The Last Song

I watched the Last Song, a movie inspired by Nicholas Sparks' book.
He has been one of my fave young writer since uni - the day Gabriella bought me his book - Message in a Bottle. I remember staying up all night reading this book with tears in my eyes.
I still wonder how he writes women so well...he surprisingly understands women and how they feel and he puts those feelings in words.

And from those words to beautiful written books which will never fail to bring tears in your eyes. The Last Song being his latest. The movie much like the book was well written and the songs amazing. I've not been a fan of Miley Cyrus but her character - 'Ronnie' was well written; it could be cos Sparks did write the screenplay of the movie even before he finish writing the novel.

It is not only a story of first love, of coming-of-age but most importantly a story of love between a parent and a child. Only a Spark novel can demonstrate the many ways that a deeply felt relationship can break our hearts and....heal them.

I love the song - When I look at you....

Everybody needs inspiration
Everybody needs a soul
A beautiful melody
When the nights so long

Cause there is no guarantee
That this life is easy..

When my world is falling apart
When there’s no light to break up the dark
That’s when I, I…
I look at you

When the waves
Are flooding the shore and I can’t
Find my way home anymore
That’s when I, I…
I look at you

When I look At You I see forgiveness
I see the truth
You love me for who I am
Like the stars Hold the moon
Right there where they belong
And I Know I’m Not Alone

My Bucket List

I finally watched the 'Bucket List'. It has been on my list of must-watch movies but I can't ever find the time. Surprisingly, I managed to find time during 'one of those days' when you feel awful and just don't wanna get out of bed and I'm glad I did. I was in tears throughout the movie.
I don't know whether the movie made me feel better or worse but I did learn a thing or two to take with me in life.

One of the lines that caught my attention was about death (of course) and how death is viewed.
The ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls got to the entrance of heaven, the guards asked two questions. Their answers determined whether they were able to enter or not.
‘Have you found joy in your life?’ 'Has your life brought joy to others?'
I believe that these are questions we should ask ourselves everyday.

As such I have come up with my bucket list:

i) To witness something majestic
ii) To feel so much joy & contentment in my heart (that I'm ready to leave the world)
iii) To have my dad walk me down the aisle to the man whom promises me a life full of laughter and affection
iv) To help a total stranger
v) To kiss the MOST beautiful boy in the world
vi) To bungee jump/sky-diving
vii) To see the pyramid of Giza
viii) To experience Prague & Athens

and the list will be grow over time....as I decide what else I want in my life before I hit the bucket.

The Lion Pursue of Happiness

One day, the young lion asked his mom: "Mom, where is the happiness?"
Mom replied: "It's on your tail."

So the young lion keeps on chasing after his tail. But after a whole day of trying, he failed to get the happiness that was on his tail.

Then he told his mom about this, his mom smiled and said: "Son, you don't really need to chase after your happiness, as long as you keep going and moving forward, your happiness will always be with you."

It's an interesting story I read. Sometimes we think about life and wonder why things are the way they are. But then I am reminded of these:

You can't decide the length of life, but you can control how you want to live it.
You can't control the weather, but you can control your mood.
You can't change your look, but you can smile.
You can't control others, but you can control yourself.
You can't foresee tomorrow, but you can utilize today wisely.
You can't win everything, but you can try your very best to achieve that.

My beautiful soul

I thought of you with love today
But that is nothing new,
I thought about you yesterday
And days before that too.
I think of you in silence
...I often speak your name,
Now all I have are memories
And a picture of you in a my heart.
Some may think you are forgotten
Though on earth you are no more,
But in our memory you are with me
As you always were before.
A million times I've thought of you
A million times I've cried,
If loving could have saved you
You would have never died.
You left us all with such beautiful memories
Your love is still our guide,
And though I cannot see you
You are always at my side.
It broke my heart to lose you
But you did not go alone,
Part of me went with you
On the day God called you home.
Forgive me Lord, I'll always weep
For the beautiful soul I loved, but could not keep.

I miss you so much that it hurts and I think of you & what could have been, R.

Art

I believe that some of the most beautiful things are done with passion in the heart and expression of feelings. Like Art. I absolutely love Art. Sometimes I wish I was talented in art but I am not. I was not given that gift. But I'm given the gift of appreciation for everything artsy.

'Dangerous Men'

The first person one must learn to love is oneself. If you do not love yourself, and by that is meant respect and esteem for your own self, you will not be able to love anyone else.

I'm reminded of this story I recently came across in this book I'm reading...

Tears glistened in the eyes of Salvation Army officer Shaw as he looked at the three men before him. Shaw was a medical missionary who had just arrived in India.
It was the turn of the century, and the Salvation Army was taking over the care of the leper colony.

But these three lepers had manacles and fetters binding their hands and feet, cutting the diseased flesh. Captain Shaw turned to the guard and said, 'Please unfasten the chains'.

'It isn't safe,' the guard replied. 'These men are dangerous criminals as well as lepers.'
'I'll be responsible. They're suffering enough,' Captain Shaw said, as he put out his hand and took the keys. Then he knelt on the ground, tenderly removed the shackles and treated their bleeding ankles.

About two weeks later Captain Shaw had his first misgivings about freeing the criminals. He has to make an overnight trip and dreaded leaving his wife and child alone.

But his wife was also a Salvation Army officer whose life was dedicated to God. She insisted that she was not afraid.

The next morning when she went to her front door, she was startled to see the three criminals lying at her door steps.

One of them explained, "We know doctor go. We stay here so no harm come to you".

So this is how 'dangerous men' responded to an act of love.

So my thought of today: Never judge someone you don't know, then you will never give yourself time and opportunity to learn to love them'.

Decisions

I've loved Paulo Coelho the first time I lay eyes on his books. Something drew me to him a few years ago when I was very down. The man writes with so much passion in his heart. I wish I could spend just an hour having a conversation about life and love with him.

Sometimes I think it is I who make life difficult for myself with so much expectation especially wanting things that are not meant for me. I need to learned to let go off things/people that I can't have and focus just on me and making me happy and contented. It should be all about me and just me.

I remember reading Coelho's words of wisdom:

Whenever we need to make a very important decision, it is best to trust our instincts because reason usually tries to remove us, from our dream, saying that the time is not yet right.
Reason is afraid of defeat, but intuition enjoys life and its challenges.

The book

Have you ever received a gift from someone you were actually angry with?

A couple of weeks ago, someone who I was actually angry with gave me a gift. A book.
I was actually taken aback by this gift especially from this person.
Maybe this person was looking for forgiveness and knew that more good can come from my friendship so he decided to find a way to mend things with me.
So I accepted the gift and the kindness shown to me and let go off my anger towards this person. Whether this was the right think to do or not...it doesn't really matter as long in my heart; it felt good.

Now this person really knows me well enough to know that I love books so I ask myself how can I continue to fester anger in my heart for this person who actually found a way to touch my heart in a small way.

It is a little book with interesting insights...and how we should look at life.

In the introductory pages, it states:

You will meet many strange and wonderful characters in these pages- from the lofty wisdom of Lao Tzu to the often ridiculous metaphors of Chuang Tzu to the down-to-earth tales of Lien Tzu.

In between, you will meet hunchbacks, cripples, lords and servants, wise sages, and foolish seekers after the Truth. But pay attention, you may even meet yourself here.

I can't wait to see what's in store for me...