Our precious children and us

Yet people nag!

2012-01-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

We must never nag, no matter what role we may play in life. It drives away those people we love the most, primarily because people nag the very ones they love.
Some time ago, I visit a family. The wife was friendly, sociable and very attractive. More than just attractive; she was beautiful. Yet, the husband was usually not around. Sometimes it was because he was working but then I was told he came home just to eat and clean up before going out again to meet his friends, to gamble the night away.
As someone always interested in life and the reasons people behave towards others, I enquired further and discovered that the wife nags him most of the time. When that happens, she was like a radio switched on with the battery knocked off only by sleep. Worst than a radio, it was like one of those old record players which have needles that refuses to go to the next track on the vinyl records, repeating the many complains of the past. Such nagging is most annoying and depressing.
I'm not saying that was no reason to complain. There certainly is a reason when the victim of the nagging is addicted to gambling. He uses up all the money for this addiction of his and even uses the children's savings at times. But then, the purpose of complaining about his bad habit is to make him realise that it is becoming a burden to the family and ought to slow down and gradually stop the vice, and nagging will never achieve that purpose. It would only serve to drive him away to his gambling friends.
What should be done? The wife ought to slowly tell her the problems she and the family face due to his gambling besides finding ways to get him to join the family in some form of alternative activities. Slowly get him to understand that the family needs him as much, if not more, than his friends. Well, get his mind away from his addiction.
I believe we all know of another group of people who nag. Parents! Yes, parents, it can be the father or the mother, or even both, and when that happens the poor child has no way to escape such torture unless he has reach the age when he can walk off on his own. I knew a young man who would daily get out to friends' homes and return very late at night just to avoid nagging. It was the easiest way to prevent confrontation between parent(s) and child.
And where do naggers get the habit of nagging? Is it from their parents? Or was it because they were not successfully in communicating their frustrations to the other party and so had to resort to nagging. But since to nag is to fail, should we not discuss with friends and discover better ways to convey our messages or get the other person to comply to our wishes?
As I have discovered even at the age of sixty-five there are still things about ourselves that we might need to improve. So there is still so much to live for.

2011-12-18T23:52:00.000-08:00

It was a Sunday morning when I awaken early at five thirty to get ready for a ten kilometre run. As I drove out to the starting point which was near the clock tower, I could see that the organisers were ready with their people at the checkpoints. Near the clock tower was the registration of the runners which comprises of various age groups. At the age of sixty-five, I found myself in the veteran men's group, that is made up of all men aged forty and above.

My aim of going for the run was to gauge my capability in a running race. I have not entered into any running race or long distance jogging for more than twenty years although I consider myself very fit and healthy. Yes, I must be healthy to trek up and down the Semarak Hill every morning with short distance jogging at the level ground at the top. But then, I also understand that running ten kilometres is hardly the same as jogging that short level path at Semarak Hill.

I ate some food, two slices of whole-meal bread and two bananas about one and a half hours before the race. I added a little salt to my isotonic drink, gave my legs a good rub and massage before setting out. Of course, since I had jumped onto a stone a few days back before this and suffered pain in the left heel, I had to put on three pairs of socks to cushion the impact of the ground on my heel and made the pain more bearable. .

Among those who turned up for the run were two young Kenyans, a man and a woman, as well as a Siamese man. All of them did very well, coming in first in their categories. So each of them received a certificate, a medal and a cheque for RM500. Those who came in second and third received the same things except that the value of the cheques were different. For second place, it was RM300 while a third place got RM100.

The oldest male participant was seventy-two years old while the third oldest female participant was fifty-eight years old. The two oldest women were not around to receive their prizes and so the award has to be given to the third oldest. See! We can still have an active life at seventy-two.

Below are some of the photographs I managed to take when I returned from my run. The only photograph before the run must, of course, be the one in which dawn has yet to arrive.

It was still dark at 6am. when I reported to confirm my participation.

And here I am after my run, muscles overstrained but still standing tall.

And here are some of the participants who have successfully completed the run.

The finishing point with S.P. Plaza in the background.

And a runner reaches the finishing point.

Next is the runner who is awarded the oldest woman participant in the event.

And below are the first, second and third winners of the various categories.

Well, did you recognise which of the winners were the Kenyan runners? They both got first prize in their grouping, a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman.

Pictures of the medicated oils mentioned in the previous posting.

2011-12-13T05:36:00.000-08:00

This blogger was unable to load the pictures given below when he wrote about these two over-the-counter medical oils even when editing the article. Mysteriously, the uploading is only possible as a new posting. So, here are the pictures so that should anyone need to find alternative means to halt the infection, here it is although the writer himself has not tried it as he has no such problem. Well, when all else fails, here is another opening.

This is the Double Prawn Brand Herbal Oil packaged in this box. The oil is only for external use.

At the side of the box is information concerning its use as well as a warning.

And this is the herbal oil in a bottle.Read the information, instructions and warning given in a leaflet.

The top half of the leaflet found inside the box.

The lower half of the leaflet found inside the box.

Here's the King Cobra Brand Medical Oil in a box.

Inside the box is a bottle of the King Cobra brand medical oil. This oil is also for external use only. Read the instructions given on one side of the box.

Terrific oil from over the counter.

2011-12-13T04:32:00.000-08:00

The other day I met a friend whose skin is full of blemishes. So I saw the scabs and semi dried areas where the break in the skin had not totally dried up. There was even a toe which has the tip gone and the nail could no longer be seen.

Since he is a diabetic, I asked him how he managed to survive all those cuts and wounds on his skin. You see, normally, the skin of diabetics have very poor healing capability. I have seen diabetics who ended up having to have extremities of the limbs amputated as a result of wounds and cuts refusing to heal despite being under the care of doctors. Sometimes, it is the fault of the patient as he refuses to take care not to scratch or rub the healing skin, thus exposing the raw flesh to further infection and not allowing scabs to form properly. However, there are also cases where ointment or creams given just had not much effect even when under the supervision of doctors in hospitals and amputation had to be done to prevent the infection from moving further inwards towards the main body part.

This friend told me that he had initially seen a skin specialist and was given a cream. Unfortunately, the cream had no apparent effect. Fortunately, another friend came along and told him about two types of medical oils. He told me that when he heard the advice, he called his friend a fake doctor. Though he laughed at that friend, he was getting desperate. The wound was not healing and the infection was moving deeper. Well, obviously thinking there was nothing much to lose in trying out the fake doctor's advice, he bought the two bottles of medicated oil.

One of them is a herbal oil with the double prawn brand. He used that to rub onto the cuts and wounds. It stung badly and he had to fan or blow on it to lessen the pain but it was effective and soon scabs formed. To have the scabs removed properly he used oil with the cobra brand. Three days after applying this cobra brand oil, the scabs came off nicely. Smiling at me, he told me that the fake doctor was good after all. Those two types of oil are so good for him that he had his children have some ten bottles of them ready inthe house.

Well, we have to accept the fact that some 'fake doctors' do have effective solutions to health problems. We have to listen to the voice of experience and who knows when we may need such knowledge. (However, you are advised to try out the medicines or ointment and cream given by your skin specialist first.)

(Unfortunately, this blogger could not upload images of the oils on this posting. However, pictures of the oils have been posted on the next posting.)

Look what a passion for rare coins can get you!

2011-12-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

I have written on the importance of encouraging any kind of interest our children may have. My elder son, for example, has a lot of interests and all of them are encouraged by me at all times. He was interested in stamps and I took out my stamp collection to help him get started. Every opportunity my son, my wife and I had, we looked for stamps from all over. He had a wonderful time arranging them in stamp albums. From them he learned a lot from the various stamps from the many countries they came from.

He was also interested in coins and notes, collecting coins and notes whenever he found the chance and time to do so, putting the notes and coins in albums, appreciating not just the designs but also their rarity.

And today, in the news was an item about an exceedingly rare coin, the 1787 gold Brasher doubloon, which was sold for 7.4 million US dollars which was one of the highest prices ever paid for a gold coin. The identities of the buyer and seller were not disclosed. The company which brokered the deal was Blanchard and Co., a New Orleans-based coin and precious metals company.(Note: The Brasher doubloon is considered the first American-made gold coin denominated in dollars; the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia didn't begin striking coins until the 1790s.)

As it can be seen from the above, hobbies such as coin and stamp collecting can be as much an investment as antiques and paintings. They are worthwhile interests to cultivate as it takes those interested to a desire to know more which could lead to language learning and further reading. Life can never be boring when there are things to be interested in.

So, let us help our children develop more of such interests instead of insisting upon them to read and learn without the motivation to do so. Yes, it is the lack of motivation that leaves children without a purpose in learning, be it language or skill.

Growing the passion.

2011-12-11T03:41:00.000-08:00

Passion in something is important if we want our children to be extremely good at it. So, if a child were to be truly interested in something, searching for knowledge on it, doing everything needed to understand it well and constantly as well as tirelessly working at it would never be a chore. It would always be a pleasure. There is no need for the parents to fear that the child would give up easily in his/her search for further knowledge when he/she is passionate about that something.

However, we have also seen children who do not seem to have much interest in anything. Of course, they do get interested in things but not for long. There just isn't that great interest that would stand the test of time and energy. So, in the face of such circumstances, what does the parent do?

To explore everything in his surroundings and become exposed to as many things as possible could be a first move. After getting to know his/her own house well, take him/her out to explore and experience things in the park, at the club, on the beach, up a hill or along the roads. Introduce to the child the birds, insects and animals, plants, trees, flowers and their fruits, the buildings, the people or workers in them, and the various types of vehicles. And the list of things to see, appreciate and know goes on.

When my kids were young, I took them anywhere we could afford to go. Certainly, they were interested in many things. They were interested in animals such as the monkeys in the botanical gardens. A visit to the zoo or some kind of animal-farm was always greeted with delight. Fond of fish in streams and lakes, they would watch intently for many minutes. They delighted in the fruits on the trees and the colourful flowers which they encountered. And today, one of them is a nature lover who cares for animals. This interest has lead him to read so much on animals and become a veterinarian. Today, he still continues to further his knowledge on animals, precious stones and plants.

Next move could be to make available the tools, the objects of interest or the instruments. With them, the child can further his interest should any develop. Of course, be ready for some waste and things left around without any hope of them being used. I have two tennis rackets that has remained used only once. I have musical instruments such as the guitar and harmonicas which interested my children only fleetingly. Never mind for all it takes is just one strike and our children would have a beautiful life ahead. Studies and work connected to their interest would be easy as there could be nothing boring in what they are really interested in.

One of things I have bought my children were watches. Well, normally parents buy watches for their children expecting nothing but their looking at them for the time. The younger of my two sons do not look at watches as time-indicators. To him it was something puzzling that moves its hands so consistently. He just had to know what caused that. So, he dismantled the back cover, studied it and replaced it. That, of course, resulted in it no longer being water-proofed. And he had a spoiled watch. Then when he was about ten or eleven years old, there was this electronic Japanese toy which allows a child to own a pet in it. The owner of the toy has to feed the pet and look after it. As it was too costly, he purchased spoiled ones, repaired them, resold them and earned enough money to buy such a toy. This son became interested in electronic things and even before attending university he was welding, repairing televisions and computers. He is now in his final year in engineering.

Thus, as can be seen, given the opportunities to meet something a child can be passionate about, provided with the necessary things to foster his/her growth in it and given all the aids essential to his/her progress, there can only be one path forward-the path to successful mastery of his passion.

Passion brings everything to life.

2011-12-09T03:36:00.000-08:00

Why do some people spent so much time on their work and emerge still fresh and ready for more while others toll through life with dread of work? One of the reasons is the attitude cultivated early in life through knowledge and understanding of how attitude can cause a difference between enthusiasm and disinterest. The choice of attitude would determine the type of outlook the person has on life resulting in the person's success or failure.

Another criteria affecting positive or negative outlook on everything is passion, a strong interest in something. It results in great efforts to achieve particular goals without seemingly tiring effort. Thus, a person with a passion for somethings puts in one hundred and one percent effort into that something, yet emerge fresh and ready to do even more should the need arises.

Take for example a person with a passion for a certain subject. The person would devote all his/her time to the subject, sometimes even forgetting the passage of time or essential needs. To improve on the particular subject, he/she would even delve into all available sources so as to reach or gather more knowledge. Such a person knows no tiredness or any kind of deprivation in his/her passion for subject.Expertise in the subject concerned is the obvious outcome when soon everything regarding the matter has already been grasped, becoming the master of the subject. In such a circumstance, success is a certainty.

As can be seen from the above, achieving success can be accomplished with ease when a passion for something has developed by a person. Such a passion could be inborn or cultivated through circumstances that are favourable for the growth of the passion. It might have started with just a little spark of interest which when encouraged can rage into a fire strong enough to have its light drive off obstacles to sufficiently reach deep and far to find slaking its thirst for information hardly possible.

Knowing how passion can drive a person's energy towards its goal, should we not, as parents, learn to recognise our child's interest or prepare fertile ground for the growth of such interest? Helping the growth of our child's interest or encouraging the interest seen in our child would be the first step to helping him/her towards a great wonderful future in which whatever is done is done with passion, with a love that can only lead to mastery of his/her interest. Certainly, there can be no greater happiness than being engaged in one's strong interest throughout life. Lovely is the life of a person under such circumstances.
(Next: Growing the passion.)

A choice of attitude.

2011-12-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

This morning, this lady told me, "Oh, no! Time goes by too fast. Today is another working day and there's so much to do."

Thus, she faced another day with dread, knowing that work awaited her. She was, of course, not too happy with having to wake up early, to rush for her transport to take her to work and the fact that she would have to perform some kind of task before returning home tired in the evening.

As for me, I awaken each morning at 5.30 am to get myself ready for a hike up the Semarak Hill with the expectant joy of cool, fresh air and lovely scenery there besides the greetings and exchanges of messages and thoughts with the numerous friends and acquaintances that I am bound to meet there. I expect to return stronger, healthier, fitter and happier than ever.

See the difference in our attitudes towards the new day. Of course, I expect you to say it would be easy for me to have the better attitude as I am looking forward to something enjoyable and not work.

But then, who said work could not be enjoyable? When I was teaching, I woke up each morning, aware that I was still so much alive to face another beautiful day. I would smile at myself in the mirror and be delighted to have my image respond likewise. That was something I learned from some of my teachers, the ones who taught me about living and life, such greats as Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale and Dale Carnegie. I would reach the school early so that I would not have to rush but have the time to look at the beauties, nature and humans, along the way. Meeting and greeting friends each day was and still is a pleasure that lightens whatever loads and makes each day so fleetingly short that I had no alternative but to treasure almost every moment.

I loved my work and despite the numerous problems that students did cause, it was sufficiently interesting especially when results were achieved and personal satisfaction was derived from it. Perhaps it was my ego but then it was great to have such an ego when all it did was to make living such a challenge that brought a sense of achievement in the end. To this day I can still lay claim to the fact that I had 100% passes with my SPM art students every year during my teaching career. (SPM is the public examination at form five level.) It is also my pride that my gymnasts did very well through my training. Of course, it involved a lot of hard work, five days a week but then gymnasts can never be really good unless sufficient training and practice is held. Well, it was worth it as results fed the ego and that gave a wonderful feeling nothing else could have. So, ego can sometimes be a good thing although being too egoistic can be bad.

And all that wonderful joy was the result of one's attitude towards one's work. And that pleasure is for life as each time I meet an old student, his/her delight at meeting someone meaningful in his/her life gave me further happiness.

Attitude towards life and work is our choice. We can get up each morning with a happy thought of meeting wonderful friends and seeing beautiful things as well as achieving good work or we can awaken with the thought of gloomy skies, dull colourless objects on the way and having to meet lousy people throughout the day. Both choices are possible. We make it so.

When it comes to meeting beautiful people, it is easy as our friends would be around to smile, laugh and joke with us. Our way to work could be filled with lovely plants and flowers in some gardens or at the roadside. Listen and be greeted each morning by the whistling of birds, "Tweet, twee, twee, tweet!" which sounds like "Look at that girl!" or "Hi, handsome one!" Watch the butterflies as they flutter by and should there be a breeze, slow down and love its cool touch of your cheeks. And at work think of the service we can render to so many people. Think of what we can do. Not everyone has the skill or knowledge or capability that we possess. And know that God has sent us here to perform a mission.

Of course, it is just as easy to choose not to enjoy the sights on the way, not to notice the little girl digging her nose at the bus-stop or the man with a different coloured sock on each leg. It is easy to get up as late as possible, plod into the working place, flop into a chair and wonder when the day could be over, hope no one would interrupt the little shut-eye and wish that there is nothing to be done. Well, everything is possible to him/her who desires it. But which would we prefer?

A visit to South-East Asia's largest vineyard.

2011-11-28T04:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, 27th of November, was a lovely Sunday with the promise of a sunny day. So a friend and my son went with me to what was advertised as the largest vineyard in South-East Asia, Beris Lake Vineyard, in Sik, Kedah, Malaysia, some twenty-five kilometres from Sungai Petani.

At Lake Beris, which is a short distance after the town, we came to a long bridge which span the river flowing into the lake. Just before the bridge was a road on the right which took us to a parking lot in front of the entrance to the vineyard.

We spent about an hour and a half strolling leisurely between the vines that were grown about 7 metres apart appreciating the the bunches of green and red grapes that hung down just above our mouths.

According to a worker at the vineyard, the grapes are organically grown. The manure for the vines come from the cow farms around the area. I wonder what are the cows from the area fed, grass or processed food?

Concerning possible problems to the grapes, rain could damage the grapes. Firstly, the vines must be in well-drained soil. Too much water could also cause the quality of the grapes to drop. Therefore, the vineyard is covered totally with a plastic canopy and there are drain-pipes as well as drain holes to ensure that the ground is not water-logged.

This outing is better seen from the pictures that I have uploaded for everyone to enjoy. Well, a picture paints a thousand words and many pictures do depict the whole story. However, words do have their use as they help explain what may not be obvious.
From the car park, up the stairs to the front door leading to the vineyard.

One of the posters at the entrance where it is stated that the vineyard started operation in November 2007.

This must be an old entrance. Toilets are on the left side of the building. That was the first place most visitors go to, perhaps to contribute some fertilisers.
In front of the new entrance is this poster claiming this place to be the largest vineyard in South-East Asia.

A resting area with the door to the place at the far end. Visitors sit around and discuss what they have seen after moving around the place.
Signs near the ticket counter showing how far away the various vineyeards in the place.

From the visitors' resting area we go to a section on the right to the ticket counter. At the back of that counter were objects for sale such as clothing and souvenirs.
For children, the entrance fee is two ringgit each. (Note: One US dollar is approximately three ringgit twenty sen at the time of posting. One hundred sen makes a ringgit.)
And for adults, it is four ringgit each.

Here are some of the souvenirs and cordials that visitors can buy home.
And should there be anyone interested in growing a grape vine in a 2.2 x 2.2 metre plot in his garden there are plants with the right fertilisers for him/her to buy.
We did not buy the plants. As we were thirsty, we bought for each of us a small bottle of grape juice which, according to the label, was 100% fresh, actually meaning that it was made from fresh grapes.
What was disappointing about the drink was that sugar was added to the juice, so it most probably could not be 100% juice since the grapes ought to be sweet enough if it is purely grape juice. I believe water must have been added, thus the need for sugar although water was not listed on the label. Besides that, I noticed that colouring and certain chemicals have also been added.

Look at these small green grapes! upon entering the vineyard, we saw these cute little grapes. They were just at the entrance into the vineyard. I believe they are a little more than a month old. Still so tiny, still so green.

And then we came to bigger green grapes with a tinge of yellow that could be almost three months old, a month to harvesting time.
Up above us was this canopy of leaves with new shoots tied to the old shoots so that they would not shoot upwards but at almost the same level as the old shoots which is approximately seven feet or 2.2 metre above the ground.
Next, we come to rows and rows of vines bearing dark-red grapes. We were told the grapes would be black and sweet when they ripen in a month's time. At three months they are still red and sour as they are still far from ripe.
And looking upwards, we saw lots of grapes indicating the success of the vineyard.

Alongside the vines are pipes conveying water to them.

A close view of grapes at three months which are still sour as they are not yet ripe. It takes four months for them to ripen.

Wow! Juicy grapes within reach but visitors can only see, touch but not pluck.

When the grapes are plentiful, the vines are covered with leaves. Look at those grapes!

At four months the grapes are ripe and sweet enough to be harvested. Two months after the harvest, the vines are pruned and gone are the leaves. This has to be done so that new shoots and leaves can bring another good crop of grapes.

Slowly, new shoots and leaves begin to emerge and soon leaves are covering the top again. According to a worker at the vineyard, the plants are given cow-dung as manure once every three weeks. The cow-dung is taken from the farms around the area.

Once again, the vines are heavy with leaves and are ready for the next crop of grapes.

Drainage holes are necessary as the vines need well-drained soil and below you can see a drain-pipe for water which flows from the plastic canopy at the top.

Doting grandma takes on more than she can chew.

2011-11-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

In my last posting, I wrote of grandparents who faced a lot of problems with having to look after the grandchildren as well as with themselves as a result of over anxiety of the grandma. Well, today I come across a grandma who became sick as a result of caring for a grandchild.

At sixty years of age, with her husband long departed to heaven, she promised her daughter she would gladly look after the child, a boy of ten. Looking after this boy is a full-time job as he is always active. Knowing that she would not be able to cope on her own, another daughter, the youngest, quickly drove home to ensure that her mother would not be too stressed in her desire to pamper the child. This youngest daughter knew there would be a need for her to get breakfast, do marketing and make sure that her assistance would be available whenever the need arises.

So it was that with the little bundle of energy forever demanding the grandma's attention, the grandma had no time for any rest. Since the moment the child awakened till the moment his head dropped onto the pillow with eyes closed at night, grandma was on the move catering to his needs and demands. And this morning, I visited them to be told the grandma had a fever. She was already down and the daughter obviously had to take over some of her baby-sitting.

Looks like love knows no limits and the old lady simply paid no attention to her own health. Well, this is one of those things that can happen when a woman dotes on someone, especially when that someone is a grandchild. What she forgets is that she has to be in good health to look after someone else. Instead of looking after the grandchild, now she has to be cared for. And the poor daughter has her hands full taking care of two persons, her sick mother and an energetic nephew.

A grandpa's hardship.

2011-11-09T06:27:00.000-08:00

This evening I met a friend who confirmed my constant belief that children should never be pampered. My talk with him revealed that grandparents are not the best guardians even though their intentions are nothing but the best.

Here was this friend who exposed the problems of being grandparent-guardians of two lovely grandsons. First, there are these two children who demand his and his wife's time almost eighteen hours a day seven days a week. Awakened by a need to get things done and ready before the two grandchildren awakens; things such as moping the floor, cleaning the table and getting breakfast ready are an everyday affair. Once they are awake, it is feeding them and watching over them wherever they may wander, inside the house, to the front, the back and into the garden.

And besides this, there is this over-loving of grandparents, sometimes one more concerned than the other. For example, he would allow them to run around and fall every now and then, while she, the grandma, would scream at him whenever one of the grandchildren is in danger of a fall or a crash into a piece of furniture. Or one child would touch the floor, then grabs a piece of food and pops it into his mouth. Oh, no! How can that be allowed? No grandchild of mine must have dirt go into his mouth! And grandpa gets the blame. So, everyday, something would cause heated arguments on proper care of grandchildren. Tempers can flare and and relationships can get strained. All because of two grandchildren.

All these can happen because one or both grandparents love the children too much. Well, too much of a good thing can be bad. It leads to pampering. Everything the grandchild wants, he will get, be it food or playthings. At the supermarket recently, this grandpa saw how extravagant the grandma was with her money, paying almost thirty ringgit for a rifle, handcuffs and other 'police' toys. The young father who was present then refused to purchase them as he was thinking of effects such toys could have on his son, the grandpa would not part with so much money for some useless plastic toys but the grandma thought her grandchild must have what is desired by him as children need toys to play with. Furthermore, she has her own money to pamper her grandchild with and that silenced the other two men. So, nothing is too expensive for a pampering grandmother and the toys were bought.

And as the children grew bigger, the grandparents required more energy. Even a simple bath is a problem. Getting them to bath needs a lot of persuading, something leading to scolding and threats before any bathing could take place. Then, there was the amount of play when two children wants to enjoy the bathroom at the same time. There was noise and a lot of splashing that got the floor wet and slippery. The grandma and grandpa have to be extraordinarily careful holding onto the children under such slippery surfaces. Thus, each bath ends with another round of mopping and drying of the floor. That is a lot of work for two old folks.

This friends did remarked that it was easier with their own children. They were more willing to discipline them, be more firm with them and should that not be effective, a spanking on the buttocks was sufficient to put things into proper order. So, he admitted that when it came to the grandchildren, they were unwilling to commit the same type of disciplining.

This grandpa realised that he was not able to enforce discipline on his grandchildren; the very same discipline which had been effective with his own children. Why is that so? Could it be that they understand, deep in their hearts, that grandchildren have their own parents to love, and so, unless even greater love is bestowed upon the grandchildren, the grandchildren might not love them enough? And that could be the reason, they give too much love, pampering, to their grandchildren.

It is time that grandparents search their hearts and should their actions are the result of this subconscious thought, then they must correct their thinking as pampering, be it on one's own children or grandchildren, is never good for them as it would do them a lot of harm. In my earlier posts I had explored the harm and problems that could arise from pampered children. Even in the previous post was a true story of a woman who was divorced by her husband due to her uncaring ways which was caused by her being pampered as an only child. Let us help our beloved young ones grow properly with the right amount of love and understanding into great wonderful individuals loved by all humans they associate with in their lives.

To truly love, we have to suffer the pain of having to discipline when necessary so that the ones we discipline will grow to love and be loved by all.

A time will come when we have to face reality.

2011-11-08T00:07:00.000-08:00

In the Malaysian Chronicler today was a Nanyang Siang Pau Newspaper report in which a 48 year-old Singaporean woman realised the importance of appreciation for a husband who has always done everything that her heart desired and had never lost his temper despite having been ill-treated by her with her tantrums and treated with disdain for months over small matters.

Her only excuse for her terrible behaviour was her being spoilt as an only child of her parents.According to her, she had told her husband of her bad temper and he had promised to bear with her and her bad tamper. Perhaps, with that promise, she thought she could get away with being the tigress and forget everything about love in a marriage.

Eventually, the husband must have gave up on her, gave up on ever having love in return and asked for a divorce. It was only then that she realised how much she was going to lose - a husband who has always cared enough to overlook all her bad behaviour and tried his very best to cater to her every whim and fancy. Awakened by the fact that she was going to lose the very person who could have given her so much happiness, she apologised and wrote many letters to ask for a second chance.

As they say, people only awaken to reality only when their 'ship' is about to sink. It has happened many times in life. People only look more carefully into their lives only when their lives are at stake. Only when stricken with a terrible sickness such as cancer, do people think about their health. Only when you are about to lose someone do you think of his or her goodness. Only when the partner says 'enough is enough', do some folks know appreciation of him or her.

Why not think of such things earlier. Think of the beautiful people in our lives. Have we shown sufficient appreciation for them? Are they important enough to be treated with more care and love? What about ourselves? Do we love ourselves enough to think of our happiness, our fitness and health? Think of it and act on it immediately as now is the time to do so, not later for that later time may never come and may be gone forever.

Our wonderful mind!

2011-11-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

Recently I read some articles on placebos and how patients have got well on pills that contained nothing but plain water or syrup. When it happens all the time in all the researches conducted every now and then, those researchers have no alternative but to admit that placebos do have the same effect as the drugs being tested when those in the programme do get well when they believe that the pills given do contain the drugs being tested although they were not as they were merely placebos.

Upon reading the above information I instantly went back to my beloved teachers such as Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and Norman Vincent Peale. These are the first few teachers who taught me through their books that whatever the mind of mind can conceive and believe, he will achieve. Then, later, I went through a seminar in Kuala Lumpur in the early seventies with Lawrence Chan of Malaysia. All of them taught me to believe in whatever I set my mind to and since then I had proved them right.

For me, I have always believed that happiness is my ultimate goal in life and so whatever I do I do it for the pleasure and joy I can derive from it. That, I know, is what draws the friends I have to me. And it is what causes me to smile in my mirror the first thing in the morning and confirm to myself my health, my fitness, my youthfulness and my happiness. And this sixty-five year old has proved beyond a doubt that it happens when you believe. Well, I still run, jump and climb up that hill as fast and flexibly as any forty-year old! (Egoistic, ain't I but when it comes to this, I just have to be.)

That was exactly what I did this very morning despite a cold drizzle that greeted me as I enthusiastically dressed up for a trek up the hill. No drizzle can ever dampen the desire to enjoy the walk up the hill. Thus, I drove to the foot of the hill and found my car the only vehicle in the area. After a drink of water, I got out into the rain. I have an umbrella in the car but i did not use it. It is such moments that I look forward to walking in the rain, getting soaking wet without a care in the world, just enjoying the coolness of the morning and the refreshing cleansing of raindrops. You know, I also believe I would not catch cold, and although I have walked in the rain a good number of days the last two weeks, the cold could not catch up with me.

You know, I still wish for the pure rainwater that God pours upon us giving us the best liquid we can ever obtain. Yes, pure rainwater contains hydrogen peroxide which helps our body to absorb more oxygen. Unfortunately, today's rain has to go through a lot of chemical pollution as it descends to us and what we get is acid rain. You see, when humans are careless with the wastes manufactured we destroy something which is so important to us and the plants. Yes, plants for plants given pure rainwater containing hydrogen peroxide would thrive even better. Sometimes, I wondered if rainwater that reaches us after a few hours of rain could possibly not have to be contaminated by the impurities in the air and so contain hydrogen peroxide. It is at such times, I drink some of the rainwater and hope to enjoy its benefits. Well, I could have been able to enjoy those benefits as I am certainly extremely fit and healthy still.

Yes, since I have read about how powerful our mind is, I have practised it on my health, strength and happiness and thank God, I am appreciative of the mind He has given me, it has been found to be true. Thus, without a doubt, I certainly agree with those researchers that the mind can perform wonders if you really believe in it and work at it. Well, all things are possible to him or her who would put his mind to it.

What cost the lost of one's temper?

2011-10-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

One morning, not too early by most standards as it was already nine-thirty, the children at a kindergarten were rudely scolded by a hoarse loud voice from the balcony of a house across the street.

The voice came from a tall man in his pyjamas, his hair unkempt, his face foaming at the mouth, saliva spitting forth as his mouth released its venom with unprintable words at the kindergarten children enjoying themselves in a game, their shrill laughter piercing the bright cool air.

The man at the balcony was obviously angry at being awakened by the children's voices. Yet, it was not too early for children to be at play. His scolding shocked the kindergarten teachers and a few parents who were around in the compound of the house used as the kindergarten.

The children were just as shocked at the tall devilish figure in the balcony. There was instant silence. None of the people present were able to rouse themselves out of the sudden interference into their activities.

And the man appeared to be satisfied to have quelled the cacophony of boisterous children. He turned and slowly retreated into his room. It took some time before the children resumed their play and laughter.

What was in the mind of the adults? They found it ridiculous that a matured man could not have the intelligence to understand that children at play are like that, with their noise accompanying their playful actions. They believed that man was too rude to the innocent children whose only 'wrong' was to be children. Furthermore, it was not as if it was six in the morning when one could expect some people to be still in bed.

Well, the man lost his temper and his good name in just a few minutes. Since then, the people in his neighbourhood do not bother much about him. He was ostracised by everyone who knew what had happened that morning. They avoided him and although he lived in a luxurious house, none treated him with respect. And whenever they meet anyone who knows not what had happened, they would gladly recount how he lost his temper and shouted such such harsh words at the lovely innocent children.

The poor man may not realise what he has lost that morning but it was to last him a lifetime. More than five years later, I happened to be one of their latest friends to whom the above incident was told. So, to be able to control one's temper is important.

What role religion??

2011-10-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

Buddhists believe in karma. So, to differentiate between a good Buddhist and one who is not, we look at the person's deeds. But then, maybe the person does not care about what the present future or the next life may bring.

Other religions also have beliefs and teachings for their followers. The teachings, if you should examine them, are definitely the best possible ones by which life on earth can be wonderfully peaceful and happy.

Then, again, it is evidently tough to be good at any religion. People throughout the world belong to either this religion or that religion except for the few rebellious ones like me who believe in God but refuses to join any. Fortunately or unfortunately (my ego at play), God did not create many like me. But then, with so many religious people in the world we would have thought the world a lovely, peaceful place to fulfill whatever earthly mission we come for.

Sad to say, the world today is filled with turmoil. Television bring all the power struggles and hatred among humans to our living-rooms at certain times throughout the day as if to remind us that something has to be done or else, as some have prophesied, the world may come to an end soon. Indeed, it looks like it, for at this rate, if natural disaster do not wipe us out, we ourselves may do the job, what with the numerous atomic weapons so many countries are developing. And playing with this kind of fire, it is just a matter of time before somebody's madness would get us all burnt to cinders.

So, what is the role of religion in our present situation where comparatively few, if any, truly believes in God even though they conveniently belong to one. Apparently, belief in God and religion is being abused by many. Religion has become a social and political tool. Some people belong to a religion so as to be accepted by certain groups of people, to have a place to congregate, a place to show others how devoted they are to a certain God, and so how morally good they must be. Political leaders would appeal to people of the same religion to unite with them so as to fight for the betterment of that particular religion. (As though Almighty God needs help from such mortals!)Thus, the name of God is being abused. Throughout the world, we have labeled nations as Buddhist countries, Christian countries and Muslim countries and in that way create a demand that only that particular religion be given special preference. (Did God ever demand special preference? No, because God is forever Almighty even if there is just one follower. Even if I am God's only believer, He still IS God. He is not more or less God because of His followers' numbers or deeds.)

As humans develop in intelligence, his ego has grown just as much. Some religions have even created new rules and regulations and caused them to be accepted by their followers. Some rules are created to force followers to stick to a particular religion even when the follower has lost faith in it. Actually, Man has the right to believe and choose his own religion. This is important as a person forced to accept a religion may never find belief in it. However, as a member of a society, to make life easier for himself, he may put on the pretense of acceptance. The crux of the matter is, is it from his heart? But then, ego of the authorities concerned are not happy to see others not in the same religion as theirs, feel slighted that their members would leave for another religion and other religions believed inferior to theirs. (Has God ever taught us those things? No, God is beyond and above all those small-minded matters. All these come through the ego of the leaders of religions.)

Today, humans abuse the name of God often in their struggle for power between countries and ethnic groups. And even among themselves, resulting in denominations and their different versions of God's message. The Christians have the Protestants, the Baptists, the Catholics and more while the Muslims have their Sunni, Matahari and others; and when it comes to the Buddhists, there are the many branches of thoughts. (well, I have to leave out others as there would be too many.)

Someone wants to be a leader and to do that even among one religion, there has to be denominations. With more denominations, there can be more leaders. Then, in a country, or among more than one country, there may be more than one religion. To have greater power than other leaders belonging to other religions, conflicts have to caused and fights lead to some kind of submission to the greater religion? and leader. All this leadership and power struggle is happening in the Middle East and many nations.

Perhaps it is time for a new prophet to straighten the minds and cool the ego of humans. To hope for such a solution is easy and according to 'The Secret' fervent hopes do materialise but it needs to be soon as people are beginning to become numbed to even the horrendous happenings brought to us by television.

Disastrously, the role of religion has changed somewhat. There was a time when religious people were respected for their good morals, their sacrifices and services in the name of God and their friendliness to all, regardless of religion with the belief that God created all humans. Today, there is no respect for God's creation even when it is in a similar form.

Immunity against certain sickness can be developed.

2011-10-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

When I was young I used to catch cold quite often. However, the neighbours' children do not seem to catch cold just as often. Why? That was my observation and the question on the matter stuck as I certainly would not want to be a sickly person my whole life.

So I watched them. Even at the age of twelve, I have learned that observation reveals lots of truth and gives me greater understanding of things in and around me. Those children who hardly catch cold come from Indian families. I was living in Queen Street, Penang Island, at that time. There were a good number of Indian neighbours although most of the residents were Chinese.

Yes, I watched and from my observation I discovered that Chinese parents quickly covered up their little children with thick warm clothes whenever it rained. In fact the Chinese parents sent their children indoor at the first indication of rain. Not a drop of rain did Chinese children get.

However, that was not the case with Indian children. Even as the rain got heavier, I could still see them running around, sometimes stark naked, in the street getting thoroughly wet with the rain. Their parents did not seem to fear that the rain would chill their bones and lungs, and bring them cold and influenza.

Since that observation I had use every opportunity possible to walk, run and play in the rain. If there was nothing with me which could get spoiled by the rain, such as books and other articles that I could have been carrying, I would walk home in the rain. At such times, rain did not stop me from reaching home on time. And I noticed that i got stronger from the exposure to the rain and wind. (In an earlier post i had told about allowing my children to play in the rain at a very young age; young enough not to be conscious about sliding on the wet cement floor wearing just a pair of shorts in the compound of our house; in order to achieve this type of immunity against cold.)

Even nowadays, if I managed to get out of my house before the arrival of rain, I would be trekking Semarak Hill in the rain without raincoat or umbrella. There was one guy who went up that hill despite the rain and found me there without an umbrella.
"How come you did not bring along your umbrella?" he asked.
"It's alright. I enjoy it," I told him.
He was amused by the fact that a grown man could enjoy the cold wind and the rainwater flowing down the face and body. The next day, when I met him again, he commented,"Sorry, no rain to play with today."
There was one time I told another person, "This is the only place I can let go and enjoy the rain like a child without having people think I am a lunatic."

Well, this walking in the rain is good for my health, giving me an immunity to the cold. It is refreshing and fun, so it is also anti-aging. You feel young again. Yes, it's one of those rare times when you can let the child in you enthusiastically emerge from its social cage. (A few words of warning: For those not yet used to the wet and cold of the rain, do it in short periods first, and gradually, so that your body gets used to the rain.It takes time to develop immunity. There's no magic, I assure you.)I hope to enjoy the rain till the day I have to leave all of you.

Learning and our ego.

2011-10-13T01:28:00.000-07:00

At the Semarak Hill this morning, I met this young man who asked me the meaning of the word 'g-o-n-e'. I told him the pronunciation and the meaning. 'Gone' just means no more, no more to be found or seen. Then, he says, "What about 'Let bygone be bygone?"
So, I told him that by adding the 'by' to the 'gone' the meaning has changed; that 'bygone' is what is past and the sentence means 'let the past be past' and therefore 'no need to bring it up again'. With that he nodded and smilingly told me he was trying to learn some English Language. In fact, that was the second time he asked me the meaning for an English word. Of course, it was my pleasure to help him. It is always heartening to see someone wish to improve himself and God must have sent him to give me the opportunity to help.

Do you know how daunting it is for a grown person to learn a new language. It is all the obstacles that our ego put up. There are all kinds of fears and all of them are imaginary. All the obstacles are imaginary. And even if there are some individuals who would dare to laugh at our mistakes, we ought to realise, the courage to learn is greater than the needless and valueless discouragement that are encountered. Furthermore, any mockery can never be an obstacle unless we allow it to become one. For this reason I respect all those who take up the desire to learn a language at that age. There is the indication of greatness in the act.

I know of a young lady, small in built but very energetic, who knew hardly any Mandarin or English after her schooldays. She only studied the Malay language in school. Today, this lady can speak good Mandarin, although there are still mistakes made every now and then which are sometimes corrected by her children. (Her children are studying in schools with Mandarin as the medium of instruction.) From my observation of her, she readily accepts the correction and sometimes even asks for a repetition of the phrase corrected. Her English was not as good although she could speak the language as if it were her mother tongue, rattling away whatever instructions she wishes to convey without much thought to the grammar or the correctness of the sentence. Of course, there were times her language could tickle those within hearing distance as the meaning brings forth all kinds of different unintentional messages. And the beauty of it is that she takes all these in her strides. It does not stop her from learning from her mistakes and practising the language. She improves.

As I see it, she is one lady who would not allow ego to be an obstacle to her advancement. Many less courageous people would have stopped and called it a day but not this pillar of strength. And this, despite her knowing that she does make mistakes. There was once when someone could not understand what she wanted and I was requested to explain to the other person what she wanted. And of course, when it came to formal letters, I have helped to correct her attempts. For me, it has always been a pleasure to be of help to such great people who can overcome their ego to reach their goals in life. Thank god, I was given the opportunity to help.

Actually, our ego can either take us to greater heights or leave us struggling to get up. It was my ego to be better that helped me to overcome my parents' financial position and the weakness of my younger days. Many have not dared to approach others for help partly because of their ego, partly fearing that others would see their weakness. But then, who does not have weakness? All of us do have, more or less. And unless we realise our weakness, how do we ever hope to overcome them and reach for our strengths? In fact I thank God for allowing me to know my weakness so that I could slowly but gradually work on them to emerge stronger in my later years. Today, I can say that I am what I am because of the efforts I put in in overcoming those weaknesses. But then, if I had denied being weak, I would not have strove to be better.

Exemplary Jack Lalane for a long healthy life.

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

To live a long healthy life, we must all look at exemplary Jack LaLane, who since the age of fifteen did everything that was healthy to perform physical feats few of us can ever dream of doing. Imagine the man swimming long distances in the sea, tied hands and feet, dragging a huge boat at the age of 62!

This is the man who, at the age of 54, beat 21 year-old body-builder,Arnold Schwarzenegger in an informal contest! Well, what can I say but that his feats are incredible. He could outdo any man half his age! Sorry, there's just no way anyone can change that anymore. Although his favourite joke was: "I hate dying; it would ruin my image", he had to go when the good Lord called. Finally, he had to call it a day despite being able to exercise to his very last, having stayed alive healthily for 96 years.

If only he had lived past hundred, it would have been great for that is what I aim to reach. But even if I do, there were many things he did I could never have done. That, I would have to admit. Nevertheless, he is a great one for anyone to look up to.

Oh, yes, there are certain things in his nutrition that are similar to mine. Like him, I consume lots of raw organic vegetables and that is a good thing for everyone. I'll tell about that in another posting. And I love eggs too. However, unlike him, I eat the yolk as well although many people would tell me it contains a lot of cholesterol. For that, I would tell them, our body needs cholesterol and if we exercise enough, the good cholesterol (HDL) will be more than the bad cholesterol (LDL)and that is important. Furthermore, it is the white with the yolk that makes eggs a whole food. And I totally agree with this great fit giant about processed food and junk food.

Well, I would encourage everyone to go into the net and look into his biography and read about the fantastic performances of this great fitness guru. There is already so much written about him that I feel this is sufficient motivation to find out more.

As cost rises, preventing cancer is the best option.

2011-10-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

"Cancer Costs Becoming Unsustainable" is what I read on my own blog under the heading 'In the news' provided by the Free Dictionary.

According to the news article, about 12 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year, and the cost of treating cancer is becoming unaffordable. To me. that is good news, although I am no doctor.

Have you noticed that it is when things get rough that we get tougher. The guy who never exercise thinks of starting on it only when he falls sick. Never earlier! It takes sickness to get people to think of their health, to think of exercise. So, if cancer becomes unaffordable to try and cure, people would start paying attention to preventive steps. As for me, exercise is essential to me as I do not wish to live as a sickly man dependent on anyone.

It has been known for a good number of years the possible causes of cancer; one of the most important being our own immune system. And with the internet, knowledge on the type of nutrients and activities essential to a good immune system is available at all times. So, what is there to prevent us from searching for knowledge on nutrients such as vitamin C, E and beta carotene (vitamin A), vitamin B12, chromium, zinc, vitamin D, calcium, potassium, selenium, magnesium, glutathione,coenzyme Q-10 and calciferous vegetables as well as friuts that can help our immune system prevent cancer.

I have also read a book in which an Australian doctor used green papayas and papaya leaves to overcome cancer. I eat at least three raw young papaya leaves each day and I must add that I have not been sick, not even with the cold for a long, long time. I have also read of sprouts giving new life to our cells. And there is this book, 'The One Minute Cure' which uses 'hydrogen peroxide', my present interest, to cure cancer. The knowledge is there in the internet. Of course, we have to be cautious in searching for information on the internet but we can find out from people who have taken it whether what was written can be relied on.

With costs so high and the cure getting unaffordable and so not so easily within reach, people will be more willing to search for knowledge to help themselves. So this high cost may be a blessing in disguise.

Ego sometimes blind us to possiblities.

2011-10-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

I received an email in which the following story was written or taken from somewhere. As it is obviously something we should share, I take the opportunity to put it into my blog so that whoever comes in could enjoy and benefit from it as I have.

It is indeed a touching story. True or not, I do not know but let's just learn something from it.

As for the title, perhaps we could have: Never judge a book by its cover.

A lady in a faded grey dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun suit walked in timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Harvard.

"We want to see the President "the man said softly.
"He'll be busy all day "the secretary snapped.
"We'll wait" the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president.
"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave" she said to him.
The President, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on "campus."
The president wasn't touched....He was shocked. "Madam" he said, gruffly,
“We can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died.
If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."
"Oh, no" the lady explained quickly "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard."
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?"
Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name. Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

Most of the time we judge people by their outer appearance, which can be misleading. And in this impression, we tend to treat people badly by thinking they can do nothing for us. Thus we tend to lose our potential good friends, employees or customers.
Remember
In our Life, we seldom get people with whom we want to share & grow our thought process. But because of our inner EGO we miss them forever.

It is you who have to decide with whom you are getting associated in day to day life.
a concluding note:

Small Minds talk about People;

Average Minds talk about things,

Fine Minds discuss ideas;

Great Minds Act in Silence!

Ways to rest so as not to have to suffer pain.

2011-09-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

When we think of strength, the thought of exercise and movement comes to mind. Most of the time, we forget the fact that the body needs rest to grow and develop strength.

When we consider strength, it ought not to mean just sleep. We can perhaps sit down somewhere and relax the tired parts of our body. Give them a break for that is what they need to stay strong and healthy.

Most of us have been told through books, trainers and teachers or even parents that sleep is the time when tired muscles recuperate, release the tension from the muscles and grow in size and power. We wake up the next morning refreshed, the aches gone and we are ready for work and play.

However, sleep is not the only time when we can give our overworked body and its muscles rest. Change of activity and movement also gives muscles and tendons of a certain part of our body the opportunity to relax as other parts get into the new movements required in the change of activities.

Let us take a hawker as an example. Hawkers sometimes have to stand for long hours at their jobs. As a result, they overstrain their leg muscles and tendons. The end up with pain in their legs. If they could shift to another activity in their jobs then it is possible to avoid such pain. For example, after serving customers by taking food to the tables and returning with used bowls for an hour, they could exchange jobs with their assistants and do some washing or cooking instead. This can prevent overworking a certain part of body, giving it a reprieve during the exchange of activity.

White-collar jobbers face the same problem. They sit slouched at their computers for too long, sometimes straining their neck in a particular angle resulting in pain to the neck and the back. Again it is over-straining of a certain part of the body. What they need is to get off their chairs away from their computer to take a walk and do some other task. If that proves to be difficult as most of the work needs to be on the computer, then get a chair with a moveable, adjustable back and arm-rest so that positions can be changed every now and then, as often as possible. Otherwise, pain will be the consequence.

So, rest may not necessarily be total rest but rather a change of position or action which involves another set of muscles and tendons, thus affording rest for certain parts of the body.

How can anyone win a lottery without buying one!

2011-09-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

Below is an email I received recently in which a method is claimed to be used to get someone to part with some cash. I cannot verify the truth of this happening but then to know this can only put us on guard just in case we are the next victim of such a scam. Well, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Besides that, how can anyone be so naive to believe that a lottery can be won without buying or entering one?

If you see RM200K in your bank account, don't be overjoyed !!
Read on and you will be shocked !!!

Beware times are bad !!!!

Any cheque banked in into your account need a few days to transact. Although the amount appears in your account, but it's still pending for transaction, the person issuing the cheque can cancel the cheque at any time!

A few days ago, one of my friends received a sms with the message: "You've strike 1st prize with a prize money of RM200,000 cash." The sms came with a contact no. My friend ignored it since he had heard of too many bogus scams using
similar tactics. After a short while his handphone rang, a Miss Fang asked: "Sir have you received an sms telling you that you've strike 1st prize?"

My friend answered: "Yes, I have"

Miss Fang: "Please let us have your bank account number so that we can deposit the money into your account."

My friend thought, why not, let's see what you can do. My friend has a buddy who works in that bank. Hence, he gave her his account number. Ten minutes later, my friend's handphone started ringing again.

Miss Fang said: "Sir, we have deposited your prize money into your account, please check and verify."

My friend checked using his handphone and found that RM 200,000 was really deposited into his account. He was euphoric, just like that and he's RM 200,000 richer!

Thirty minutes later, Miss Fang called again. She was crying: "I'm sorry sir, I made a mistake, I forgot to deduct the tax before I deposited the prize money, 20% of RM 200,000 equals to RM40,000. Now the company wants me to reimburse the money. Can you please return the RM 40,000 tax? I beg you."

My friend thought for a while and felt pity for the lady. Thinking of the money in his bank account, he went to the bank. Suddenly he thought of his buddy working in that bank and decided to ask his buddy to double check and confirm with him first. Upon checking, his buddy found out that the money was deposited using a cheque of a different bank. Even though the cheque was deposited but the actual amount of money can't be transferred into his account on the same day. If the other party decided to
cancel the cheque, then he'll not get this RM 200,000. My friend was shocked. He almost lost RM 40,000. Before my friend left for home on that day, the cheque was actually cancelled. If not for his buddy, if not for him being a professional, or if he was cared of letting others know of striking the prize then this bogus scam would be successful.

This is a true story, please beware. Future scams could be even better planned. Please don't forget to forward to your friends and relatives to warn them from being cheated. -- Thank you.

It's women who torment other women.

2011-09-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I met a lady with the courage to do things her way. This was told me by her own daughter who has great respect for her because of this. It is so because she totally agrees with her mother's belief that she must stand by her right to choose the way she ought to live and behave as long as what she does hurt no one. I fully endorse her view and so would hope to spread it too.

The young Indian lady friend told me about the time her father passed away. For the Indians, the Hindus, the married ladies wear something, something like a necklace as wear as a mark on their forehead to proudly but quietly announce to those who understands the symbol that she is married to someone.

Now, when the husband dies, the new widow is treated 'badly' by the other widows as the body of the husband is taken away for burial. First, the wife is not allowed to follow the husband's body to its last resting place. After that, the other widows are to decorate her face and dress her like a bride and then smear all that make-up on her face and make a mess of it.

This friend's mother refused to be treated thus, refused to have the spot between her eye-brows cleaned off, refused to have her face messed up and refused to have her husband's body go to its last resting place alone. She adamantly followed the funeral procession to his grave.

Of course, she was scolded for going against tradition. She did not relent despite all the voices of condemnation. Besides that, this said that she agreed with her mother's wishes and so told the relatives and friends to not force her mother do what she did not wish to do. She threatened to retaliate should they continue to harass her. With that, the others dared not continue to pester her and she achieved her desire to follow the procession with her face unblemished by interfering hands.

At one point, she pointed out to them that the tradition of burning widows at the time of cremation of the dead husbands' body had stopped because it was realised that the practice was cruel. She told them their torment of new widows is also cruel. If there was anyone who said that traditions must not be broken, then those women should follow the first tradition and have themselves burned together with their husbands. So, if that tradition could be stopped, there is no reason to enforced the later tradition. It is sadistic of older widows to cruelly treat new widows thus. And they, the widowed relative and friends had no answer to that.

In the cause of pain and torment to women, I have noticed that it is the women who wants such foul practices to continue. And this is not limited to Hindu culture. As far as I know, many Chinese young wives suffer at the hands of a good number of mothers-in-law. Somehow, the mothers-in-law have this territory control factor where the older lady must have control over everything, be it right or wrong.

It is time that people, regardless of their sex, race or religion, do what is right and remove all that is cruel or wrong.

Down with Tetanus.

2011-09-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

Last week, I received a call in the evening for help to get a dog to a veterinarian. According to my friend, Yeoh, this dog was obviously in deep trouble with a wound that refused to heal. I know that as it was the same dog I helped to carry down the hill at Semarak two weeks ago so that another friend could buy her some medicine for a wound and a broken leg.

Dogs with problems at the hill are fortunate to have a few kind souls who care enough for all living things to ensure that they have food and water each day. Besides that Yeoh would be the first to see what could be done for a dog should it be sick. When God put those dogs there, He also made sure such great, wonderful people are around too. These are the people I admire and respect a lot. Their kindness and sacrifice are never in question, examples of angels on earth.

Yeoh told me the dog did not have any appetite for food. However, when Yeoh had it taken to a vet we found that the muscles of her jaws are tightening due to tetanus. And once the jaw is locked, it would not be able to eat and that would be the end of her and her unborn puppies, for she was pregnant.

The vet wondered if we would have her out of her misery by putting her to sleep. But then Yeoh was thinking of her unborn puppies and enquired if it was possible to give those puppies a chance at life. So, the vet agreed to give the dog, 'Small Black', an anti-tetanus injection.

She was taken to my place as we were afraid that Yeoh's other dogs would give this new-comer no peace. Furthermore there was this fear that her dogs might be infected with tetanus should there be cuts and contact among them. So, it was sent to my place for some rest. The next day saw both of us so happy as the dog seem to be recovering. The knitted brows were no longer there. She could eat and drink. However, I noticed that there was no urination or defecation. On the third day, it seemed to have recoverd so well that it started to chase my son's fluffy white chickens, the silkies.

That evening we took her back to the vet for her second dose of anti-tetanus. Expecting nothing but further improvement, we were disappointed to find her getting worse with the eyes getting smaller and the knitted forehead back. Slower was her movement too. She took some food but was hardly able to swallow it. By afternoon, it was quite obvious that her condition was deteriorating. At six that evening, I found her dead.

There was nothing more to do but to pass the bad news to Yeoh and then bury her under my longan tree. Well, perhaps that was her fate. May she rest in peace.

On board Logos Hope.

2011-09-07T04:01:00.000-07:00

At Port Swettenham in Penang.

A visitor with the mascot.

Getting on board the ship, Logos Hope.

Myself in front of the ship which is in the background.

The Logos Hope.

A frontal view of the ship.

Once aboard, there is a talk and show on the ship and its mission.

Pictures with information of the ship.

More pictures of each year of the ship's existence.

More pictures.

What's a sextant?

Information about Logos Hope.

There are many books on display, one side for the children and the other side for adults.

These are some of the books my son and I bought from Logos Hope. I have not seen these titles in local bookshops, have you?

At the flip chart.

Still at the flip chart.

After selecting the books which were so cheap because it is a non-profit organisation, we lined up to pay for the books.

Then, as we move towards the cafeteria, there is this corridor where there are pictures with that part of the story connected to the picture told as you reach it.

After getting the books, it's time for a bite and a drink at the cafeteria.

At the cafeteria.

One of the attractive designs on board the ship.

Designs to decorate and beautify.

A map showing the ships journey to various ports throughout the world.

Refreshed, it 's time to go home with the many interesting books bought. Have to queue up to reach the exit as the ship was popular among the local people. In the background are flags of the various countries visited by the ship.

Look at the endless line of people boarding and alighting from the ship.

The history of Logos and the visit to Logos Hope.

2011-09-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

These are some of the books my son and I bought from Logos Hope. I have not seen these titles in local bookshops, have you?

And here is one interesting book with the title 'The Human Body Book' which tells you everything you need to know about the human body in a most interesting manner.

It gives you facts from our protective skin to our innermost organs

Here, for example, are our cells found in various parts of the body told in such a simple creative way, most teenagers and adults would find it interesting enough to learn something from it.

The receipt for the books I bought from Logos Hope.

The security label which was stuck to my sleeve after I have registered to enter the port.
*********************************

It was Malaysia's Merdeka Day, the 31st of August, 2011, that we chose to have a trip to Penang to go aboard the ship, Logos Hope which has been berthed at Swettenham Port, Penang Port Commission, since the 21st of August.

The first time I visited such a ship with books exhibited and for sale was more than twenty years ago at the same port. The ship my wife and I visited then was the Duolos. I remembered seeing so many books with titles that I had not seen in most of our bookstores.

So when a friend informed me of this ship. Logos Hope, I was determined to see the inside of the ship and the books it has.

To go on board we had to write our name and identity card before we were given a tag to be stuck onto our sleeve. It was a security measure to indicate to the authorities that we were there for the purpose of visiting logos Hope. Then, at the booth near the entrance to Logos Hope, we bought each of us a ticket at RM1.00 per person. We went up a flight of stairs and was immediately ushered to seats where a video introduced us to the ship which sails round the world with its books, crew and volunteers.

There were so many books and video discs with titles suitable for children on one side while they have books for the adults on another side. It was a worthwhile and enjoyable visit, returning home with thirteen wonderful books.

Below is some history and knowledge about OM Ships International’s service with their floating book-fair to the world since 1970.

Logos Hope, previously a ferry, was purchased by OM Ships International to replace Logos II in 2004. It is much larger than Logos II giving more space for visitors and crew members.
After a complete renovation, Logos Hope was launched into active service in February 2009. OM Ships International is a private, non-profit, charitable organisation registered in Germany.
Logos II had stopped at over 300 ports of call and, in doing so, had visited 82 countries and territories, including Africa, the Americas, Europe, the Near East and many island nations. Having served for 20 years, more than ten million visitors had the opportunity to go on board for tours, programmes and visits to the floating book fair.
OM's first Logos served for 17 years, calling at 250 ports in 102 countries and visited by ,pre than seven million visitors until it ran aground in atrocious weather conditions in Tierra del Fuego, hitting rocks in the Beagle Channel between Argentina and Chile in 1988. Though the ship was badly damaged, not a single crewmember was lost, or even injured! God must have been watching over the crew for the wonderful work they have done.
Doulos began its service in 1977. With 32 years in service it had visited 603 ports in 104 countries, welcoming more than 21 million people on board. This unique ship has covered more than 350,000 Nautical Miles, equivalent to sailing around the world 16 times!
In March 2010, it was with great sadness that I heard this ship, which is recognised by the Guiness Book of records as the world’s oldest active ocean-going passenger ship, sold to a company in Singapore and its service as a floating book-fair coming to an end.
Why was I sad? Well, many years ago, wife and I had visited the Doulos when it berthed at Penang Island. That was the first time I visited such a floating book –fair. So, in 2010, when I heard that it was again near Malaysia, I was hoping it would come to Penang Island but was so disappointed to read in the news that it had been sold to a company in Penang.
So it was with joy that I heard another floating book-fair was to stop at the Penang Port Commission in Penang Island.
I looked forward to books that could possibly be available only from this ship. Not only that, the books at this book-fair is very cheap.

How is that possible? The company passes the commissions savings back to the purchaser of the books. They also have an online sales of books which offers lower shipping rates than other online booksellers, saving you even more!

A contrast to those wonderful people I wrote about yesterday.

2011-08-22T00:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I wrote about people whom I know to be some of the most wonderful people in the world, with not just plenty of love for their fellow humans but also for the animals. I also questioned how many would stop to help someone whom they do not know.

Well, today I read in the Star online that a hungry man waiting for his meal to break his fast during this holy month became angry with the waiter. upon being told that he would have to wait his turn as meals are delivered according to the placing of the order with the earlier orders delivered first before coming to the later orders, he lost his temper and beat up the poor waiter who was merely doing his job. Only the other waiters came to help to pacify the man while the others refused to be involved, allowing the poor waiter to be beaten up for about ten minutes when the other waiters had to run away when the man started to use the chairs to hit them.

According to the Star newspaper, a witness said, "The co-workers ran away, after which the man beat the victim for over 10 minutes before leaving. The other diners did not intervene." See! None of the others bothered to lift a finger to help the poor waiter. Here was a human in trouble; what if it had been just a little animal!

So, I was not exaggerating when I wrote that it takes goodness and greatness and all those beautiful humane qualities to be as God would have us be; to be sympathetic, compassionate and loving. Some people just do not have those qualities.

They are some of the most wonderful people on earth.

2011-08-21T05:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as I was trekking up the hill at Semarak, I saw this friend, Ah Fook, struggling down the hill with a big dog in his arms. Ah Fook was at most times suffering from pain in his joints due to gout. Nevertheless, there he was, his body bent sideways to support the dog which was hurt in its belly and one of its legs.

Seeing him almost unable to carry on any further with his task, I quickly offered him my help to take over his task. Even though I was stronger, I still found the dog sufficiently heavy to wish to reach the bottom of the hill as quickly as possible with it in my arms, as my arms were feeling the strain of its weight.

When we reached the foot of the hill, Ah Fook was just behind me, anxious more for the dog than for his painful joints. I put the dog, which was unable to walk, under a tree. It was too early to get the right type of medicine for it. So we had to leave it there with Ah Fook insisting on coming back later with the medicine for the dog.

The dog was fortunate to have a friend in Ah Fook as, with his help, the dog was certainly much better this morning. Ah Fook brought along food as well as the medicine for the dog and it surely was hungry for it quickly gobbled up every little piece of food that was brought. Ah Fook is obviously one of those beautiful people who not only love his fellow humans but also the animals that could be tamed. I believe he could even love a tiger if the tiger had allowed him to go close enough.

Ah Fook is not the only person I know of who cares for all living things. Yeoh, a small beautiful lady, has just as big and great a heart as the best of all the wonderful people I know. Once she heard about a couple who had to move elsewhere to work, leaving two dogs in their house unattended. Yeoh immediately offered to help, driving out of her way to feed the dogs using her own money and wash the area the dogs had to stay. After many months, when she got a place of her own; she was staying with her sister before this; she asked the couple for permission to take those two dogs home so that she could care for them. What a gal!

Not only that! Once a friend's cat was sick. No, it was actually not this friend's cat. This friend, Teoh, saw a poor cat knocked down by a car. It laid on the ground attempting without success to move. Teoh went out of his car to see what he could do for the cat. He found it with a hurt leg, quickly took it into his car and drove home. Uncertain as to what to do, he phoned Yeoh and Yeoh phoned me to ask my son to look at the cat to see what was wrong with it. So, it was that they came to my place at about eleven that morning. No bones seem to be broken, just pain and trauma, so the four of us took it to a shop which sells medicine for animals and then took it along for our lunch as by then it was well past one o'clock.

Well, a cat took up so much of Teoh's and Yeoh's time although it was the first time they have ever laid eyes on it. Would every human do the same for any animal? Well, not every human. That is why I consider such friends extraordinary. I believe God will always look after such wonderful people. If only the world is populated by such wonderful humans, what a beautiful world this would be. God would be so proud of us too.

Do gays come from God?

2011-08-18T06:21:00.003-07:00

Recently, there was much discussion in the internet concerning gays when news revealed that a gay pastor was marrying her boyfriend. It caught my attention and I must say that I could not help but went into the net to find the truth.

As far as I know gays are what they are because of their feelings. Mentally and emotionally, they are of one sex while possessing the body of another. Poor them! It's like having to fit their round bodies into square spaces; perhaps the other way around.

This pastor, for example has a male body but his or her mind and emotions are female. With the mind and emotions of a female, she falls for a male, obviously.

But then, many are of the opinion that such minds and emotions are either cultivated or a result of certain unfortunate or undesirable desires of the gay.So, what is the truth? The truth, I believe, is important as we should not hamper or obstruct a person who genuinely think and feel as a female if that person could only find happiness in being one. It would be wrong of us to deny a person his/her right to find happiness in this world as long as he/she hurts no one.

So, into the internet I went and read about a pair of male twins, one of whom behaved like a female even from the age of eighteen months. Certainly, someone at that tender age cannot have thought of changing the sex he was given at birth. Could it have been in the genes? Yet, the other twin was behaving correctly for his sex! So, it was not genes, perhaps!? And when asked at a later age whether he was happy with feeling and thinking like a female, he gave an affirmative answer. Now, scientist have not come to the conclusion that it was genes. Still, that male child grew up with all the emotions and thoughts of a female. Like it or not, that child was a gay even before he understood anything about differences in sex.

Then again, there was another research that found gays are most often found in all boys' families. How is that so? Scientist are still trying to find a reason for it. Scientist have not come out with a firm verdict on how gays come about. However, from the study on the twins, it is a fact that a male child as young as eighteen months feel and therefore behave like a female. Can we fault this gay? Apparently, he was created this way. It needs not be considered a mistake of God in creating a gay just as we do not look upon the blind, the deaf, the dumb and the crippled as mistakes in God's creation. I would say they were created with a mission on earth. It could have been the mission to inspire the ordinary who finds no incentive to achieve more. This, in fact, was again indicated to me what had earlier dawned upon me; especially when I was having a five-year old blind girl pianist overwhelm me with her talent at the piano. If she can perform so well at that age despite her supposedly handicap, why can't we ordinary folks do better with our own capabilities? For myself, I am fortunate to have these people remind me to strive even harder and achieve even more; as a result of which I do three types of jobs, teaching, breeding and massaging, at the age of sixty-five despite having retired as a school teacher for ten years.

And because of them, I appreciate what I have even more so much so I use all my capabilities as much as possible for as long as possible. No, I am not tired from doing so much and enjoying so much; I am happy.

Coming back to gays, perhaps it is time ordinary people allow them space to live their lives as befits their mind and emotions. Let us be more understanding, more sympathetic, more compassionate with our fellow humans. Let us not create more pain and suffering. As it is there is sufficient pain throughout the world to not need us to add to it.

Are religions as God wishes?

2011-08-16T02:21:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, in Malaysia, there are so many problems due to a few objectives that religions are so zealous about. And it is not without good reason that they aim to keep the members of their faith from straying to another faith. After all, it is human nature to ensure that members of any organisation they belong to increase in number in time. This good intention could be considered good if it does not bring along anger and distrust when there is suspicion that someone is straying.

When there is such suspicion, there is anger against those thought to be straying and distrust of the people such suspected strays or wayward ones associates with. With that comes accusing fingers that other faiths could be stealing their members.
And it becomes a very sensitive issue, an issue which can divide friends and citizens.

And I always thought, and still do, that religion is God's teaching for the good of all mankind, not just for a selected group or nation. Read the holy books and they teach us that everything on earth is the creation of God. As such, we must respect each other, respect other people their ways of living and their beliefs. The holy books urged us to be good to each other for all men and women are brothers and sisters, to forgive or be merciful, to be compassionate as we are all fallible humans. In Christianity, God even sent His son to die for our sins.

Yet, throughout the world so many problems arise due to religion. Man knows the greatness of God and with that understanding, some abuse His name to achieve their own ends. Sometimes I wonder how such people can pretend to be holy and religious and perform deeds obviously far from the wishes of God.

I write the last sentence through my own personal experience. You see, as a young man I was very interested in spiritual things and God. I searched for truth in many places, entering temples, churches and mosques. I still remember the time I was given a white robe to wear before stepping into a mosque. I talked to mediums, pastors and priests. I watched as elderly women who claimed not to have married because of giving time to God. Unfortunately for religions, I happened to witness with my own eyes and ears a happening which caused me to look even deeper into religions.

There was this old lady with her beads, her mouth wording prayers as she slowly walked along. A young man suddenly came through the door and went hurriedly past her into an inner portion of the house. The lady's chanting suddenly stopped and turning slightly towards the receding figure of the man who had just passed, she cursed him. It was a great shock to me. How could such a seemingly religious person utter such words? But, that was what she did! My eyes and ears certainly did not deceive me.

So, as a result of that shock I examined in further detail the various practices in religions. I found that, although there was much that must be true, there are some words that must have been put into God's mouth. And as religions divide themselves into sects, we find that there are also so many different interpretations of God's words. Which is right? Well, I found that the humans in a particular sect would consider their own interpretation as correct and others wrong.

With so many differences, which religion should I join? Eventually, although I like and enjoy the practices of some religions, I decided to just be with God as I have through my life known that God is always with me. Each day I thank God for that.

Society should be more sympathetic to transexuals.

2011-07-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

Today I read a comment on sex change refusal by a court of law by a reader in the Malaysian Chronicler in which he said: In Islam, sex change is TOTALLY haram (=not allowed). We do not allow anyone to change the gender, as by doing so we will be changing Allah's creation.
The only exception to this ruling is related to a person who has both gender potentials in the body, so a medical treatment can be sought to unify one gender. In this case it will be a correction, and not a change in the creation of Allah, the Almighty.

After reading what has been reading I could not help but felt that human thinking must change in order that the world could be a happier place.

Firstly, let me proclaim myself as someone who certainly believe in God and have great respect for all religions. However, I do not join any religion as from an early age I have found much added thought, teachings and rules of humans in the various religions.

Having said all that, I believe that scientific facts are irrefutable and God teachings must be right for all times, before and after such times when such scientific facts are discovered.

With that in mind, I could not help but try to enlighten someone with the following piece of explanation. (As I am no God but a fallible human, I can be quite egoistic at times and it is at such times that I try to impart what I feel others need to know.)

And I must not forget to add that God's creation is perfect. It is human intervention or careless actions that cause imperfections. Science have revealed that a child may be born with certain imperfections due to consumption of undesirable substances such as certain kinds of medicine or a lack of certain nutrients in the human body. One of these ntrients could be folic acid, the presence of which has been found to be important for the healthy development of the foetus in the mother's womb even from the very beginning. So, we are actually not correcting God creation. God does not need any correction!

Well, this is what I wrote:

Dear ........,
I totally agree with you that we should not play God and change what he has created. Yet, as you yourself said, if the person has two gender potentials in the body, a medical treatment can be sought to unify one gender. However, we humans very often forget that it is not the physical only that is involved. There is also the emotional side. If a person has female emotions, feel and think as a female but possess a male body, which do you think should be the more important, the emotions or the physical? I believe it is the emotions as there is no way we can change the emotions and feelings God has given us. However, medical science can and do help such people in such circumstances by making physical changes so that they can live happier lives. You see, it is also what you call making corrections.

I hope more people could see my point so that more people could be happy and not die of hopeless desperation when these people are born with female emotions trapped in a male body, forced to live a life that can never find fulfillment.

No, I am not unfortunate to be born like Eleesha (the poor man who died when his heart gave way as he felt his whole world collapse after a court refused to allow him to change his sex although he already had a sex operation in Thailand two years ago) but I understand such things as I studied this in my quest for enlightenment. That they do feel the way they do is a fact which all educated humans ought to understand. We should understand these fellow brothers and sisters and not make their lives worst with our own unjustified morals.

Neither a lender nor a borrower be.

2011-07-31T05:20:00.000-07:00

At the hill the other morning, a friend told me about one of her lady friends who is in the habit of borrowing money from her. Before the last time, all the borrowed money had been returned. The last loan she gave her friend was merely five hundred.

Surprisingly, when the friend borrowed the money she gave this friend a gold necklace as collateral. So abrupt and unexpected was this move that the friend did not know what to say or do. Recovering from the unprecedented action, she asked her whether she was supposed to keep the necklace; to which the friend nodded. So, unquestioningly, she kept it.

It has been a year now, her keeping that necklace, without any sign of her friend intending to return her the money. Not only that, that friend seem to no longer want to meet her. Thus, the last time she phoned her she invited her out for a meal and she refused the invitation giving some excuse. Sensing that it could be the loan that is preventing them from meeting as friends, she told her that the invitation had nothing to do with the money, to no avail.

Looks like she would have to hold on to the necklace and probably have to forget about her money. Her friend must have considered it good exchange. Unfortunately, there was no actual agreement to convert the loan and the collateral into an exchange. Certainly, she would not be wearing someone else jewellery, would she? Even though the price of gold has gone up, it is not hers. What if, one day, the friend wants it back?

Well, my advice to her was to just keep the jewellery and to prevent any further unhappiness over the affair, just forget the loan and consider it a gift instead.

Understanding money, I know that it is one matter that can cause a lot of happiness as well as a lot of grief. Lend it to somebody and if that somebody is greedy enough to try to forget having taken a loan and time works on the money's return with it digging into our brain, causing a lot of presumptions and leaving us uneasy at the least and mad at the worst.

There was a time, as I was heading to the supermarket to purchase something, I met this guy who smiled at me, greeted me like an old friend and wondered how I could ever have forgotten him. Frankly, I had no idea who he was. He got me to guess who he was and when I mentioned a group of friends, he said he was in that group. Then, he told me the sad story of realising how he should have never got married, that he was a the supermarket thinking of how he could buy a tin of milk for his baby. All he needed was fifty ringgit. He even asked for my phone number and said that should he be able to return the money, he honestly said he did not know when, he would phone me. However, if I do not hear from him, it just meant that he was still jobless and without any money to return.

Listening to that, uncertain whether he was the friend he claimed to be, I told myself "What is fifty ringgit between friends?" That thought cost me fifty ringgit and I was left with insufficient money to make my own purchase. So, after giving him the money, I turned back to my car and drove home. To this day I do not know whether I have been duped or I have been of help to a friend. I do not consider it a loan. It was just a small gift from me. Furthermore, I was able to thank God for being in a position to help.

When it comes to money, although I am far from being rich, my able management of it has helped me greatly to be neither a borrower nor a lender.

Know your partner well.

2011-07-30T05:43:00.000-07:00

I read in the newspaper, 'The Star', about a lady student who allowed a man she had known through Facebook to move into her place just after two months.

The thing that I question is how reckless could she be when she herself admitted that she did not even know whether the man was a student or already working. She did not even know whether he had a job. She only presumed that he was rich and later discovered that he was constantly asking her for money. All this ignorance about her boyfriend clearly showed that her relationship must be more for lust than love. Of course, I known love can be blind but definitely not this blind. Love develops through knowledge of a person's strength and the appreciation of them. The woman was certainly not looking at all before she leaped onto his lap.

According to statistics, this is a fairly common case. And the victims are usually from the fairer sex. Some of these ladies must be really hungry for love.

As for this particular lady, she was very soon dissatisfied with her relationship with him. Whenever she complained about it, the man would assault her; punches, slaps and even burns from cigarettes. Why did she not leave him immediately she discovered her mistake?

Looks like the man had a hold over her. He had nude photographs of her. That is another big mistake she made; allowing another person to take photos of her in the nude. He threatened to expose those photos should she leave him.

She did leave him eventually when she could slip out of the house after removing the mobile phone and its memory card from him. It is a lesson she has learned well, hopefully.

According to the news, many vindictive men photograph their girlfriends and their spouses with the intention of releasing copies of such photographs. With the internet available easily, photos can be posted for everyone's eyes.

Apparently, the world is getting smaller and more dangerous in certain aspects. The fairer sex have to be more knowledgeable and be more vigilant; know the possible dangers that lurk in the activities and take all necessary precautions. Certainly, there are times of misjudgement and things go wrong. Well, that is part of living. Nevertheless, just be careful.

Bags can be dangerous to children.

2011-07-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

Children are creative. They explore. The go into places no adult would want or dare to go. Because of that we must watch out for children at play.

It is not just bags that present danger to children. Actually, many things are dangerous. Even children playing at hide and seek might want to hide in narrow spaces, spaces too narrow to come out of. This year alone, I have read of two children, each from a different country, squeeze themselves into tiny openings between two walls or partitions to hide themselves from their playmates to find themselves unable to get out of the places. The authorities had to be summoned to help with their axes and hammers.

Coming back to the topic of bags, there was the kid who had this plastic bag which he thought could be used to cover himself. Fate was unkind to him and the parents found the poor child suffocated.

The other day, a friend told me about a neighbour who left her two children in the house while she went elsewhere. The younger sibling decided to hide from the sister by entering a big bag and somehow managed to close it. Or was it the sister who noticed him getting into the bag and closed him inside? This is more probable as it would be difficult to lock oneself in. Anyway, the sister panicked when she found she could not unlock the bag to get her brother out. Her screams of fear attracted the attention of this friend. He went to investigate and found the child locked inside the bag. And the bag was one of those which had combination locks which could only be opened if you know the numbers.

Unable to open the bag, this friend quickly phoned the neighbour to tell her the predicament. However, as she could not remember the combinations, the only way was to break open the bag with a big chisel. Fortunately, he managed to break it open for the young boy to escape from suffocation. The young boy was already weak and sweating by the time he was rescued.

Of course, anything that can be entered and become too difficult to escape from because the door can be too tight or locked is a danger to adventurous children. There was a case of a child trapped in a refrigerator. I cannot remember what happened after that but that is immaterial. The fact is such things can become a danger to our children.

Well, it is obvious that children ought to be taught the danger of playing with such things. Tell them about these things whenever there is news of such dangers. Direct their attention to such dangers and tell them the consequences. Explain to them what can possibly happen when children like them play with such things.

Some people say children are too young to learn such things. That is just not true. Children are clever and can understand such dangers if parents take the trouble to slowly and painstakingly explain with lots of examples how death can occur and what death means; the lost chance to see the siblings and parents as well as their friends, the lost chance to enjoy the many things in life. Use examples that they can understand. If they like ice-cream, tell them there will be no more opportuity to enjoy ice-cream. If they love their grandma, they not have the chance to be hugged and loved by their grandma. These are things children will understand.

Another trip to Penang National Park.

2011-07-01T01:43:00.000-07:00

Here's the entrance to a number of places in Penang National Park. The registration office for visitors is before the entrance, on the right of the picture.

On the way up the hill to Pantai Keranchut, is this dug out path.

And there are also concrete steps in certain parts.

At the end of the path of this hill is a bridge. After this bridge you see a lake on your left and the sea on your right.

Here is the unique meromictic lake.

And if you turn to the other side, there is the beautiful beach,

the sea and the beautiful blue sky. Once a British lecturer told me a sky can only be termed beautiful if there are no cloulds. I think that is because a cloudy sky in England would mean colder weather and so cannot be considered beautiful, For me, the texture of the clouds plastered on a beautiful blue background on a hot tropical day is beautiful. Of course, she did not agree with my comments but I accepted her view as I could place myself in her position in a cold country.

Coming back to the lake, it is known as a meromictic lake. I searched for the word 'meromictic' but was unable to find it. However, 'mero' means partly or partially. According to the information given, a meromictic lake has two layers of water, sea water below and fresh water above, that do not mix. This lake is the only one of its kind in Malaysia. Throughout the world there are only 19 places such lakes exist.

Looking back at the bridge.

Even have beautiful flowers on the beach!

Turtles! Little one day old baby turtles kept in a fibre-glass tank at the conservation centre.

A picture of a dead dolphin found in Keranchut Beach on 12th October 2008.

Below is the skeleton of the dolphin.

Another lonely beauty on the beach.

After the rain we enjoyed at Pantai Trampi (Trampi Beach), all soaking wet, it was a boat ride back to the registration centre.

And a chance to enjoy the coast line from the sea. Of course this is taken only when the rain stopped as the camera could have been spoiled by the rain.

Hey! That's caged fish-rearing.

And it's towards the jetty at the registration centre.

Recently, we made another trip to the Penang National Park. It started with lovely weather but ended with a storm. So, unlike the first time, the rain made the trip most memorable.

Sometime last year we went to this park and we were lost coming back from Pantai Trampi. This time there was no opportunity to be lost as we were ready with cut newspapers to be scattered on the ground for us to retrace our steps. Well, we may plan but sometimes fate just comes to give us some surprises.

We reached the starting point at Batu Ferringgi where we, as required, registered ourselves as visitors to Pantai Keranchut and Pantai Trampi, both places only accessible by sea or over hills.

At Pantai Keranchut, we again came to the only lake in Malaysia which contains two types of water, sea water and fresh water, separated because of their different densities. Here, we get to see newly hatched turtles at the tu8rtle conservation area.

After our lunch we went on across another hill to Pantai Trampi. As we reached Pantai Trampi, rain came. It was heavy and the wind was strong. For me it was refreshing but very soon all of us were drenched to the skin. So, we phoned for a boat agreeing to pay ten ringgit each; there were thirteen of us.

In the meantime, since no shelter could prevent us from being totally wet, we looked for whatever plastic bags we had and put out hand phones and car-keys into them. Then we just played in the rain on the beach.

Soon the boat came. The boat merely had a canopy top which was hardly able to keep the rain off our faces and bodies. Huddled in the boat with the wind blowing in our face, it was cold. About forty minute's ride later, as it were coming near to the Batu Ferringgi starting point, the rain stopped just in time for me to take ut my camera to take some photos.

Cold and wet we quickly changed into some dry clothes. By then we were quite hungry and so went in search for food and after that we headed for home.

Our back is weak.

2011-06-29T00:45:00.000-07:00

This is the dumbbell I use for my rowing exercise. It is also being done to prepare myself for the next kayak competition that is sometime in October this year.
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No matter how big you are or how strong you appear to be, your back is one of the weakest part of your body.

As a masseur, I have come across numerous strong persons who suffer from a weak back. This weakness could be due to insufficient exercise for the back. Very few people seem to bother about muscles in the back, except for those professional or aspiring body-builders.

When we think of a beautifully, muscled body, we first think of the arms; big biceps, not even triceps, big forearms, chest muscles, and abdominal muscles. Well, man is an egoistic being and those are the parts he can exposed for others to appreciate most often. Of course, those who visit the beach and wear swimming costumes also think of their legs. But the back! Who looks at it? Even the guy himself hardly sees that part of his body. So, not much effort is put in to improve the back.

Imagine a front that has strong, taut muscled chest and stomach and a back that has hardly any developed muscles. A strong front and a weak back. no wonder we see quite a number of the body-building people forever arched forward for two reasons; compressing the front muscles to show them off or the back too weak to straighten the body. So we have a unbalanced body.

A weak back would mean no strong enough muscles holding up the vertebrae. The spinal column is not well supported by strong enough muscles. Therefore, if there is strain upon the spine, something may give way. It could be the weak muscles or the spine. Whichever it might be, there would be pain.

So most people suffer from pain due to twisting or turning the body too fast for the muscles to perform that movement well. So we have a twisted back. See how easy it is to hurt the back? Even picking up something from the floor can hurt the back if the back is weak and the action is wrongly carried out. Wrongly carried out? What do I mean? Well, there are two ways to pick or lift up something; the correct way is to bend the legs at the knees to go down and the wrong way is to bend the back to stretch down. The wrong way with a weak back can bring pain to the lower back. And once a part of the spine has been weakened, the problem can return again and again unless, we do systematic strengthening of the back. Improper method of strengthening can hurt the back. It has to be a slow gradual process and I believe yoga is the best way.

Even bending too long at a certain task can lead to back problems. There are those who sit at computers should get up every hour or so to stretch and straighten their backs. And it is important that we try to sit with a correct posture. There are people who slant their bodies or the angle of their necks as they work away at the computer. To prevent a painful back in future such people have to do something about their posture, straightening their backs or getting a better chair which would not cause them to slouch.

And how many people slouch in their chairs every evening as they relax in front of their television. That curved lower back will with time weaken and be the cause of pain. Why, some people even slouch as they drive around. Imagine their poor cramped lower back and they wonder why their backbone is tight and stiff.

So, the way we sit, move and pick or carry things are important in the prevention of pain to our back. Just as important is developing a stronger back. One simple exercise I use is a rowing action with weights. I choose a dumbbell that I can comfortable row with for at least fifty times. Choose a weight that is right for you without straining too much. Hold the dumbbell with both hands and turn it in a rowing action with your body straight, turning only as and when required just as you would in rowing a boat. The aim is not to build muscles but to strengthen the back. Even when the back is strengthened, use the right action to pick or lift up things and hold the body in a good posture always.

A healthy excretory system is necessary.

2011-06-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

Besides the skin which helps us to dispose of our toxic wastes, there is our excretory system which takes out what our body does not need, such as excess liquids and food.

When it comes to food, it goes into our stomach, the food is digested and the remainder that has not been used goes down to the colon either to stay there for a short while or a day or even two or three days, sometimes a week or more before it is eliminated from the body.

How long the food stays in the colon depends upon a number of factors. One is the habit of flushing all the feces down every morning, afternoon or evening. Another is the amount of fibres in your diet.

If you have a habit of visiting your 'pleasure chamber' first thing in the morning,then you have not much of a problem.But there are people who are not in the habit of going to the toilet everyday. Some of them can even last for a week without having to bother about flushing waste down.

If that is the case, have we ever thought what could possibly be happening to the waste accumulated there in the colon, rotting there, emitting all kind of gas and multiplying all kind of bacteria and increasing the amount of toxins as a result. Would the toxins leach back into the body through the walls of the colon into the bloodstream into our body? Would not that add problems to the immune system and our health. That is exactly the reason why we have to remove waste as soon as it reaches its terminal point.

So as to avoid such a terrible occurrence, the best move is to eliminate all waste at the earliest possible, just before or after the next meal. Then, there would be no possible contamination of our body with unnecessary toxins. I believe three times a day is best and I have been able to achieve that with the amount of raw greens that I take together with my major meals.

Excess liquids which are not too much can help dissolve some of the waste to be removed through the kidneys and the liver through the urinary organs. However it is up to us to prevent our oprgans from deteriorating by taking clean water and nutritional liquids which do not tax our organs too much.

When it comes to the kidneys, there are a number of sicknesses that can cause renal failure. Other than those illnesses, we should ensure that there is sufficient blood flow as it is through good blood flow that toxins and wastes are brought to the kidneys for elimination from the body. Poor blood flow could be due to dehydration. It could, of course come about as a result of serious injury, burns, bleeding or even through blood loss from surgery. Therefore we should drink sufficient water.

The liver is another eliminating organ of importance. Yet we never think if its health. It's always heart, heart and heart but never the liver. And because of that the drinkers would take as much alcoholic drinks as they feel they can withstand. What about the amount our liver can withstand? What about the amount that can cause what is known as a fat liver? What if the amount we can stand is enough to burn the liver?

Well, I admit I was an egoistic drinker once during my heady young days. Challenging others just because I was clever enough to know how high I can go and stupid enough to think that I could beat them by secretly drinking some water and urinating out the alcohol. I thought i was great until God showed me how wrong I was. Thank God for that! One day, while I was at the hospital I met a middle-aged policeman who was observing his own shaking outstretched hand with tear-drops in his eyes. I was so moved that i just had to ask him what the problem was. He had a burnt liver from drinking alcohol drinks every evening. Since then I understood that was not the way I intended to go. So, I stopped drinking. But stopping is not as easily done as said. It took me a lot of determination and fighting off the "I know you can drink." that my well-intentioned friends constantly urged. Glad to say I won that round.

Sugar can be also a problem when it comes to a fatty liver. Since a fatty liver can lead to many problems and diabetes, we have to be careful about using too much sugar in our food and fruit juices. Why add sugar to fruit juices anyway? Furthermore, sugar looks like such an unhealthy food. Of course, not all kinds of sugar are bad as research seems to find certain kinds of sugar such as cane sugar and sugar from berries good. Whatever it is, limiting sugar intake is apparently a good move.

Well, obviously, looking after our body and its organs is just as important as the type of food, exercise and rest that we are so aware of.

Sweating for health.

2011-06-23T01:53:00.000-07:00

When I was young and desired greatly the company of beautiful girls, sweating was my worst problem as there just wasn't any way I could overcome it. So I faced it by remaining in the coolest places available and cooling down every now and then to remain dry.

Then I got married and my beloved wife accepted this wet guy with so much love that I forgot about the sweat and enjoyed ourselves. Sweating just became a part of me and was accepted. I just had to bathe and change clothes often besides using up lots of handkerchiefs. I also realised that my friends also accepted this hot sweating person as I was and am.

Looking back, I believe one of the reasons I have remained as healthy as I am is my ability to lose litres of water every day. In removing that amount of water, so much more toxic substances from the body is also expelled. And I think it is the largest 'removal organisation' in our body. Well, the skin has the largest surface to perform such a task. The more we sweat, the more we drink. And the more we drink, we either sweat more or create more urine. And the urinary tract with the help of the kidneys is another disposal unit we surely need to rid our body of those undesirable toxic substances.

Ah, before I go on, the man who drank too much water came to mind. There was this man who had kidney stones and went through an operation to remove the stones. The doctor advised him to henceforth drink more water. So, wherever he went he carried his bottles of water and, like the good patient he was, drank the litres of water throughout the day. He drank too much, urinated too much and landed in hospital. According to the doctor he was lucky to survive as too much essential minerals, especially potassium, have leached out in his urine. Without potassium, his heart could have stopped beating and that would mean the end of him. So, be careful! Drink enough water but not too much. Too much of a good thing can be, well, too much.

So those we sweat too much like me should include some dehydration salts in their water. However, I have read that sports drinks, those isotonic drinks may not be the best drink for us. What is suggested is sea salt or Himalayan salt. (I have been trying Himalayan salt but to this day I have yet to know how genuine are the Himalayan salts I have bought. I take it but cautiously. I am still reading up on it and hoping to find a brand in Malaysia which provides genuine Himalayan salt.) Sea salt and Himalayan salt are the natural salts found in the sea or in the Himalayans and are not processed like our white table salt.

Thus far, sweating has helped my body remove most of the dissolved toxic substances and through this I have remained healthy. Thank god for that. Of course, sweating is not the only way and so I will be returning to this removal of toxins in a future posting.

I love the rain.

2011-06-22T02:49:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to rain-drops pattering on my roof and the window panes. It must have been windy too. As usual I put on my track bottoms and T-shirt for my trek up the H- hill at Taman Semarak as I noticed that the rain was gradually slowing down.

By the time I reached the foothill there was just a drizzle. however, that was sufficient to discourage a good number of trekkers. As I went up I met a guy who would still go up even if it rains, sheltering himself with an umbrella. He is a young man, possibly in his early forties. The first time he saw me going up in the rain without a raincoat or an umbrella, he was amazed at my refusal to use an umbrella. Then, i told him that I love walking in the rain as i have always done in my childhood days. So, there are times he would chide me for having no rain to enjoy with whenever the sky is clear.

I love the rain as I have a body which heats up pretty easily, thus helping to bring on the sweat fast and furious. You know, there are advantages as well as disadvantages when it comes to having a heat-boiler which is too efficient. During my younger days, sweating easily during courting times can be embarrassing. Who would like to hug someone as sweaty and wet as I am. Well, only those who truly love me, of course! So, I can spot the pretenders anytime. Still it is a disadvantage even for a lovable creature like me. As for the advantages, I have to leave it for another time.

Right! Back to the rain. Another thing good about the rain is its washing away all the dirt on our roads and paths. Besides that as it pours down, it cleans the air of dust and floating particles that could be toxic. Thinking of toxic substances, its the chemical fumes and particles in the air which give us acid rain. With cleaner air, our lungs have a better chance to rid itself of stale and toxic substance that we inadvertently suck in as we breathe.

Thinking of acid rain, I remember reading about a time when there was no chemicals in the air to cause acid rain, when rain contains something good for the plants and us, a mild dose of hydrogen peroxide which helps gives plants and us more oxygen in the air we breathe. In fact, when i read that, how i wished I could stretch out my tongue to take in some drops of rain that is not acidic, that contains hydrogen peroxide. That is now just a wish.

With cleaner air and a cooler morning, the hill is certainly a more welcoming place to me and my friends. With such an atmosphere, we are also more relaxed and that is an excellent start to any day. So, it is not difficult to understand why i love the rain, pouring down on my body, cooling it, sweeping along with it all my tensions and whatever nagging thoughts that remain. Rain is indeed so refreshing to our body. It is one of the reasons God gave us rain.

Oh, yes! I almost forget that I have always gone into the rain for another reason. To this day I have hardly suffered from a cold. Even if a cold did come along, it was just for a couple of hours. With the coming of the sun, the cold disappears. Well, that's how it is with me. Thank God for that. I believe it is also because of the immunity that i have cultivated from being constantly exposed to the rain. It is with this understanding, that I got my children to play in the rain when they were at the age of three and four, possibly five. And they are just as immune against the rain to this day. (I have already written about them being allowed to play in the rain in a much earlier post.)

Half-way to Gunung Jerai? Destination: a waterfall.

2011-06-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

First a walk across a wide expanse of lovely flowers.

Then, its uphill around trees and palms.

Until we reach a stream.

And we wondered at some of the beauties in the area.

Even streams can come to a dead end- resulting in a pond.

Palms!

Wow! Did you see that! What?

Ferns!

Slow but steadily the water moves towards a waterfall.

Look! The water starts rushing down!

Wow! lots of pitcher plants here. These pitchers are an example of pitfall traps.

These pitcher plants trap insects for food.

Yes, these pitcher plants are carnivorous plants.

Lots of these plants here.

The humid, wet surroundings is suitable for these pitcher plants.

Come! Let's get down closer to the waterfall.

Here is the beginning of the waterfall.

Lovely greens!

And what lovely white 'lollipop' flowers are these?

A pitcher with water in it.

Certainly the right spot for pitchers to thrive.

And finally here's the waterfall. Look at that magnificent rock!

Listen to the water falling down to a lower level.

And back down the slopes to a rocky river down below.

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It was a last minute decision to go to Gunung Jerai at at least part of the way up to a waterfall, as it was already late and we could only get to meet after half past one in the afternoon.

From Sungai Petani we set out to Gurun and at a spot where we were near the mountain, we started. We reached a house, went into the compound and beyond the compound was the vast stretch of flowers on the ground. (The first picture.) From then on it was up slopes with tall trees and some kind of palm along the way.

Eventually we reached a stream with some exotic plants which could only be seen nearly flowing water at the edge of the stream. The rocks at the waterfall were a beautiful sight with its interesting layers. As it was past four o'clock by the time we had explored the area, we decided to retrace our steps as we did not wish to be lost in the darkness.

We returned to our vehicle at about six o'clock, had a drink and some snacks before we headed back after our enjoyable trip and companionship. From the photos in this posting, the waterfall, its fast flowing water and the plants found there were a delight to watch and examine.

Silence may be golden but communication is essential.

2011-06-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

Silence is golden as I have shown in two previous postings but good communication is necessary to convey our needs, desires and thoughts to fellow humans.There are many ways we can communicate. There is body language, sign language and verbal language. So, although there are times when we need to be silent and attentive to gain knowledge and gather opinions, we still need to utter something. However, as i have said before, there ought to be no verbal onslaught on the listeners. There should be communication and that means a two-way traffic or exchange of thoughts, ideas and knowledge.

Silence itself may lead us nowhere if no one starts a conversation. The person who intends to learn something may start with a question. Questioning is one of the best means to start a communication. It could be: Can I help you? Is there anything I can do for you? Where do you wish to go? Are you from this area? Where are you from? Can you tell me how this is done? Can you show me the way to .....? Such questions can lead to some explanation or talk on something. In fact, some of the friends I have made started with one of such questions.

Other than starting a conversation, words are necessary to convey our intentions and hopes correctly. Being able to do that in important in our daily lives as we go about our work and social circles. Of course, some people need to be more excellent at communication than others; a salesman, more than most people; would certainly need to be able to convince people with words.

When it comes to communication, no matter what the language, vocabulary and correct expressions are important to give the right messages to the people concerned. So how well we express ourselves depend upon our language proficiency. With better language proficiency, a person will have greater confidence to approach another fellow human. Definitely, with better language skills, there will be lesser miscommunication leading to improved understanding of any communication.

So, talk is required as much as silence in our lives. It is the extremes that we have to watch out for. Talk when necessary and be silent when desirable to do so. In everything there ought to be a middle way.

How much food is enough?

2011-06-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

There was a time in my youth when I would have a heavy breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. Of course, i was quite hefty then, weighing something like 130 lbs for a five feet, five inches. Perhaps, that was due to the muscles on my body as I did take up body-building. Although I was thick, a little stout but never fat.

In fact I did try to put on a little once with about eight to ten eggs as well as a plate of noodles for a short period of a month but it got me nowhere. In a way i was lucky that it did not change my body shape as some lovely ladies did mention that I ought to wear T-shirts more often as it emphasises my good shape. Well, like most youngster I was obviously a little egoistic.

Perhaps because of my active life-style, no matter how much i eat, my weight always creeps back to 120 pounds. Light and somewhat slim perhaps but certainly healthy. Realising how important health was, I actually reduce my meals by one; no more supper.

How often I have read that as one grows older, the body gets fatter. With me, that is not the truth at all. In fact I got slimmer! I got so much thinner that some friends even asked me whether I was facing a health problem. This brought me to the realisation that i could possibly be eating too little; perhaps insufficient food. so, I went to two-times breakfast, a heavy lunch and dinner as well as a light supper. My weight stabilised somewhat although my waist remained one inch smaller than usual.

So how much is enough? Perhaps, I have been doing too much exercise, as one hill companion suggested. This could be true as exercise burns up calories and even more calories as the muscles continue stretching and twitching the whole day even when resting. I also produce bodily heat a little too easily and this could burn some calories too.

To ensure I am perfectly alright I checked and discovered I had no diabetes or heart problems to worry about. Since that put my mind to rest, I continue eating everything that I could enjoy besides taking apple cider vinegar, coconut oil and olive oil. So much oil, yet as slim as any girl would want to be.

So I believe I am just blessed. As someone once said, "You must be doing all the right things." So the question of 'how much is enough?' does not arise. It depends upon one's life-style, one's activities and one's metabolism. Everyone of us is different. And that is why no one diet or slimming programme works for everybody. If you come to me, I would look into your life-style, your activities and your metabolism before I make any recommendations. You can do the same for yourself. Think about that, my friend.

Knowledge comes with listening.

2011-06-17T01:21:00.000-07:00

As I have written some time ago,I had the problem of inferiority complex very early in life. I knew it was a problem. Realisation helped me to find ways and means to overcome it. In a way I am thankful that it was once my problem for without it I could never be the strong and healthy individual I grow up to be. I would never have gone further to learn more about life than I have. I would never have listened for the gems of knowledge which has helped me to progress to this stage of my life if I had not been born with health problems and an inferiority complex. I faced my problems and won.

One of the things I discovered in searching for knowledge is the need for listening. When I listened I get to learn other people's knowledge and experiences. It is similar to knowledge from books. When we read, we also listen to what the writer has to say. You will be surprised at how much a person is willing to tell you if he believes you are really interested. I have learned so many things through listening.

Through listening, we not only learn we become more popular as many people have stories to tell and therefore need ears to listen to them. The are thankful to have appreciative listeners. So when people need to express their needs and sorrows, they need good listeners.

However, the most important part about the art of listening is the acquiring of knowledge and better understanding of more complicated subjects. Just as the other day when a friend and I were at the summit of Gunung Jerai, I was all ears when a man came to talk to me as I pulled and flicked off the numerous leeches in my socks and shoes. If I had not listened, I would not have been able to have him explain and talk about how leeches could be removed and killed so easily. Had I not listened intently, he would most probably not have revealed how I could prevent leeches from coming near in future. And this morning, through listening, I heard about the soaking of socks in salt solution to prevent leeches from attacking. But then, with the salt solution, you would have to wear wet socks.

The importance of listening was also confirmed by an insurance salesman who went with me during my twenties to a seminar by Mr. Lawrence Chan. He was disappointed with some participants at the seminar who are more eager to voice their own experiences than to listen to Lawrence Chan's gems. He said that we paid to listen to the nuggets of experience and knowledge, not to listen to ourselves talk. Every minute we waste on talking cost us possibly a minute of precious advice or understanding. So if we talk away an hour each day of the five day seminar, we lost five hours of nuggets. Now, there is a lot of truth in that.

See, at the age of sixty-four I am still learning by listening. I hope my mind will remain sharp enough to digest all the knowledge I am able to obtain for many more years through books and listening.

Listening is more important than talking.

2011-06-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

This morning, at the hill, Grace told me about the couple who would talk and talk practically non-stop, giving her no opportunity at all to comment on the topic. Well, it was a one-way communication and she was forced to be the listener.

Of course, it is not bad to be a listener. In fact, very early in my life, while journeying three hundred and something miles to Kuala Lumpur to attend the motivation seminar by Lawrence Chan, I learned the importance of listening well.

However, today i wish to concentrate on this problem of some people who could get them into problems with others. It is the strong desire to talk, talk and talk, sometimes repeating the information already given previously. When something is repeated, the listener gets bored. So the talker is boring to his friends. Nobody would want that, I believe. Yet, it is an unconscious urge to listen to the person's own voice and also prove that he is an authority on the topic.

What the speaker does not realise is that when someone dominates too much and most of the things are the same old stories, everyone already knows them and are not willing to ache their ears having to tolerate the boring sounds emitting from the source. This is especially so when the listeners are given no opportunity to take part of the conversation.

It is not just the repetition that we dislike. In order for such people to last a long time talking endlessly, they put in the smallest uninteresting detail into their talk, explaining extensively what is sometimes so obvious, expected and certain.

And what is the result? As expected, most people would avoid such a talker. Excuses would quickly be given to avoid or escape from further verbal torture. Only a very few would tolerate the person and even those few would complain and at the earliest moment disappear from the scene.

I have made a study of such people. I have found that the problem arises from some causes. One of them is a habit copied from the family members. Yes, parents who talk too much or refuses to listen to other people's points of view have a great influence on their children who imitates them and become just like them. So parents ought to be careful not to turn into such long-winded, one-sided talkers.

And old people, me included, have that tendency to elaborate more than others. Especially so when the children have been away for some time and the desire to chat with them is so great. Right! So what can be done. We ought to realise our long-winded talking and do something about it. Realisation is the beginning of change. When we realise something has become undesirable, then we change and learn to allow others to voice their thoughts and help to have an interchange of feeling and ideas rather than to have a lecturer and his/her listeners.

And there are those who needs appreciation or a raise in self-esteem. These need to show others how much they know, to impress others with their knowledge. Of course, self-esteem is important to all of us. So is being appreciated. However, this can still be done without having to dominate so much as to prevent others having their say.

Eventually, the choice is our own. To know who we are, to see if we are the ones who lecture all the way and whether we feel everything is fine. Then, if we find that we do dominate, we must choose whether to change or not. Change is not difficult as realisation helps pave the way to such a change. This part is important as I have come across people who cannot see any problem with their ways despite someone pointing it out to them. Well, if they are happy as they are, we ought to wish them all the best for eventually everyone is the master of his/her own fate.

Humans create most of the problems.

2011-06-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

At one point in my life, if anyone were to say that humans are the ones who create the most trouble, I would have protested. But then, with more experience of life, I have to admit that there is truth in it.

There was a time, I studied part of spiritual exorcism through an Indian priest. It first started with meditation, then awakening of the third eye and then exorcism. Through my experiences and this guru's teaching about the spirit world, I had to admit that spirits do not harm people. It is evil people who use those spirits to harm others, just as religion is for the good of man kind but people use or abuse religion for their own selfish ends.

When I realised how evil most of these spiritual masters are I decided not to continue with the study. I did not wish to one day have to tangle with such type of people even though it is to untangle whatever mischief they have done.

And today, I read about a married couple who abused their Indonesian maid so badly that the poor maid died. How the poor lady must have suffered before she found relief in death. What kind of horrible monsters those people were! Someone commented that they were worst than animals. Please, the next time we talk of such human monsters, do not drag the good name of animals into the thought. Animals are never that bad. Animals kill only because they felt threatened or they needed food for survival. They never kill to exert power over others. Humans are the ones who crave for power and perform the world's most horrendous deeds to gain it.

Perhaps that is the reason God gave humans brains so that, hopefully, with such brains they could teach morals and understand that God is always watching whatever is being done. That is also the reason humans, more than any other creature on earth, need God. If not for the presence of God and the teaching of morals, the conscience would be blunted and easily turn humans to monsters such as the above mentioned couple and those known in history.

This weakness of humans to create problems exists to this very day among the ordinary people as well as people in authority and politics. It exists as long as there is inferiority complex and the need to feel power over others is present.
It is a human tragedy that such a creation which possess brains and the ability to think so well can descend so low, indicating an inability to use their brains correctly. And so, with this weakness, there will always be conflicts, cruelty and exploitation of others, even though the holy book of every religion tells us that all living things are His creations and therefore are to be respected if it is just to show respect and love for Him.

A trek up Gunung Jerai from Merbok.

2011-06-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

That's the archeology museum in the background

And here's the map at the parking lot showing the route to Gunung Jerai, Kedah, Malaysia.

This is the river we had to cross to the starting point of our trek.

The starting point.

A bridge over that river.

My partner walking into a rubber estate.

Liquid rubber flowing into a cup at the rubber estate.

A living beauty! A little one but full of grit and strength. Certainly adventurous!

We met one of the inhabitants of the jungle.

This is a part of the way to the top.

Art through the light drawn through the trees onto the floor of the jungle.

As we reached the higher parts, light came shining through.

The fantastic view at one part near the summit.

From the jungle into a man-made road about a kilometre from the summit.

And here's a little stream just outside the jungle.

Here is the directions to a number of place about a kilometre from the summit where there are chalets and a dining place as well as a number of attractive planted areas.

This is the Telaga Tok Sheikh.(Telaga means 'well' Tok Sheikh is the name of a person.)

Another part of the Telaga Tok Sheikh.

Here is a spider. Dangerous? Well, harm it not and it will never harm you.

The entrance to Padang Tok Sheikh.

Is this a snake i see on the road? But then, looking at the scales, it cannot be.

This is what i first thought is known as Batu Kapal which means 'Stone ship', but I am told that it is not. According to the friend Batu Kapal is a huge rock very near to Telaga Tok sheikh.

What a beauty! An orchid!

Here's a red beauty!

Have you seen a fern like this!

On Saturday, 11th of June, a friend and I decided to trek up Gunung Jerai (Jerai Mountain) from the archeology museum at Merbok, Kedah - a trek which was approximately 13 kilometres to the top - a route known as 'Jejak Warisan'.

We reached Merbok at eight in the morning and from there crossed a river to a path. Soon we came to a fork in the path and here we chose what appeared to be the more often used path which turned out to be the wrong path resulting in us reaching a rubber estate. Here we saw some campers. We had to retrace our steps and took the path on our right. Then we still had to look for the right way up and eventually found it across the river further up from where we started.

Fortunately for us, since then there was this yellow strip of plastic sign that led us all the way to the top. At certain parts of the way it was fairly steep and one of these parts took its toll on my thigh muscles. The muscles started to cramp and that slowed us a lot. My partner had this liquid known as 'Yoko Yoko' which I applied to the painful muscles. Initially, the pain and cramping became worse but after a short while the pain subsided and it was bearable enough to continue. I also discovered that a stick did help to take the weight off the legs and prevented further cramps.

The jungle was beautiful with its many beauties, some of which I photographed to enjoy at a later date. It was up and down three, or perhaps four, hills before we reached the summit of the mountain. About one kilometre before the summit we exited the jungle onto a tar road.

It was a wonderful trek of calm greenery with great huge trees and a few orchids attached to their trunks which was only spoiled by the wriggly leeches which constantly attacked us all the way to the tarred road. There were so many of those leeches that we had to forgo stopping at half past twelve although we were really hungry then. The sight of the leeches on the floor of the jungle was sufficient to drive us on. At the top, I removed my bloodied socks and shoes to find more than thirty of those fat well-fed creatures, some of them still stuck to my feet. I had certainly donated a good quantity of my blood to them. That was alright except that at the time of writing this i am still suffering the itch that their vampire-type punctures have left behind. In fact my bed-sheet and floor was stained with my blood that Saturday evening and night. My feet were swollen the next morning as a result of my scratching the whole night.

Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable experience for me. Never had I had so many guests in for dinner at my feet. And the itch they left behind will certainly be remember always. And there was a record 29 tiny punctures in my feet! Well, that part of the thrill of challenging oneself on a trek up a mountain. At the end of it, I could tell myself that I made it in five and a half hours, discovered my weaknesses which I intend to overcome as soon as possible and enjoyed the scenery from the jungle and the top of a mountain. That's great for this sixty-four year old - old in number but young in spirit and flesh.

How to prevent leeches from getting to you.

2011-06-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

Those who trek or climb hills or mountains have certainly come across tiny, wriggly creatures which need blood to survive. We call them leeches. I have nothing against them sucking some of my blood for God created them to survive on it. However, what i detest most is the itch that I have to suffer for more than a week each time they dig into my legs or feet for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The itch is so annoying as it prevents me from a good night's rest for so many nights. Once I even had to seek antiseptic as the bite became infected. It left a big scar which I have to bear to this day.

Of course, there are always good intentions from people who notice the leeches sticking to my feet. First, there was the suggestion of using a mosquito spray onto the shoes. I did it. Sometimes, or was it just luck, it seemed to work but time prove it not effective.

Then, the other day I went up Gunung Jerai (Jerai Mountain)and was told by my trekking partner to use soap. So I rubbed soap onto my shoes, socks and my pants. It was instantly proved useless against the hundreds, perhaps, thousands, we met all the way up the hill during our five and a half hour trek. All the way we had to stop to pull them off our socks and legs. We dared not remove our shoes to search for those which had managed to slip into our shoes to our soles as the ground was obviously full of them.

Eventually, when we reached the top of that mountain. I removed my socks and discovered not less than twenty of those big, fat, evidently full-of-blood leeches.
My sockes were red with my blood and punctures and more than fifteen tiny punctures on each foot were still bleeding. There was just no way I could stop the bleeding then. So, I merely removed them and put my sock back onto my feet.

Then, the guy who plies the tarred route up and down Gunung Jerai came over to have a look at the great number of leeches I had removed from my feet and shoes. (There are many route up this mountain. There are many jungle paths but one of them is the tarred road which allows cars, vans and jeeps to access the top of this mountain.)He told us that we should have used tobacco juice to avoid attacks by leeches. He demonstrated how we could mix some tobacco, which he had, with some water. The resultant juice was squeezed onto the leeches and after just a few seconds of struggling, they were dead. (Look at the video above.)

From him we learned that we could soak our shoes, socks and the lower part of our pants into tobacco juice before drying them the day before using them for such a trek. The smell of it would be sufficient to drive those blood thirsty breatures away. He should know for he was a soldier who had to move and stay in the jungle at times. So, there you are, the way to a leech-free trek.

Why very young children learn fast.

2011-05-31T04:52:00.000-07:00

Have you ever observed how children learn? I have and One of the things I noticed is their lack of self-consciousness that helps them to learn things so very fast.

Children are good are imitation; imitating the actions and sounds made by almost anything in their environment. And they are never afraid of who is watching and what others might think of them and their actions. Of course, this changes if adults were to spoil it for them by telling them, indirectly teaching them to be conscious of what others might think of them. Once that is drilled into them, they understand that others observe them and so they start observing the adults and find that that is true. Then adults would put the thought in their little minds that adults might laugh at them and their behaviours, might think them mad or .... and laugh at them. That puts them on guard and they stop learning in that spontaneous playful way.

Knowing that, adults ought to be careful with their comments and not put useless adult thinking into their innocent little minds. Then the adults can notice that that little mind can absorb a lot through repetitions of words, phrases, clauses and sentences without the consciousness that they could be making pronunciation and grammar mistakes. Through such repetitions and frequent listening to good speech, language is learned. Then, through the provision of good language on radio, television or conversation among people, the child will eventually correct his/her mistakes automatically. Of course, good language must be available much more often than poor language in order for the child to get his language right.

A child who is encouraged to sing and talk about things with words that had seeped into the brain gradually will learn faster than the child who is not given the opportunity listen to language and make use of whatever he could have acquired.

Thus, the opportunity to learn which must be made available by the parents and the chance to practice uttering the words to himself/herself and to others without being self conscious of whatever mistakes that are bound to be made in the process of learning are certainly necessary for learning.

This learning is also possible if adults can overcome their self-consciousness, something which is more difficult as there is always the fear of being laughed at for the mistakes made.

One of the ways adult can counter that fear is to talk to oneself in the privacy of the room. I learned my Bahasa Malaysia, Malaysia's National Language by starting with books from primary one. I would write down sentences with words I do not understand, find the meaning, repeat the words and sentences often in my room, even the bathroom, and talk to friends in the language using whatever I had learned. Initially there was a lot of laughter at my pronunciation but eventually the Language Institute people helped me be a winner by changing the way some words are pronounce with the 'Bakul' method; a method in which words are pronounced according to its spelling. Besides that I improved fast as I listened and use the language everyday. So opportunity to listen and practice is of utmost importance. And if self-consciousness is no impediment to practice, progress will be fast.

Is this the beginning of extremism?

2011-05-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today, I am copying an article from the Malaysian Insider to show that politics is leading the country towards extremism. Political leaders have been encouraging and instigating Muslim leaders to think of non-Muslims as aliens rather than as citizens who ought to have equal rights with Muslim citizens. What several Muslim leaders say in the following article shows how these leaders have twisted facts to support their extremist views.

Regarding the civil rights of non-Muslim Malaysians I have lifted the comments of a British Muslim, a Jennifer Abdullah, from the comments column in the Malaysian Insider. Her enlightening comment is pasted below the article.

I have copied this article together with a comment by this British Muslim from Hong Kong to show that that what we think is read throughout the world and how well our country and people are judged depends on what we say or do as all would reach the minds of people internationally.

Islamic leaders question non-Muslim rights
UPDATED @ 09:05:18 AM 23-05-2011
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
May 22, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 – Several Islamic leaders have questioned the loyalty of non-Muslims in the country, declaring today the community’s rights must be re-evaluated if Malaysia is to call itself an Islamic state.
Former president of Islamic Da’wah Foundation Malaysia (Yadim), Datuk Nakhaie Ahmad, said treatment of non-Muslims must be based on the social contract agreed and pointed out that the government has been too gracious to the community.
“In attempts to get vote and support of non-Muslims, we have been very gracious in giving them their civil rights. Civil rights given to them includes the rights to vote, participation in politics, hold office, involvement in the military and so forth but we cannot just willingly give them everything.
“Our offer must be based on religious practices. If we look at the prophet’s agreement in the Madinah constitution, civil rights were given to the Jews but the rights must be paid back with responsibility. They must have the responsibility and agree to defend our country and not insult the agreement,” he said during a forum on "Membina Negara Sejahtera" organised by the Persatuan Ulama Malaysia here.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared Malaysia an Islamic state a decade ago in a move to counter PAS’ growing influence among the country’s key Malay Muslim population.
The issue cropped up this month when several groups asked for amendments to the Federal Constitution to stipulate only Muslims can be the prime minister after Utusan Malaysia carried an unsubstantiated report of a Christian plot to usurp Islam’s position as religion of the federation.
Nakhaie stressed that non-Muslims that have broken the social contract must be expelled from the country and asked the government to adopt a tough approach in safeguarding Muslim interest.
“If the agreement is broken then actions must be taken against them. If they break our agreement then they are our enemy and must be expelled from the country. We must not compromise with them. We must be stern with them when it comes to the social contract agreed,” he said.
Nakhaie added it is important that high level government positions not be awarded to non-Muslims for national security.
“We cannot give them important government position as it is not allowed for non-Muslims to become ministers in an Islamic state. Head of military must also not be given to non-Muslims.
“Without thinking about the future of our country, we are so willing to give them everything. Granting them their civil rights must be balanced with Islamic preaching so they will understand justice in Islam and the Islamic system,” said the former PAS member who defected to Umno years ago.
He also warned Muslims to unite as non-Muslims will become stronger if the community continues to quarrel among themselves.
“They are brave now and are willing to say anything because they are becoming dominant. They (non-muslim political parties) are only working with us to only achieve their goals. It is a marriage of convenience. We know what is their programme. We are already losing economically and now we want to give political rights?” he asked.
Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia’s (ISMA) deputy president Zamri Hashim added that Muslims must look beyond political affiliation for a common greater cause.
“We must think outside of politics. The Malay agenda is too important to ignore and a majority of Malays are Muslims. This is no longer about PAS and Umno,” said the Perak deputy Mufti.
Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) deputy president, Dr Mohd Rumaizuddin Ghazali, also stressed that Malaysia must never become a secular state.
“This is why many non-Muslim politicians want to declare the country as a secular state because then the government will not have fund religious programmes.
“They are scared that if we accept Malaysia as an Islamic state then there are many implications which means that only Muslims have the right to lead the country,” he said.
Mohd Rumaizuddin added that the Malays are beginning to be trampled on and non-Muslims are starting to take advantage of the community.
“Because of politics, we are still not free after more than 50 years of independence,” he said.
Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia president Abdul Hakim Othman added the country’s constitution must be replaced as it has been stained by the colonial British.
“A Caliphate state is based on divine revelation. It is not a democratic or a theocratic state. It is only an Islamic state when the constitution is based on the Quran and prophetic traditions,” he said.

Below is the comment by a Miss Jennifer Abdullah who is a British Muslim. The following is a quote taken from the article and her comment.

"In attempts to get vote and support of non-Muslims, we have been very gracious in giving them their civil rights."

I'm not Malaysian but I am a British Muslim and I'm reading this from Hong Kong. I find it offensive that Malaysian Muslims could even threaten to retract civil rights from non-muslims arbitrarily when the civil rights of every individual in the Commonwealth has been protected since the days of the Magna Carta

I'm sorry but a Malaysian friend of mine pass this to me and I cannot help but comment after reading this. I'm very disappointed, as a Muslim myself, to see the Muslims in your country going the way of extremism. I hope the Malaysian ppl understand that true Islam does not condone intolerance and are fully compatible with democracy and human rights.

After the heat came the rain.

2011-05-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, friends were complaining about the heat that caused their clothes to be drenched with sweat. My reply to them was how detoxifying that was for them. (Please read the previous posting about the skin as the largest detoxification organ of our body.)

And as though in answer to our prayers, the rain came, heavy and sufficient to drench our clothes once again. Perhaps God has this message that some people do not bath enough. Well, I must admit it is sometimes true of me. Hiking up the hill the whole day cleansed only by the water at the waterfall or fast flowing river. Well, that's a free refreshing bath which is any time better than our home shower and not need to worry about soap getting into my eyes. So natural, so refreshing, so cooling and calming; it lifts my soul.

Yes, it did rain the next few days but then there seems to be no end to complains. Now, some of them are complaining about the wetness and the mud as we move along those virgin paths. Never mind! Let them be for no matter how they complain they would go on enjoying nature's thrills.

Of course, it would rain after the heat. For with great heat, more water is evaporated. The vapour rises and soon form clouds. The clouds become too thick and dark and heavy, soon clash with another cloud, or something else and is cooled up there; just as the air around your glass of cold iced drink turns to liquid and flows down the outer sides of your glass. Then, it comes down as rain.

Once upon a time I played in the rain, running out of the house even before the first drop fell. Then, during the time of my kids, I allowed my kids to play in the only after ten or fifteen minutes of downpour to make sure they are not getting acid rain. Even then I was not sure. My intention of getting my children to play in the rain was to get them immune to rain and the cold. It worked as they hardly catch cold, not even when they are caught in the rain. Sometimes my elder kid even go around in the rain if it is not too heavy.

So, I have enjoyed both the heat and the rain. Both are good and essential to our lives. So, let's enjoy them!

Appreciation of the heat.

2011-05-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

"For God's sake, please bring back the rain," appealed this friend who was unable to endure the oven hot air in his house any longer.

Yes, these days in Malaysia, without the delightful air-conditioner, the afternoons are simply intolerable. And all those who suffered this heat complained and voiced their exasperation at the unrelenting heat from the strong sun.

Yet, they do have reasons to voice their discomfort. They sweat and sweat continuously, wiping away the liquid that oozes out from their pores every second of the day. It wets their handkerchiefs and shirts, even their trousers. Fortunately, we wear thick synthetic cloth through which the wetness could not be observed that clearly around the buttocks and their front part. Otherwise, how embarrassing that would be.

Then, again, it is good that it is this unbearably hot as it becomes conversation pieces that we can use to have better and closer relationship with fellow earthlings. Have you noticed that when problems strike everyone around, it is easier to reach out to share the misfortune and comfort each other?

Other than that, do you realise there is less need for a sauna bath, the price of which could make a hole in your pocket? Yes, we have a natural sauna bath in this kind of extremely hot weather every day.

Besides the savings we drink more water, sufficient to keep our body hydrated and healthy. Our body usually gets less than sufficient with us fearing the need to rush to a bathroom to relinquish excess liquid expelled from our kidneys. But then, without that essential water, our kidney finds the job of flushing toxic waste out of the body so much more difficult. So, how nice to be able to take in more. Of course, taking more than is necessary is not good either. (Why? I have written about that much earlier.)

Another benefit we derive from this heat is the sweating. The skin is the largest organ of detoxification. The pores allow sweat to take out the toxins together with the sweat. Now, you know why you smell after some time of sweating. So, with such efficiency of detox achieved through the help of the heat, there would be less free radicals and so need not depend so much upon antioxidants such as Vit. A, C and E as well as numerous others.

So let us look at the happier aspect of the heat. God in His wisdom created the heat for the above benefits besides giving us the opportunity to appreciate the cool breeze and the lovely night.

Faith comes from experience.

2011-04-30T00:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I was with another Buddhist family and our talk drifted to the strength of one's faith. It is a story of how sincerity and true love for one's 'brother' lead a man to accept a religion.

First of all, before I continue, let me repeat what i have said all this while: I belong to no religion but have a strong belief in God. I know, it's most contradictory for some people but that is how it is. Through personal experiences, I know and feel His presence but religion; that is a totally different story as religion has been messed up by people. Still, I have a healthy respect for all religions.

However, today it is not about me. It is about a young man a friend knew. He grew up deprived of his parents presence. Look after by relatives, he understood the toughness of life. With parents who left nothing to him when they passed away, he depended upon an uncle, his own father's brother.

Without any parents, he grew up always having insufficient funds to finance his education, wants and needs. The uncle always advised him to stop schooling and start working to have money for himself. Luckily for this guy in Penang, his uncle lived near a church in Macalister Road where there was a church. Although his and his uncle's family were Buddhist, the church came to know of his problems. The church was caring enough to provide him with school fees, money for second-hand books and clothing. Otherwise, he would have to drop out of school very early in life.

At form three level, he passed his examination with such good grades that the uncle (imagine that!) became jealous of his results and commented that he should stop schooling then and get a job with his Lower Certificate of Examination results to support his own life. Even the aunt was flabbergasted with the husband's remarks. What kind of job can the young boy of fifteen do to support himself? Apparently, the uncle was unhappy because this young man achieved better results than his sons.

Fortunately, there was always the church and the people there who constantly gave verbal as well as monetary support. Eventually, he got his School Certificate at form five and was able to get a job. With a job and a place of his own, he attended church and became a Christian. Some people were aghast with his embracing Christianity. Yet, these people did not realise that his position then was only made possible by the amazing love that he received from people he did not know, people who were not even related to him. Help came from loving hearts that grew in a church.

I would say he has done the right thing. Perhaps I would have condemned him if he had done otherwise, although I do not believe in condemning people for their choice of religion.

God gives us the choice. That is my belief. Since God is all powerful, and who among us can say otherwise, if he does not want us to have any other choice but one particular religion, he would have not given it existence. Don't worry is you disagree for I respect your religion and God.

Fear alone is not enough.

2011-04-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

The other day I met this friend who told me of a guy who had diabetes and heart problems.
"So what did you advise him?" I wanted to know.
"I told him to join me for evening walks."
"That's good. With his heart problem, he certainly cannot take on strenuous activity.
"Yeah but what's the use? The guy says he has sufficient exercise already."
"Well, if he really has enough exercise, that's good enough." I pacified him.
"Well, do you consider strolling to the nearest sundry shop which is a hundred metres away exercise?" he wanted to know.
"Of course not! Any activity can only be considered exercise if the heart gets to beat faster than normal and the lungs are forced to take in greater gasps of air," I explained. "Perhaps you ought to explain that to him," I suggested.
"I did but he was adamant that that was sufficient for him," he ended that with an expression of hopelessness.
"Well, sometimes, there's just nothing much more that you can do. You have done your part. The rest is his choice."

Well, every now and then, we meet individuals like the guy with health problems. They find it difficult to get out of their comfort zone and refuses to put out some effort to overcome their problems. And sometimes it is only when the problem has reached the critical stage that these people would want to act which might be too late.

Well, if things worsen and the guy dies, then all his problems could be over. But, sometimes, life is not that easy. A stroke may put them down and life is limited to a bed and four walls. And if funds are limited, with no help to turn the body, bed sores come to create greater misery. The disgusting smell, the fear of gangrene and losing limbs makes life frightening.

Unfortunately for these people fear alone is insufficient to drive them to move towards recovery at the earlier stage. At the later stage, when movement is too restricted to bring about any change, there is only prayer and hope.

Prayer? Talking of prayer, I remember these words: God helps those who help themselves. Of course, there are miracles but they are only for unbelievable occasions. That's the reason they are termed miracles. And hope is only there as long as there is enough energy and strength to find a means to get out of the situation; otherwise it is hopeless. And there can only be pain and suffering.

Is that what we want? That is a most important thought. And this thought ought to be voiced early, and action taken accordingly.

A computer can cause a fire.

2011-04-17T02:41:00.000-07:00

A family lost their 25 year old son in a fire at home some time ago. This is what happened.

He graduated with a MBA from University of Wisconsin-Madison two weeks earlier and came home. He had lunch with his dad at home and decided to go back to clean up his room at school. The father told him to wait and see his mother before he goes back for a few days. He decided to take a nap while waiting for his mom to come home from work.

Neighbors called 911 when they saw black smoke coming out of his house. The fire brigade came but it was too late for the son. The 25 year old son died in the fire in this house.

It took several days of investigation to find out the cause of the fire. It was determined that the fire was caused by a lap top in the bed.
According to the investigation, when the lap top was on the bed, the cooling fan does not get enough air to cool the computer and that was what caused the fire. The uneven surface of the bedsheet had blocked the air intake vent below the cpu fan.

When laptops are placed on a flat surface i.e. on a desk or a table, there is a gap between the desk surface and the base of the casing to allow air to flow or be sucked in through the air intake vent by the cpu fan to cool the cpu.
He did not even wake up to get out of the bed as he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The reason this is written this is that too many people are using their lap tops in bed. Let us all decide and make it a practice not to do that. The risk is real. Let us make it a rule not to use a lap top in bed or put a computer on a bed with blankets and pillows around it.

Not all VIPs are respectable.

2011-03-20T00:31:00.000-07:00

There was a time I thought I could help to develop my part of the world into a better place. As some would say, and I wholeheartedly agree, that we should not just voice our grievances to just any Tom, Dick and Harry and expect action to be taken to remove my complaints. No coffee-shop talk and discussion for me. So, what did I do? I joined a political party.

If ever there is a path for our views to reach the ears of those who could make a difference, it ought to be the political path. Was I wrong! That realisation did not surface until I became the Youth Chief of a branch and the main committee member of a district. At that point, I thought I could put forward my ideas, get them implemented and make some improvement to my part of the world at the very least. Was I disappointed!

The leaders are not interested in ideas that has no part in their climb up the political ladder. Whenever something is proposed, it is put aside or shot down with all kinds of excuses. However, when leaders want things done so that their popularity and capability is enhanced, they expect no discussions, no criticisms but full support, no matter what is desired. That was certainly not my expectation and, of course, I was not too popular with them. For me, meetings are places where we discuss the pros and cons of ideas put forward regardless of their source, just another committee member or the top leaders.

And so everything was pushed through to formalise actions taken. Even things which cannot be approved were done and, unbelievable as it may seem, even passed through a show of hands. It just showed me how powerful those leaders were. Perhaps, you would understand the fantastic part of it if I were to relate what happened.

There was this annual general meeting in which secretaries pass out minutes of the previous annual meeting so that members could go through and based on it, question what had or had not been implemented. Then the treasurer had to let members know about the accounts, the income, expenditure and balance as well as how money had been spent throughout the year. This annual financial report was not presented. The treasurer could not produce the report but the chairman requested the members to pass the the unseen report. What a preposterous suggestion! Who could be so irresponsible as to pass an unseen financial report. What if there had been abuse of funds? Privately, many branch chairmen voiced their displeasure at such an idea but when the district chairman called for a vote only a few protested. Suffice it to say, only those few voted against the unseen report being passed. The many brave branch chairmen who quietly expressed their opposition to it cowardly showed their hands to support the powerful district chairman.

Since that day I removed myself from being active among such people. I despise not the poor, the weak, the labourers and anyone less fortunate but I certainly do not enjoy the company of cowards towards their own conviction, people who can only shout and talk big but when it comes to action, they fade away behind, quiet as mice.

How can I ever respect such people? As I look back, I understand that not all those who hold titles and authority deserve our respect. Respect has to be earned through proper use of titles and authority, and proper actions. People who use their authority to merely enrich themselves, using such authority to get government land and abusing their power do not deserve my respect.

Ah! The wonder of nature.

2011-03-12T23:56:00.000-08:00

Have you ever gone into a wide open space filled with plants, trees and flowers?
Well, that was exactly what I did this morning. I woke up at the unearthly time of three-thirty in the morning in order to join my friends from the Art of Living to travel to Penang Youth Park to celebrate the 'Women's Conference 2011'

And so it was that I found myself in the midst of so much greenery at about five o'clock in the morning. I did not expect to find anything different from the usual happiness of being with friends and having a great new day to enjoy my life with. I did not expect the wonderful fragrance that beautify my senses as I stroll and enjoyed the greenness at that time of the morning. It was indeed a strange calm feeling as this unbelievably appealing perfume enveloped me as I stood there wondering where its source was.

Gradually, I realised that the scent came not from some human but the very surrounding plants and their flowers. How did I verify that? Well, I saw the flowers in the trees and I moved towards them. As I went nearer, the peculiar fact that struck me was that the fragrance recede and almost disappeared the closer I was to the trees and their floral display. To test this observation, I retraced my steps and moved further from the flowers. Again, the perfume became stronger. It was my first delightful experience. It is an experience I would not have the luck to enjoy had I not been out among nature at such an early part of the morning. It is something I hastily set on record upon reaching home so that others may some day have the same pleasurable delight I encountered this day.

At the age of sixty-four, I still find so much new pleasures in our fantastic world. Of course, this is not the only thing I enjoyed at Penang Youth Park today. I also learned how to make pancakes with Korean Kimchi as well as potatoes and had fun selling them, meeting all kinds of people in the process. Life is indeed beautiful and all it takes is for us to go out there to enjoy it.

Respect ought to be given to the right people.

2011-02-27T04:23:00.000-08:00

If you have a great job, an Asian-Pacific region director or something like that in an international company, would you resign from it to take up a much lower paid job in another international company just because in the new job you need no longer have to travel from one city to another and it is situated in the small little town where your old sick mother can be looked after each day after working hours?

I know that not many people would sacrifice that much for a sick old mother. However, I know of at least one young person who did just that and that person is a friend of mine. I am indeed glad to have such a wonderful person as a friend. She is great! No doubt about that! And I have great respect for her.

Now, when I was young, I was taught to respect the elders, the wealthy and the VIPs. Unfortunately, as I grew, I met all of them and after experiencing the truth about some of those people, the respectability ballons burst one after another.

First, I discovered that not all older people ought to be respected. Some just do not deserve any respect. Of course, we ought to respect older people when we first get to know them. After all, with their longer lifespan and more experiences they ought to be better than all of us younger ones. However, respect given ought to be maintained and valued. Actions should indicate the wisdom and righteousness of the persons.

Have I ever told you about the old lady who would meditate with her beads day in and day out, giving such a pious outer appearance? Well, there was this lady I happened to pass on my way out of the house. It was in Penang in which a good many houses in those days house about ten families in one house. The poor could only afford a room in one of those stately houses and there were approximately ten rooms in one such house.

Well, back to that pious lady with her meditating beads. At that moment another person came into the scene and walked past her. As the other person disappeared from view, she opened her mouth and shocked my little soul. She cursed the man who had just gone in. In my innocence I had always presumed that pious people would walk with God and have not the bitterness to curse anybody. Was I awakened to the truth that such a thing could happen. That very day I reshuffled my views of meditating pious old people. I hastened to add, least I am misunderstood, that there are some good pious people in this world. After all, if you have read enough of what I have written, you would have realised that my own uncle who dedicated his life to serve the elephant deity in order to cure the sick, was one old pious man I truly respected.

And from what I have written today, you can see that it is not just some old people but also those younger than me whom I have great respect. So, respect has nothing to do with age. It is the person, what he stands for and how to goes about acting on his own beliefs. (At this point I remember the amusement of someone's face as she received advice from a young doctor. That will be another story.)

In times of trouble, you know who your true friends are.

2011-02-26T00:56:00.000-08:00

"You know what happened yesterday, Ai Wei?" she approached me at the bottom of the hill this morning.
"What's that?" Curiously,I waited for her to tell me more.
"Yesterday, I came down from the hill later than you. As I reversed my car slowly out onto the road from the patch of grass I had parked it, a little boy rode his motorcycle right towards my car, hitting one of the tyres. The part through which we pump air in was damaged and air from within whooshed out. There I was with a flat tyre!"
"Oh! How unfortunate!" I exclaimed. "So what did you do?"

Ignoring my question, she went on to tell about the young little boy who was still trying to balance himself on his motorcycle when she came out of her car. The boy was so little, his feet could hardly touch the ground! He was apologising, "Sorry, aunty! Sorry, aunty!" and asking for help at the same time with "Please help me. Please help."

Although she was annoyed at the damaged caused she was also amused that this little fellow was asking for her help to get off the bike. She helped him off his bike and pushed it to one side. As the damage was negligible, although it would be troublesome, she allowed him to start the bike again and sat astride it while it wobbled as though it could drop to one side at any moment. Then, the little boy rode away, leaving this poor friend the problem of going to her workplace.

First, one man she has known for some time came along. He stopped, looked at her tyre when she told him what had happened and then went on to his car to disappear from the scene.

Next came another guy she has been friendly with for some time. Upon hearing her story, he became angry with the no longer present little boy and his parents for allowing the child to ride around so dangerously. He told her she should have caught hold of the boy and if there was no compensation forth-coming, take the boy to the police-station. After the ranting, he also disappeared from the scene without asking the lady how she was to get a lift or help to repair the tyre.

Then there was this man she had always held in great respect. She had always told me about this man's great wealth, his abilities and his goodness. The man did not even come near, just a glance he cast in her direction and was quiet upon being told her problem. He too disappeared from the scene without extending any help.

From what has been written, perhaps someone reading this could have come to the wrong conclusion that this lady was not too friendly with people. That is definitely not the case. I have often seen how she has always been friendly and good towards them.

Well, it is a case where one gets to really know who your true friends are in times of trouble. They certainly knew she needed transport, if not to her place of work, at least to her home or a tyre shop where repairs could be acquired. This is where we can see who are the ones who are genuinely concerned.

Heel pain requires time to heal.

2011-02-25T00:55:00.000-08:00

Some three years ago, I jumped down from a higher level to the ground below at the hill and suffered a pain in the heel as my foot came into contact with a sharp hard stone. From that day on I felt a pain in my heel each time I stepped on the ground or moved that foot forward in walking and running.

Since I know how to massage, I did what had to be done which was to warm up the area and massaged it. Each time I bathed I would immerse it into almost unbearable warm water for a few minutes until the foot was red before transferring it into cold water.

As the pain stubbornly refused to go away, I wore three pair of socks to continue my daily exercise at the hill. That, of course, meant I had to get a pair of shoes one size larger. The socks did cushion the heel from hard contact with the solid ground and gradually after about a year the pain went away. As the pain reduced I changed to wearing only two pairs of socks, finally ending that painful period with just a pair.

Of course, not all pain at the heels require such a long period to heal. There have been quite a number of careless moments when I had hurt my foot but they require only a day or two of massage to be fine again. It caused me to realise that certain inflammation takes longer to go off, probably because I did not rest the hurt but aggravate it further by continuing with my walks and runs at the hill.

That was a good weakness on my part as it kept me exercising, strengthening my will against the pain and giving me the good health I still enjoy. I believed we should never be deterred by a little pain as if I had rested and the rest period was a little too long, it could lead to procrastination and laziness in the effort to maintain fitness.

Thank God for that, and today I feel no pain, and am still actively keeping my body trim and in excellent shape. Looking back, it was the right move to carry on despite the pain for two painful years without the wonderful exercise at the hill could have started me downhill to poor health.

Preparation for any event is necessary.

2011-02-23T04:38:00.000-08:00

Recently, I attended a talk by a lady too enthusiastic to become a speaker. It would have been well and good, had she prepared herself well for the occasion. Unfortunately, she was far from ready with too little knowledge to dispense to the people who attended her talk. Not only that, she even did not realise that some displayed words had no connection with her talk for the evening. There was certainly weaknesses in her preparation. I believe she has done herself and her future as a speaker on the particular topic more harm than good in her impatience to be known to the public.

To be a really good speaker, one must have sufficient interesting material to keep the audience appreciative of the knowledge divulged to them. Certainly, no ordinary common-sense knowledge would be of great interest to people. Such knowledge must be sufficient to bring about a change in either the thinking or the behaviour of those who attend the function.

Besides knowledge, there is stage personality; how an individual present himself or herself on stage. If it is a talk, is her voice attractive enough to catch the attention of the audience? Her movement and direction of vision are just as important. Does she look at the people to whom she is conveying whatever messages she intends? Does she have to look at pieces of paper to remember the points she expresses? Is she talking or reading to the people? The above points are important in holding the full attention of the people in attendance.

As my aim in this blog is more to share and inspire, I have waited for some time before I write this so that probably no one would know which person or talk I am referring to. Who the person is is of no importance. If she can learn from this and improve, one day she may turn into one of the better known speakers in our midst. That and our hope to be better people in any field are the most important aim.

No one is too young to avoid tragedy.

2011-02-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

According to a Chinese newspaper, the Nanyang Siang Pau, a 17-month old boy fell into a washing machine after he had accidentally turned it on. After tumbling into the washing machine he was 'washed' for two minutes before his mother heard his screams and went to the rescue.It was a Pakistani child living with his family in a Hong Kong flat. Fortunately, there was no internal injury, according to scans made by a hospital. But then, what about the trauma? What about the emotional aspect?

I want to record this as a reminder to all of us that everything can become a danger if we ourselves do not exercise care in our everyday lives. Who could have imagined that a child could accidentally start a washing machine? Why, even my grandmother would not know how to use one of these things. And why was the power supply not switched off? Without reading the above story, many would say, it is perfectly safe to leave the power on. But, as is often proclaimed, 'Truth is stranger than fiction' and the above story testifies to it.

And who would have thought a child as young as that could ever think of experimenting with a washing machine by hopping into it, after having to strenuously climb up one of the steep and slippery sides of a washing machine. Unbelievable but it happened! Truth is indeed stranger than any kind of fiction!

Of course, we have come across the more believable entry into our cold box, the refrigerator and possibly be trapped and frozen by that man-made North Pole. We have read of children being crushed by the wheels of the parent's vehicle. All these do and did happen. There is just no doubt about it! And the things that can bring about a tragedy look so harmless, nobody would have thought about it until it happens.

What does this teach us? It clearly shows that anything can become dangerous if we are careless and allow dangerous play or use of it. It also teaches us that fear is necessary in certain matters although some people might claim that we should not put fear into a child. Actually both groups- those against the use of fear and those who uses it are right. It all depends upon the situations involved.

For example, when it comes to playing with things like fire-crackers and fire, we ought to teach the pain and possible suffering from being burnt. We ought to teach caution. We should explain the right way to handle these things. Certain things ought not to be learned from experience. Our children would be better off learning from the experiences of those who have been unfortunate to have undergone it although we are sympathetic towards such unlucky ones.

How do you get your children to be interested.

2011-02-03T04:26:00.001-08:00

How can anyone be interested if he does not even know such a thing exists? For a child to be interested in anything, he must first see it, know the beauty of the thing, appreciate that beauty and is given the opportunity to try it. Without all those mentioned, the interest in anything cannot be ignited. It remains unknown, dormant, unrealised and impossible to appreciate.

Take an artist. He must know that there are pencils, brushes, charcoal or pieces of wood or stone. Then he must have a surface to make marks with them and realise he can create something of beauty with them. However, there must also be talent. Without talent he cannot create beauty. However, to discover that talent, he needs the opportunity to use the materials and through their use realise the inborn ability within him. When that realisation is reached, the desire to create is sufficiently great to bring about some form of accomplishment. And should there be appreciation from the parents, relatives and the public, then there is encouragement. Encouragement brings inspiration to greater achievement.

So it is the same with our children. A simple word for all the steps to bring out such possible talent is exposure. As parents, we could give our children as much exposure as possible to everything available in our world. Observe the interest shown by the child, encourage the interest and permit it to go to any level the child may want to climb. Make accessible all necessary materials; as much materials as is affordable. Then, leave the rest to the natural growth of the child's development.

All these might not bring great wealth financially, but the richness of his emotional, physical and mental development will suffice to make him a man of enthusiasm, the happiest and most satisfied, a developed adult who would have found his own niche and has forever a place in life, never worried that he has too much time on his hands, always interested in life. If that is not enough reason to strive to bring out the best in an individual, I don't know what is.

No need to be apologetic. Time is ours to spend happily..

2011-02-03T04:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening, to prepare myself for a hike up a hill in Yan, Kedah, I bought some bread from one of the sundry shops in my area. Upon seeing me, the man told me,"Today, there's hardly anything to do. I watched television for a while and did some gardening. Time drags. It was still early afternoon with so much time on my hands." And he, a Chinese on Chinese New Year day, had nothing to do. So, he came to his shop, opened it and stood behind his counter to wait for someone to come so that he could occupy his time serving somebody and talking to someone. His tone of voice was apologetic. He realised he ought to be somewhere enjoying his Chinese New Year.

Actually, there was no necessity to feel bad about doing business or working on a holiday. After all, time is ours to spend as we wish. If we are happy doing it, who is to say it ought not to be done. But then if it is no joy to work at a business and yet have to do it just to kill time, then there is obviously something very wrong somewhere.

That is the reason we should cultivate some kind of hobby and have friends. Thinking about hobbies, I have so many that I could never find the time to enjoy all of them. And when it comes to friends, when one is friendly, there is no worry about having nobody to do things with. Everything about hobbies and friendship is as simple as that.

All of us have an inclination towards something. The more active people are usually interested in some kind of activities, be they indoor or outdoor. The quieter type has a lot of of things they can be involved in too. You can have a game of chess, participation in a discussion group or a sharing group.Perhaps reading or searching the internet is your kind of fun. Whatever it is, do find some kind of interest or hobby for it will come in useful some time.

And some of these activities lead to friendship for people of the same interest flock together to enjoy their likes. And such friends usually meet very often to quench their desire to participate and exchange knowledge in the same activity. So, in some hobbies, knowledge, friends and activities go together.

From what has been written it is without a doubt that humans need activities to live a satisfactory way, to find happiness in being alive. What is the use of being alive if time drags by and leave us uncertain of what to do with it?

Opportunities to learn is always around. And I learned kimchi making.

2011-02-03T00:51:00.000-08:00

Thank God I have so many wonderful friends. Friends are the people who make our lives beautiful and interesting. As someone who is always eager to learn new things, was I overjoyed to know that this lady friend was not only beautiful but also one who knows so much. We were shopping for new year things when we discussed the topic of food and she mentioned that she knew how to make kimchi, a Korean food that I had wanted to make for myself for some time but did not because I knew not the exact way it could be done. Kimchi is one of those healthy food that requires no cooking.

And she was so eager to help me make it. So, on one of her holidays from work, we went to a supermarket nearby to buy the ingredients. We searched for two fairly large Chinese cabbages, small onions, garlic, fish sauce, chilli powder, and sweet flour. We found all those ingredients but no sweet flour. She told me it could be replaced with corn flour and a little sugar. According to her, it could even be left out. So, I voted to do without the flour.

Upon reaching my home, she helped me to cut the cabbage lengthwise into into four parts. Then she applied salt in between each leaf of the cabbage. It was left aside for some time; after which the salted cabbage was washed and wrung as dry as possible.

In the meantime, as the cabbage was being salted, the onions were pealed. As for the garlic, they were smashed with the side of the knife and skinned. Having done that, we could blend the onions and the galic together with the chilli. However, I could not find my dry blender and so had to resort to the wet blender which meant that water had to be added. Due to that we had no alternative but to cook the blended ingredients on a slow fire. However, once it reached boiling point, we removed the ingredients from the fire. Then we added in some salt and sugar as well as the fish sauce.

Next, it was applying the blended ingredients to the wrung cabbage, again leaf by leaf so that every part of the cabbage was seasoned with the ingredients. The seasoned cabbage was then put into a glass container and left overnight during which time there is some fermentation. The next morning, the container with the kimchi was put into the refrigerator for two days before it was taken out to be consumed.

The kimchi was delicious, not too spicy and just sweet and saltish enough to please my palate. So, through this friend I have learned how to make delicious kimchi.

Of course, just as some people do not fancy yogurt, there are also those who do not go for kimchi as I soon found out. I offered my sister-in-law some but she immediately refused. She had tasted it once and it was no in favour of the taste. I tried to persuade her to try it as it is done by one beautiful friend who certainly knows how to make good kimchi. Once beaten, twice shy; once dislike, never deny. Well, accept it, it takes all types to make a world.

Money, money, money.

2011-01-20T00:27:00.000-08:00

Today I read of an accident in which RM75,000 worth of coins from a steel container in a car spilled onto the North-South Highway. According to the papers, this happened on Tuesday, the 18th of January.

The highway has always been one of the most dangerous place for any person outside his vehicle unless proper signs and barricades have been put up to slow down vehicles speeding along this busy road.

Yet, when the people traveling along this busy highway saw the coins roll across the highway in all directions, every caution was thrown to the wind as they stopped their own vehicles, got down from them and rushed around to collect as many as they could all those coins. That, despite the owner of the coins telling them to stop collecting his coins.

Any of those people could have been killed by one of the many vehicles traveling along that same route. No, they cared not for their own safety or their lives. After all, what is the use of a life without the opportunity to gather some of the thousands of coins being strewn on the road.

Yet, none of them were killed. It goes to show how actually careful and attentive our drivers truly are. Or was it the numerous coins that got them all to stop so that they could also take part in the collection of free coins on the highway?

And when it came to money, all those coin collectors were fast to gather up as many coins as they could into whatever containers they could use. They used almost anything to hold those coins. And, the excitement could have lasted a long time, had they not been interrupted by the arrival of the police.

And here is one good reason for wearing a helmet. The motorist found good use for them as they certainly were big enough to hold a few hundred coins. They must have thanked their lucky stars to have such a useful container for the collection of hundreds of coins each.

It is in such circumstances that we see how reckless people are. It is at such times that we understand the lure of money.

As for me, the opportunity is unavailable and therefore I turn my thoughts to the possible reasons for transporting so many coins in a vehicle. According to the owner, it was to be distributed to stores in Malacca. Nevertheless, in our modern times when the nearest bank which can supply the coins is just a few kilometres away from most places in town, where is the need to transport coins from one state to another? I find this most strange. But then, as someone once wrote, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

Never argue with a thinking woman.

2011-01-18T22:40:00.000-08:00

Here's something nice to read. It is entertaining and the English is good.

Never Argue with a Woman

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and
decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife
decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance,
anchors, and reads her book.

Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman
and says, 'Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?'
'Reading a book,' she replies, (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')

'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her.

'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading'

'Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start
at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up.'

'For reading a book,' she replies,

'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her again,
'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading'

'Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start
at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up.'

'If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault,' says the woman.

'But I haven't even touched you,' says the game warden.

'That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could
start at any moment.'

'Have a nice day ma'am,' and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

Is there Karma?

2011-01-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

"What is the purpose of doing good deeds if we end up like everyone else as ashes and dust?"

For me, that question was settled for me by my own uncle who was the medium for the elephant diety, Ganeshan. I have known this uncle for some years and I know it for a fact that he only helped people to overcome their problems and sicknesses and had never asked anything for himself. As I have written in an earlier posting, he even sacrificed his own marriage to be a medium to help others. When he died, it was in abject poverty as when the mouth does not open to request for donations, only the barest amount will be contribute by the grateful. I know this to be a fact as in my own way I have helped others with their pain.

Yes, it was such an uncle who told me why he had to sacrifice everything he had to assist Ganeshan cure those sick people. It was karma! It was karma that brought Ganeshan back to him. And that was what he told me. If I cannot believe such a loving 'saint' who gave his life so that others may be helped, then who can I believe?

The other day, I was with a Sai Baba devotee when she told me a story. It's an interesting story; so I wish to share this with you. She told me a priest once asked a Sai Baba devotee how he knew there was such a thing as karma.

The man asked the priest," You believe in God, brother?"
And the priest replied, "Yes, of course."
"Do you agreed that God is all loving and He created all of us?"
"Yes, I agree."
"Then, please follow me to a place and I shall show you proof of karma."

So saying, the man took the priest to an orphanage.
"Brother, do you see the people here? Some are blind. There are those who are crippled. Some are fine but they have lost their parents at an early age. Why did our beloved God make them thus? Were they not supposed to be innocent when they were born?"

The priest looked and the children and thought about the situation. He could only drive out the troubled thoughts in his mind with the words,"God works in mysterious ways. The man comes into this world with a purpose only God knows."

"Brother, if all the blind and crippled were to eventually have their roles to play and through their imperfections motivate others, then we can say they have a role to play. But you and I know that there will be some among them who goes through life suffering from their imperfection. Why does it have to be this way?"

There was no answer. The only possible answer, the Sai Baba devotee told him could be karma. That those people were paying the penalty for their wrongs. And if those people could understand this truth, they would attempt to be better people and strive to do right always.

Well, whatever it is that you believe in, everyone has to admit that karma is a great motivating force for good. And with karma, everything in this world come through as fairer and it agrees with our 'You reap what you sow.'

Never give up on life.

2011-01-09T21:18:00.000-08:00

"For the last few months, he has been telling me he cannot walk each time I wanted to take him to the park for some simple exercise," the wife of eighty year old man complained to me. "He has also stopped eating. I have to feed him and he cannot fall asleep."

I examined him and found his hands and legs cold. He was certainly weak and the poor wife was fearful that he was weakening and something tragic might happen. There was no injury to be found. He was not obese and from the shape of his body, he must have been a sportsman once upon a time.

That he was a sportsman was true. Lately, unfortunately, he had decided he had enough of eating, reading the newspapers, watching television and sleeping. Life has lost its meaning to the poor guy. He decided to take things easy and gradually his muscle tone declined and weakness as well as stiffness overcame him.

Without much movement or exercise, his body metabolism slowed its pace and the need for food was lost. And he did not drink much either. No water and the organs of elimination found it difficult to function. Eventually, circulation of blood became poorer and the lymphatic system found it difficult to rid the body of waste and the body could swell with liquids.

A massage was what he needed to stimulate the muscles and blood circulation. I encouraged him to drink more water. Since he could also be dehydrated and had very little energy, I encouraged the wife to give him an isotonic drink although he had diabetes and the drink did contain lots of sugar. So to dilute the sugar, I advised her to give him the drink diluted with some warm water.

Two days later I found the eighty year old man walking around, able to eat and sleep. Of course, everyone was happy with his condition. However, I told his wife that he must be encourage to live life as it is meant to be. He must move and be active. Walk around and do things that he enjoys. Go places and enjoy nature and its surroundings. Live!

Actually, it is the attitude of those who have grown older; they believe they have to slow down. What happens when old people slow down? They spend less energy, become obese, weaken easier through having to carry that extra load of body fat and soon rest most of the time. Then, metabolism slows , appetite disappears and with less sweat, the need to drink diminish even though the organs still need the water to function. As a result of so much fatigue, rest becomes more important that going out to enjoy life. Gradually and inevitably, everything slows down and even when a television programme is on, the programme is watching the supposed watcher.

So, never give up on life. Look forward to fun in life as we open our eyes to each wonderful day. There is still so much to learn and enjoy. Science is changing, the world is rejuvenating and life changes and certainly we would like to see what development will come our way.

Let things be.

2011-01-09T04:51:00.001-08:00

No two persons are a hundred percent the same. So inevitably, there will be differences in opinions. Those who cannot accept this fact should never get married for a marriage consists of two individuals who certainly have minds of their own. If differences in opinions and ideas cannot be tolerated or accepted, there will forever be arguments and such arguments are bound to harm the marriage.

If a person is matured enough to understand that the one he/she loves should be allowed to stick to his/her opinions with the understanding that the other partner is also allowed to keep whatever opposing opinions, then such respect allows love to flourish and happiness to grow.

The reality of this can be observed through either observation or own experiences. For those who have had tiffs with their loved ones, they should ask themselves, "Were all those arguments important enough to put so much stress on their marriage?" I personally have asked my own colleagues and friends this and they, after thinking about it for a short while, agreed that none of the arguments or quarrels they had hold much importance in their lives."

So let things be and a winner in such circumstances may turn out to be the loser. Those who have lost in a marriage would understand this on hindsight and in their regrets. If we understand this from the sad experiences of others we could benefit through them and avoid getting into petty issues that can escalate only because the other party just had to win the argument and lose the marriage.

Unperturbed, everything will settle. (1)

2011-01-07T00:49:00.000-08:00

At first, I wondered whether I ought to post it on my blog but then I realised that although it does not originate from me, I wholeheartedly agree with what Buddha said. For no matter where truth comes from, it remains nothing but the truth and ought to be shared among all humans, regardless of race or religion. So let us understand and accept this truth without prejudice to its source.

Well, to appreciate the beauty of this truth, please read on.
******************************************

Beautiful Thought by Lord Buddha

Once Buddha was travelling with a few of his followers. While they were passing a lake, Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from the lake."

The disciple walked up to the lake. At that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy and turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink?"

So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink."

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake.

The disciple went back, and found that the water was still muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same.

After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back.

This time, the disciple found the mud had settled down, and the water was clean and clear. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said," See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be, and the mud settled down on its own -- and you have clear water.

Your mind is like that too ! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless."

Having 'Peace of Mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process!

TREAT EVERYONE WITH POLITENESS
EVEN THOSE WHO ARE RUDE TO YOU
NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT NICE
BUT BECAUSE YOU ARE NICE.

Efforts always bring profit.

2011-01-05T01:07:00.000-08:00

It is the time of the year with the Chinese New Year just around the corner. There is a lot of work cleaning the house, painting it and decorating the home to prepare it for the new year.

It is also the time of year when those who have no jobs, such as house-wives and pensioners, take on the opportunity of making some money by producing food suitable for the new year.

One of these food is the 'love letter' which is a thin, crispy, wafer-like food made from flour, coconut milk and eggs formed by rounded moulds over a charcoal fire. It is sweet and delicious due to the coconut milk and eggs in it.

Those locally made by house-wives are usually folded in the traditional love letter fashion unlike factory produced ones which are thicker, just as crispy but rolled into a thick cheroot-like shape.

My interest in the matter is not so much the food but the industry of the people. Some people earn good money from occasions such as this. The profit is good and because the work is back-stiffening due long hours seated at the hot charcoal fire there is very little competition.

In fact, through my years of observation of some people who seem to do fairly well despite not holding a permanent job, I have come to the conclusion that as long as a person is willing to work hard, he can never die from starvation.

There was this guy who depend upon the durian fruit seasons, the moon-cake festival, the Chinese New Year and other minor festivals to earn money sufficient to live comfortably for a few months from the profits from each of the occasions mentioned.

Well, it certainly proves that people who are willing to put in effort can never be without a meal, even when educational qualifications and literacy had not been their strong point.

Almost impossible to be clean. And that is why he is sick.

2011-01-04T01:01:00.000-08:00

"He's sick again. He's had fever since yesterday and he does not like to take medicine. He's so difficult when he is down with fever! And, obviously, we are all very worried about his health."

Who, among us, has no fear of sickness? Who is most unconcerned about bacteria and knows nothing about them and the threat that they post? A child, of course! And so it is that unless the child has sufficient natural immunity, which he seldom possesses, he is bound to fall sick so many times unless he has parents who consistently look into his cleanliness.

In his curiosity, the child explores the appearance, the textures, the sounds, the smell and the taste of everything in his environment. And all those actions are good for in such a manner he learns and knows everything he comes into contact with. It is knowledge that he acquires.

However, whenever he puts something into his mouth, along goes the bacteria which moves in fast to multiply and increase in number to invade his body. To the body's defence comes the white blood cells and this 'war' activity against the invaders causes the body to heat up bringing fear to the parents.

Actually, we should not get the child immediately to a doctor unless the temperate is very high. If the child's immune system is strong enough, it can destroy the invaders and learn from experience how to tackle such invaders in future. However, should the temperature goes too high and a doctor is unavailable,we can bring the temperature down by swabbing the body, especially the head, around the ears, the face and the forehead with a wet towel.

Not allowing fever to go too high is important as fever has often affect the brains of children. It is so important that I do not sleep but control the temperature throughout the night, should a child of mine comes down with high fever. Twice had I found that fever went away after a night of swabbing.

In fact, parents should be more careful and ensure that toys or things that the child comes into contact with are clean. And if it is something that cannot be cleaned, never allow it to enter the mouth. Of course, if the child touches such an object, make sure that the hands are washed at the earliest possible moment.

I never said having to be so cautious is easy because it is indeed a lot of work. Fortunately, love makes light such precautions that we have to take for the safety of our child.

Wisdom can be found in fools.

2011-01-03T04:39:00.000-08:00

This story which I have found for you to read comes to me through an email, its source unknown to me. Nevertheless, there is much to be learned from this and thus, impatiently, I share it with you. There is so much wisdom in one so young who would not mind being made a fool of as he knows that those 'wise' ones are the real fools.
So, read on, my friends.
*******************************

There once lived a great mathematician in a village outside Ujjain. He was often called by the local king to advice on matters related to the economy.
His reputation had spread as far as Taxila in the North and Kanchi in the South. So it hurt him very much when the village headman told him, "You may be a great mathematician who advises the king on economic matters but your son does not know the value of gold or silver."

The mathematician called his son and asked, "What is more valuable - gold or silver?" "Gold," said the son. "That is correct. Why is it then that the village headman makes fun of you, claims you do not know the value of gold or silver? He teases me every day. He mocks me before other village elders as a father who neglects his son. This hurts me. I feel everyone in the village is laughing behind my back because you do not know what is more valuable, gold or silver. Explain this to me, son."

So the son of the mathematician told his father the reason why the village headman carried this impression. "Every day on my way to school, the village headman calls me to his house. There, in front of all village elders, he holds out a silver coin in one hand and a gold coin in other. He asks me to pick up the more valuable coin. I pick the silver coin. He laughs, the elders jeer, everyone makes fun of me. And then I go to school. This happens every day. That is why they tell you I do not know the value of gold or silver."

The father was confused. His son knew the value of gold and silver, and yet when asked to choose between a gold coin and silver coin always picked the silver coin. "Why don't you pick up the gold coin?" he asked. In response, the son took the father to his room and showed him a box. In the box were at least a hundred silver coins. Turning to his father, the mathematician's son said, "The day I pick up the gold coin the game will stop. They will stop having fun and I will stop making money."

Sometimes in life, we have to play the fool because our seniors and our peers, and sometimes even our juniors like it. That does not mean we lose in the game of life. It just means allowing others to win in one arena of the game, while we win in the other arena of the game. We have to choose which arena matters to us and which arenas do not.
THE CHOICE IS OURS...

Suitability is of utmost importance.

2011-01-01T23:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, suitability! This word immediately came to mind although I have not taught art and design for about eight years. It came when I read about a government minister's accusation that a lady member of Parliament in Selangor had worn clothes that were too tight for an aerobics exercise session in the compound of a mosque. I took a look at the lady in the photograph and found her clothes totally suitable for aerobics. In fact, if she were to wear clothes any more loose-fitting than that I would consider her someone who had never done any aerobics before; an ignoramus where aerobics is concerned. Fortunately, she obviously knew the proper attire for such an exercise session.

Of course, the complaint was that she was in a mosque compound. But that is besides the point. If it is prayer time, then the people should be attired for prayers. If it is time for games and exercise movements, then the clothes worn should be appropriate for the occasion.

In fact, it is this kind of human demands made upon the followers of each religion that today I am a monotheist without a religion. I strongly believe in God. When I was young I followed Taoist beliefs. There were so many practices that I could not agree to, such as the burning of joss-sticks and candles which produces so much smoke that contaminates our world. Then there were the 'don'ts' that I could not agree to. It makes God so small-minded. If God were that small minded, He could not be God as I know Him.

However, it was not just in Taoism that human rules and regulations in places of worship that has given me the impression that God is so intolerant and petty; sometimes even threatening. I have heard of threats for not being a member of a religion. I have been threatened with hell and damnation. I have read of death threats. Yet, the very lips that utter the threats are the ones that proclaim God to be compassionate. How compassionate can the human god be when, instead of patiently teaching the ignorant, he angrily demands obedience through threats. Would God behave like our human gods? In my eyes, these human gods have abused His Name and usurped His position.

That could be the reason there are still wars among nations, especially those in which religion is the cause. Religion is the cause? How can that be? God would never want his children to fight thus among themselves. Yet, it happens. And death comes in the name of religion! Ridiculous! For to be nearer God is to be nearer truth and peace as each human recognises the fact that there is only one God and his prophets come bringing with him, of course, that particular prophet's culture and practices; and that all humans are the same, just as everyone's origin is the same, Earth. No, it is not America, Arabia, India, Malaysia or china but Earth. For it is humans who divided earth into countries. There are no real boundaries dividing the earth; only on man-drawn maps. Materialistic man had wanted land he can call his own.

Coming back to the question of suitability, who created the rules that said only people thus dressed could be in such a place Again, it comes from man, not God. However, if we were to use the brain that God gave us, we always come back to suitability in the things we use, be it clothes, chairs or utensils. Wise men have always invented things that are suitable for the purpose the things are produced.

When it comes to suitability, we ought to think of the climate, the type of activity, the time and the place. Thus, in aerobics, the place is outdoors or in a gym, not in a mosque; and morning is the right time for it as it would not be too hot under a burning sun since it is done outdoors. The clothes ought to be able to absorp sweat, loose enough to enable movement but not that loose that it become cumbersome for such an activity. And when it comes to sports and exercise, let our minds be free from the physical differences between a man and a woman. The state of mind must also be suitable for aerobics.

A need for help in disciplining our children, sometimes.

2010-12-31T20:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we need others to help teach our children to follow rules and regulations, to understand on matters such as dangers in the home.

There was this child who was quite pampered by the parents and the grandparents; more so the grandparents. They loved him too much to discipline him. And his demands are always met. Instead of talking about the dangers of sockets, they tried to redirect the child's attention to other things. Fortunately for the child, he was never left alone to have the opportunity to test the possibilities of plugging his fingers into the sockets in the house. When the parents are not around, they have the maid to look after his safety. Of course the poor maid's job became increasingly difficult as the child grew bigger and more desirous of trying out even more things.

There was one stage when the child wanted to play with the remote controller for the sliding gate. He enjoyed opening the gate just wide enough for any person to just squeeze himself or herself out or in. Once I saw it happen and could foresee the danger it placed the person entering or exiting the place. I told the maid but she could do little as the child demanded loudly and with cries that he be allowed to play with the gate controller.

Again, fortunately nothing untoward happened. And it was time to send the child to the kindergarten for him to mix with other children. Here, the headmistress of the kindergarten was very firm and he was among the new attendees who were firmly told not to play with sockets and fans in the place. The rules were strictly enforced and the child, for the first time in his life, understood that instructions given had to be followed. He realised he was not the 'king' of the place and he could not get away with tantrums. He learned to obey, to share and to behave correctly.

Well, it looks like sometimes there is a need for some other person in authority to teach our children the right things. Perhaps, that is why although, we as parents are the first teachers, it is good to have trained teaches to help us with our children.

Shaking hands can never be still.

2010-12-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

"He could not hold his hands steady at any time of the day. It was shaking the whole day as if he had been handling a drill for so many hours. So whenever he is at the shop for a drink, the drink would spill out, shaken out by a constantly shivering hand," my friend told me.

And when he told me he was a drinker, an alcoholic, I knew it must be the visual symptom of a badly burnt liver. However, the guy did not realise his problem as he was stubborn and refused to see a doctor about his hand. Finally, the guy died of a stroke and so to the end of his days he did not understand that he ought not to have drunk that much.

According to this friend of mine, Shaking Hands drank everyday and would urge others to join him in his habit. His friends knew it was not a healthy habit avoided him at such times.

My friend told me he once went out with the guy and he drank so much that by the time he was driven home he could hardly recognise his own home.Upon being asked whether the building beside their vehicle was his home, he said it most probably was. The friend had to dig his keys out of his pocket and see if one of them fit the lock to get it opened before helping him to the door and carrying him in.

For those, who drink they must first understand what an alcoholic drink can do to them. They must be able to control themselves and their drinking to safeguard their health and their dignity. I know what can possibly happen because I was one of those egoistic young men who enjoyed the thrill of beating other drinkers and the alcohol. I knew the high that it could bring. Fortunately, I also knew how to control it by lowering it each time with a big glass of water and a visit to the bathroom to have it passed out. Through this method I managed to stay sober enough to beat other drinkers. I also knew when I had to stop. But be careful, arrogance can meet a drink whose kick comes all of a sudden later when it is least expected. And it could be a knockout kick at a time when you are not safely home and opened to self-indignity or disgrace.

However, before any unfortunate incident could materialise, I learned how alcohol can affect our liver and having seen and understand its effects I stopped that stupid egoistic part of me from taking me from my path of good health. Furthermore, there was nothing great about beating others and the alcohol. We kid ourselves when we presume we could do those things. The minute we succumb to alcohol, we ourselves are already one step into a pothole. And the people you beat would never think you any better. As for myself, I am always aware that I could remain the last man standing because I cheated with the cups of water. So what is so great about that?

Do not put obstacles into the path of the learning child.

2010-12-30T05:10:00.000-08:00

What can possibly happen when a child is given the understanding that his future is planned for him so that there is no necessity for him to worry about a job or any financial situations in his life?

And if that child happens to be a student, what would be that child's attitude towards schooling? Perhaps, some children could still want to study to improve himself. Some may even want to study even harder because he understands that he must be capable enough to manage not just ordinary workers but professionals as well.

However, as a retired teacher who was in charge of a class where one of the students qualify to be the child I am thinking of in this posting, I found such a child to be arrogant.

From the very first day I entered that class, he clearly indicated that he was there not to study but to enjoy himself. First, he does not tuck in his shirt. My first duty to him was to teach him that there are rules to be followed and the most basic one was to be properly attired. Being a gymnastics coach as well as a physical education instructor, I was no weakling. He knew it and getting him to wear his clothes properly was easy but the problem came when he always wore slippers. I told him about the right foot-wear to use, even had him sent home but, with the help of his parents, he managed to get away with wearing slippers to school so often.

In fact, the mother even had the temerity to show up at a Tai-Chi class I was attending and told me to let her son be. Another lady who happened to be her friend was at the same class and when this friend heard her tell me off, she was shocked sufficiently to speak up and inform her that she was the one who was teaching the child bad behaviour and ought to apologise to me. That was a good one! That boy's mother must have cursed her misfortune at meeting her friend there, a friend brave enough to tell her off.

I would say that the mother got what she deserved. Thinking they were rich, the parents thought education and good manners were not necessary for their children. So, their poor child in my class would be absent every now and then for no valid reasons other than that he wanted to follow the father to another part of the country or overseas. Of course, as expected, he lost a lot of studying hours and eventually failed his final examination.

According to that child, there was nothing to be worried about as his father's position would be his one day. The unfortunate thing is that the child refused to think further than that even when I asked him about his other brothers and sisters. That has always been the trouble with undeveloped brains which could not visualise further into the future.

In a way I was helpless to do anything much for him as no advice, talk or discussion could lead anywhere but the belief that he did not need a paper qualification(Well, I must admit i have to agree with them on this to a certain extent.), knowledge or correct behaviour in his life as he will be the one in charge and others would have to behave properly, listen and follow his instructions.

Well, his first teachers, his parents, had certainly taught him well about being the boss in his parents' factory. They have done their job a little too well and others find it difficult to undo the harm they have done.

With such an attitude, without sufficient knowledge or the right behaviour, would this child do well in life? As far as I know, he did not. I only hope that it is not too late for the school of hard-knocks to bring some positive changes to him.

What money can do to an individual.

2010-12-25T22:47:00.000-08:00

If you are a millionaire, would you give each of your non-working children Five thousand ringgit a month as their allowance? Of course, you can afford it. nobody can deny that! But what are the possible consequences to a developing attitude towards money?

That amount of money is not earned by them. In a way, it is free. There is no worry about repayment. Those children would not need to think twice about purchasing most things, especially when they know the next five thousand ringgit will be coming their way in at the most thirty days' time. With such a sum what is ten, hundred or two hundred ringgit? How many value would they place on their money?

Perhaps it is difficult for most of us who do not get five thousand ringgit a month as pocket money when the average professionals are getting approximately two to three thousand ringgit at the beginning of their career to understand how these young people would feel. For those who are not professionals it could be about a thousand.

So, I would now go to a true story of Malaysians who can afford to give each of their children not just five thousand monthly pocket money but also a Mercedes to drive around. This is a story of someone in Klang. One of the children came out of a university and applied for a job. At the interview, he was told that he would be paid two thousand five hundred ringgit each month. Upon hearing that, the shocked young man told the interviewer that he receives five thousand a month from his parents without putting in any work. Of course, the interviewer told the man he has come to the wrong place if he expects more than the amount they were offering him. They bluntly told him to get a job from his parents. They fear not that he would not accept a position in their company for a man who is so haughty would certainly have no place in a workplace where respect and pay is due to an individual for his ability to perform in the company.

Now pay and pocket money are two totally different things. Pay is given for the expected work of the individual. Pocket money comes from love and responsiblity towards the receiver. Would a person with such a huge amount of pocket money value his post in a company which is only willing to value his work at two thousand five hundred ringgit? It would obviously be difficult. Such an employee would not have second thoughts about quitting for any slight disagreement, discomfort or misunderstanding. Such a person can never be an asset to the company.

Of course, since the parents are millionaires and must be owning a big company, getting a job is not a problem as he could easily be absorbed into the parents' company. But, if all the children are expecting the parents' company to give them top posts and big pay, will they be an asset to their own company? Well, frankly, we can never know. I have heard of sibling quarreling over positions and money and how such companies can collapse. However, there are also those that went from strength to strength.

No matter what can possibly happen, cultivating the right attitude towards money is important as money management is just as important as other managements in life.

Tomorrow I shall tell you about an ex-student and his attitude towards studies as a result of great wealth splurged on him at a very young age.

Know your machines well.

2010-12-23T00:51:00.000-08:00

One day, a friend took his brother's car to go someplace. This friend has his own car which has automatic gears whereas his brother's was a manual model. First, when he had to stop at a traffic light, he forgot to press the clutch and the engine died. It so happened that the light turned green immediately after and so he had to put back the clutch in neutral before starting the engine and moving on. In the meantime the car behind him became impatient and honed him, causing his temperature to rise. Fortunately, other than this minor problem, nothing more serious occurred.

When I was told this, my memory took me to more than fifteen years ago when a relative's family member was involved in an accident that need not have happened. Two married couples had gone to Genting Highlands for a weekend of fun. As they were going to leave on a Sunday evening, they met a close friend who drove a powerful, newly bought car there. One of them, the driver, admired the new car so much that the close friend offered him the car to be driven back. So, they exchanged cars.

As they drove home that evening, the driver was so pleased with the handling of the car that he tested its power. And this is where he made his fatal mistake. He had never learned not to test the unknown on a busy highway. Well, fate claimed their lives that night as their car went out of control, skidded and crashed so badly that none of the occupants survived.

The highway is certainly not the place to test anything. It is constantly in use by vehicles going faster than on other roads. As far as i am concerned, vehicles can be as deadly as guns. They can kill if they are not controlled properly; the dead could be their handlers or others in their path. Before we allowed our metal horse to speed or maneuver in any way, we must know it well. We should know how stable it is at certain speeds, understand how fast it can be reined in, and when doing so, does it have the tendency to perform erratically. All these we have to know before we can drive with confidence that our lives will be safe.

In fact, it is not just vehicles alone that we ought to know and understand well before we use them. Electricity, electrical tools and all types of machinery ought to be understood well before we attempt to operate them. Women workers had been known to have their hair caught and pulled towards rolling metal in factories. Understanding dangers is important wherever we may be.

This also will pass.

2010-12-20T05:28:00.004-08:00

Truth always prevails, no matter where it may be from. As a member of The Art of Living, I received this message from Guruji, its founder. As I found this message essential for the emotional welfare of all humans on earth, I sincerely hope that by sharing it with as many people as possible, the world can become an even better place for all of us.

Well, please read on and absorb the wisdom:

Dearest All,
Jai Gurudev
A beautiful message and story from Guru Ji (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of AOL)
Wish to share with you all……….

"THIS ALSO WILL PASS"

Once a king called upon all of his wise men and asked them,” Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstances, in every place and every time; in every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? Is there an answer for this question? Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me? Tell me is there any mantra?”

All the wise men were puzzled by the King’s question. They thought and thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper, with a condition that the king was not to see it, out of curiosity.

Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he can see it. The King put the papers under his Diamond ring.

Some time later, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. The King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. The King had to flee on his horse. The enemies were following him, getting closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road - that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished…and he could not return because it was a small road…the sound of enemy’s horses was approaching fast. The King became restless. There seemed to be no way.

Then suddenly, the King saw the Diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was – “THIS ALSO WILL PASS”.

The King read it. Again, he read it. Suddenly something struck him - Yes! This also will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all my pleasures have gone! I am here trying to escape from enemies. Like those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too, will pass! A calmness came upon the King's face. He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom.

The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him. After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy was receding. They had moved into some other part of the mountains near him.

The King was very brave. He re-organized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his empire. When the King returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fanfare. The whole capital rejoiced in the victory.

Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being showered on the King from every house, from every corner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment the King said to himself, “I am one of the bravest and greatest king. It is not easy to defeat me. With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him!

Suddenly the Diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded the King of the message. He opened it and read it again - “THIS ALSO WILL PASS”.

The king became silent! His face went through a total change - from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness. If this too is going to pass, it is not yours! The defeat was not yours! The victory is not yours! You are just a watcher! Everything passes by. We are witnesses of all this. We are the perceivers. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes.

Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate your own life. This too will pass. Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent? They all come and pass away.

Life just passes away. There is nothing permanent in this world. Everything changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective. You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks, all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. The problems in the present, they too will pass away because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away.

You are just a witness of change. Experience it, understand it, and enjoy the present moment - THIS ALSO WILL PASS !

May God bless you all