, compassion guide your mind and faith rule your soul.

Happy 54th Independence Day, Malaysia. May you prosper for your citizens!

My reminder on Life etc..

It's been awhile since I've written. I've been through quite a month, so many things to get done, so little time. There never seem to be enough hours in a day. This time around, I'm gonna work smart and allow myself some time to unwind every week. Life should be simple.

Today is a supposed to be a quiet lazy Sundays, but I'm reading up on cyberlaws in Malaysia. While reading for work, I like to also read for pleasure...and I found this awesome picture that very much describe how we all should view life. Sometimes we need a reminder cos we often forget how simple life should be. A mantra for all on life.

My lesson for the day!

It's only Wednesday, but it does feel like it's been a long and tiring week. That explains why the short nap I wanted to take actually lasted for 5 1/2 hours instead. I must be absolutely exhausted yet I push myself further. I have no choice really, the amount of work that needs to be done is not equivalent to the amount of time I have yet. It's already midnight yet I'm still up preparing slides for lectures, not to mention the amount of grading I have to get done which actually scares me.

In midst of working, I came across such beautiful words of comfort:

"God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way".

God reach out to us in mysterious ways, I always believe that and I have always been showed words of encouragement during time of trials in my life. I take comfort in those words.

Self motivation on a monday morning!

Thought of the day:

If you only walk on sunny days, you'll never reach your destination.

The week that is

There are times when you realise there isn't any need for unnecessary interaction. If people around you can't understand what you are going through and call themselves your friends, then you need to evaluate who your friends are.

My time should be spent with only positive people, not people who belittle my problems. I need spiritual presence in my life, to help calm me down. I need to revamp my life and priorities. I need to do this now.

The spring shall come!

It's not been a good week, workwise I'm so drained out with the grading of assignments non stop and being ill. But I take courage today in the words of Robert Schuller.

Never cut a tree down in winter time,
Never make a negative decision in low time,
Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst mood,
Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.

Important reminder!

I was reminded of a beautiful phrase today:

We always ignore the ones who adore us, and adore the ones who ignore us.
We always love the ones who hurt us, and hurt the ones who love us.

I've been guilty of such conduct on many occasions and have taken the ones who adore & love me unconditionally; especially mom and dad for granted. May I constantly be reminded of 'always loving and cherishing the ones who love and adore me the most'. And may they always know my love and adoration for them.

Seeking Asylum

After reading this short story (see below) by Gibran. I count my blessings.
I've been ever so blessed to have parents who have allowed me to grow and find my our path and have never forced anything upon me. They allow me to make my own mistakes and learn from those mistakes, no matter how bitter those mistakes are. All they ever do is support me in my choices. Indeed I am blessed. Today especially after reading this story.

Sometimes being in an asylum is the only place where one can experience peace within.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A great story by the talented Kahlil Gibran.

I was strolling in the gardens of an insane asylum when I met a young man who was reading a philosophy book.

His behaviour and his evident good health made him stand out from the other inmates.

I sat down beside him and asked:

'What are you doing here?'

He looked at me, surprised. But seeing that I was not one of the doctors, he replied:

'It's very simple. My father, brilliant lawyer, wanted me to be like him.
My uncle, who owns a large emporium, hoped I would follow his example.
My mother wanted me to be the image of her beloved father.
My sister always set her husband before me as an example of a successful man.
My brother tried to train me up to be a fine athlete like himself.

"And the same thing happened at school, with the piano teacher and the English teacher - they were all convinced and determined that they were the best possible example to follow".
None of them looked at me as one should look at a man, but as if they were looking in a mirror.

'So I decided to enter this asylum. At least here I can be myself'.

Carrie Underwood w/ Vince Gill How Great thou Art - Standing Ovation!

When you sing for God, you will sound like an angel.
This video was only uploading 4days ago yet it has received well over 1.6million hits (and counting). Carrie Underwood has always been my fave Idol, but here her spirits trancends towards heaven with every note. I could feel the Holy Spirit. The sheer look of adoration on the faces of her peers says it all.

Simply awesome.

He is Risen!

Being a Catholic ~ Easter is a day of celebration and reflection on the life of the most important person in the world, Jesus Christ.

Looking carefully at HIS life, we see that, although HE knew that his passion was inevitable, HE tried to give us a sense of joy in every gesture.

May HIS wisdom of HIS gesture inspire us, and be always present in our souls: the spiritual quest is compassion, enthusiasm and joy too.

Khalil Gibran wrote a beautiful poem to reflect Jesus life:

"He was not a bird with broken wings, but a violent storm.

He was not a victim of his persecutors and had not suffered at the hands of his executioners - he was free before all

He came to awaken a new and strong soul, which made every heart a temple, an altar and every human being a priest".

Punctuation saves lives!

As my never-ending grading of papers progresses throughout the day; I find comfort in the little joys of life!

Each to his/her own destiny

We are different people, each fighting in our own way for that which we believe in, and in making the world a better place by our mere existence. How we get there and the rest are mere appearances.

Just like the moon and the sun are different things; each with their own beauty and purpose. You cannot compare the two.

How we allow our dreams to die.

I read an interesting short story, it was about our dreams and how we kill our dreams.

The death of our dreams lies with certainties. Because we don't want to see life as a grand adventure, we begin to think of ourselves as wise, fair and correct in asking so little of life. We look beyond the walls of our day-to-day existence, and we hear the sounds of lances breaking, we smell the dust and the sweat, and we see the great defeats and the fire in the eyes of the warriors.

But we never see the delight, the immense delight in the hearts of those who are engaged in the battle. For them, neither victory nor defeat is important, what's important is only that they are fighting the good fight.

Mindfulness

Most of us have discovered how hard it is to live in the present, and much of our time is spent either regretting our past actions or fearing our future.

Living in the moment is like walking a tightrope. You are bound to fall off, but with practice, you will manage to keep your balance longer and longer.

Basically, there are two strategies to keep your mind on the present:

i) Take as much time as you need to do everything you do ~ Refuse to live your life in a hurry. If you feel there is never enough time; there will never be enough time anyway. Whatever you have to do, tell yourself: My full attention is on what I'm doing. I refuse to hurry!

ii) Practise "Dog Awareness" ~ yup, that's right. Dog awareness. Dogs are wonderfully intelligent creatures, they take time to observe everything around them. Everything is always a new experience for a dog. Dogs live in the present, so should we. Take a walk and see every tree.

Affirm yourself 'I have plenty of time'. An affirmation that is repeated becomes part of our subconscious. When you feel pressed, remind yourself: "I have plenty of time".

The longer we stay on the tightrope, the better life gets. Just find and keep your balance.

Sleepless days

It's been a difficult two weeks, please let things get better for me.
I feel worse cos I can't say anything to vent my frustration.
Here's hoping that time will make things better.

The Seed of Virtue

It's been such a long day; working even though it's a weekend. It hasn't been a good week for me especially at work. I'm questioning my decision and my patience has been tested many times. Despite it all, I still hold onto the believe that Patience is a virtue! While I was working today, I came across an advert for a residential area and there was this beautiful phrases on the advert. I've not seen such beautiful words in an advert to sell homes. Think twice. Good actions are the essence of the human spirit and character. A virtuous person is obligated to act in ways that respect the human dignity, rightly, as he/she should. Possessing a virtue is a matter of nobility, let's be obligated to moral excellence and lead a morally meritorious life.

Missing pieces

Thought of the day:

We often look outside of ourselves, for what we think is missing. When what we should be looking at are the missing pieces inside of us.

Are you a source of joy?

Thought of the Day:

Be a source of joy. Let critics and haters complain about the world.