Never retire from life.

Looking back, there were those who upon retirement decided to rest from work for the rest of their lives and those people are no longer around today to tell their stories.

There was one man who liked to eat a lot although he had diabetes. Fortunately, when there was work to be done each day; when he had to climb stairs and move from classroom to classroom or back to the staffroom there was movement and the use of energy taking away excess sugar from his body, his diabetes was still under control.

However, the day he retired, he fixed Astro, a private broadcasting station's programmes and soon he was sitting the whole day in front of the television, watching captivating programmes and enjoying some tit-bits perhaps. "That's life!' some would exclaim but soon the television was watching this elderly man instead as he napped in the comfortable chair in front of the entertaining box. And it's my turn to protest,"What kind of life is that?"

Without some form of activity to use up energy and the sugar that is required for it, the body suffering from diabetes was fighting a losing battle with no assistance from the body's owner. A few months later, God sympathetically removed him from the boredom that must have been his.

Many people forget, perhaps conveniently dismissed, that we have a body that needs proper care and cleanliness to have it in tip-top condition, failing which, we may have to suffer some kind of illness or weakness, both of them inconveniencing us in movement and enjoyment of life.

For me, to be able to enjoy life to my fullest possible, I must be able to be painless, flexible, able to enjoy with all my senses, walk and run. When I am unable to enjoy life any longer, I would pray for the journey from this life.

Now, my wish I believe is every other person's wish. The only difference is how much effort or discipline would anyone put in to ensure his/her body would be in such a desirable health. Does the person exercise? Are the exercises the right type? Is it sufficient? Is the body given the best possible nutrients for it to maintain its capability? What about the senses? Is the mind and all the other senses given the necessary stimulation to work well. Reading? Thinking? When was the last time deep breathing was done using the diaphragm to suck in fresh, untainted air to the deepest part of the lungs? Unless we do all these things, is it fair to expect our body and its organs to function at its optimum level?

There is too much life ahead to retire from it yet. Retirement from life ought to be the second we breathe our last.

The splendour of the tropical forest at a mountain.

I spent the last day of the Chinese New Year, which is the fifteenth day, romancing mother nature. I took a walk to embrace her natural unspoilt beauty at Gunung Bintang in Kulim.

It was a pleasure I savoured as I wandered among her delightful greenery, her refreshing cool air and her soft textured earth. The trek was through undulating terrain filled with wonderful creatures. I went up her slopes, down into dark green tunnels and wade through several streams, stopping once at one of the fast flowing rivers to strip to my swimming trunk and dipped myself in to cool my body with its cold rejuvenating waters.

I had beautiful compactible company too as they love nature and its many splendours as much as I do. Together, we had a fantastic time immersed in nature's beauty.

The many splendours of the tropical forest on a mountain, some of which escaped the eye of my camera with their swift movements and flight, could better be appreciated through pictures. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and it is true in this case. How else can I convey the majestic beauty that my eyes feasted on as I ventured deep into the forest towards the top of the mountain. Words would fail to tell what these pictures easily present.


Wow! Look at the foliage of those trees.

A beautiful moth comes alighting.

Glistening red berries. small yet so magnetic to our attention.

Delightfully red ginger flowers.

Look at those majestic trees. Nature in all its glory.

One of those rarely seen flowers.

And beautiful ground cover for the forest.

Flowers from cat-like buds.

However, from another angle, the buds look different.





A hanging flower.

Lovely black dragonfly among the ferns.

Another attractive plant on the forest floor. Truly, nature's allure is apparent from every angle.

What a scenic view!

There's erosion even in the mountains. Water power is indeed obvious.

The forest darkens and we prepare to descend. Failing which, we might have to sleep in the arms of mother nature, a prospect I look forward to another day.

The need for bonding:without it what's the point of ....?

Humans need food for energy and development of the body, exercise to strengthen it and rest for growth, regeneration and recuperation. In an earlier posting we have seen how the lost of parents leads to brain disturbances. Let us examine our physical needs too and how it can also lead to emotional imbalance.

There are parents, in pursuit of money, forget that children not only need food, exercise and rest. Children as well as adults need bonding. They need to be close with their parents and friends. Such closeness can be established through being with them, communicating with each other and expression of love through touch and hugs.

There was a reckless child I knew, who could not care less what happened to him. He would run all over, mixing with whoever is willing to allow him to join in and engaging in harmful activities. As his teacher, I advised him to care for himself more, but his reply was: ‘Who cares? Even my parents do not bother.’ His self-esteem was obviously low.

Through investigation as his disciplinarian in his school, I discovered that both parents were busy working. Early in the morning he went to school before his parents were awake. He did not see his parents throughout the day. He hunted for his own food with money supplied by them. By the time they returned home, he was usually already in bed. When I managed to see one of the parents in her working place and told her about his involvement in certain undesirable activities, she claimed he never went out for such things. According to her, despite her absence in her own house for most of the day, she insisted her son stayed at home throughout the day. She refused to face the truth!

Of course, when one courts trouble, trouble is bound to follow. The parents, one day, found policemen at their doorstep with the sad news. Gone, for the child, were some of the opportunities which could have been his.

This one weakness caused the child so much loss. It also got the family to feel guilty, to blame each other and brought disharmony into the family.

This is a problem we can prevent. In fact, we must prevent this from happening!