Tuesday, April 30, 2013

I hope I never have to write this kind of letter

Letter from a mother to her son on his 12th birthday
It is your birthday tomorrow. Twelve years old. I am wondering what cake to buy for your birthday. I really want to get it right. Not long ago, a Tardis or football-shaped cake would have been the easy choice, but those days are behind us.
I am considering a photo cake – I have a photo of us from when you were small. It shows us smiling together, in a time when affection was easy between us and you weren't uncomfortable showing you loved me. I think the cake would be lovely, but I'm worried you will sigh and tut with the impatient disapproval I am becoming all too familiar with.
The past year has been one of much change for you, and for our relationship. You have moved from the safety and confines of life in primary school to the freedom and plethora of influences that is high school. You have made new friends, had your first detention, started asking to go out on your own.
You are now happy to stay in the house on your own while I go out, something that should give me more freedom … but only brings me new worries. Your life is expanding beyond the familiar circle of childhood friends, whose parents I am on first-name terms with.
Just six months ago, you were worried about getting the bus to school on your own. Now, you want to use the bus every weekend to go and visit new friends. Friends I don't know, with parents I have never met, who live in houses I will never visit.
A year ago, school holidays would have been filled with getting up early and wondering what to do together. Now, they are filled with the expectation of you sleeping late and spending the afternoon locked in a room staring at a video game. I can't seem to find an activity that we could do together that isn't "lame". This time last year, you would still hold my hand when we went out for walks. Now, the mere mention of a walk brings eye-rolling and complaining. You used to accept my advice and warnings, listen to me carefully, and consider me the font of knowledge. Now I am seemingly the one person that doesn't understand you.
You have even got a girlfriend. I have yet to meet her, but I have seen pictures of you and her smiling at each other on your Facebook page. The one I have just discovered you have "unfriended" me from.
I have found texts on your phone where you have told her you love her and that she is your life. The blow that came from reading this was my payback for snooping on your phone, but it was devastating to see in black and white that I am no longer the most important woman in your life.
I never thought I would be one of those mothers that did not want theirchildren to grow up. But I'm not ready.
I expected you to grow up. I expected you to grow away from me. I just didn't expect it to happen this soon. Or that it would hurt so much. I just want my little boy back.
Still, I will never burden you with this old-woman nonsense. I will probably play it safe and buy you the chocolate tray bake.
Happy birthday, my darling boy.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Don’t let go of hope

Nancye Sims

Hope gives you the strength to keep going
When you feel like giving up.
Don’t ever quit believing in yourself.
As long as you believe you can,
You will have a reason for trying.
Don’t let anyone hold your happiness
In their hands; hold it in yours,
So it will always be within your reach.
Don’t measure success or failure
By material wealth, but by how you feel;
Our feelings indicate the richness of our lives.
Don’t let bad moments make a quitter
Out of you;
Be patient and they will pass.
By seeing them through
You will become a winner.

Don’t hesitate to reach out for help;
We all need it from time to time.
Don’t run away from love but towards love,
Because it is our deepest joy.
Don’t wait for what you want to come to you;
Go after it with all that you are,
Knowing that life will meet you halfway.
Don’t feel like you’ve lost
When plans and dreams fall short of your hopes.
Any time you learn something new
About yourself or about life,
You have progressed.
Don’t do anything that takes away
From your self-respect;
Feeling good about yourself
Is essential to feeling good about life..
Don’t ever forget how to laugh
Or be too proud to cry.
It is by doing both
That we live life to its fullest….

Copyright © 1996 By Nancye Sims
http://nancyesims.com/it/DontLetGoOfHope.htm

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Four Essentials for Happiness


FOUR ESSENTIALS FOR HAPPINESS

By Brian Tracy

You may have a thousand different goals over the course of your lifetime, but they all will

fall into one of four basic categories. Everything you do is an attempt to enhance the
quality of your life in one or more of these areas.

The first category is your desire for happy relationships. You want to love and be
loved by others. You want to have a happy, harmonious home life. You want to get along
well with the people around you, and you want to earn the respect of the people you
respect. Your involvement in social and community affairs results from your desire to
have happy interactions with others and to make a contribution to the society you live in.

The second category is your desire for interesting and challenging work. You want to
make a good living, of course, but more than that, you want to really enjoy your
occupation or profession. The very best times of your life are when you are completely
absorbed in your work.

The third category is your desire for financial independence. You want to be free
from worries about money. You want to have enough money in the bank so that you can
make decisions without counting your pennies. You want to achieve a certain financial
state so that you can retire in comfort and never have to be concerned about whether or
not you have enough money to support your lifestyle. Financial independence frees you
from poverty and a need to depend upon others for your livelihood. If you save and invest
regularly throughout your working life, you will eventually reach the point where you will
never have to work again.

The fourth and final category is your desire for good health, to be free of pain and
illness and to have a continuous flow of energy and feelings of well-being. In fact, your
health is so central to your life that you take it for granted until something happens to
disrupt it.

Peace of mind is essential for every one of these. The greater your peace of mind, the more
relaxed and positive you are, the less stress you suffer, the better is your overall health.

The more peace of mind you have, the better are your relationships, the more optimistic,
friendly and confident you are with everyone in your life. When you feel good about
yourself on the inside, you do your work better and take more pride in it. You are a better
boss and coworker. And the greater your overall peace of mind the more likely you are to
earn a good living, saves regularly for the future and ultimately achieve financial
independence.

Life is very much a study of attention. Whatever you dwell upon and think about grows
and expands in your life. The more you pay attention to your relationships, the quality and
quantity of your work, your finances and your health, the better they will become and the
happier you will be.

Friday, April 26, 2013

War of lies, based on lies

It must be what, 4, 5 years since I wrote anything political.
10 days to go and we will see if Malaysians have the will to change.
I'm making this exception to write on a political angle because I'm fed up with the mainstream drivel, just like 20 million other Malaysians.
BN, you have some really bad consultants, or you hired really bad PR/advertising firms.
Let me go through the list of how you managed to screw yourself up.

1. The 4 Ps of Marketing.
Do your consultants actually know these 4 pillars of Marketing? If they did, you wouldn't need to have so much PR work done. Even with the atrocious work done, your image can't get any better.
Hire me, BN. I'll do a much better job and I'll quit if your ratings doesn't improve.
How's that for accountability?

2. Know your sales/marketing channels.
Yes, you have the complete mainstream media at your disposal. So why waste the space with irrelevant ads? Why are you telling people about the work you are being PAID to do? Only now you want to issue a report card on yourself?
You're being paid with MY TAX dollars. Which means I AM YOUR BOSS.
The Rakyat.
And it doesnt' help that you're flooding the media with your nonsensical words.
TOO MUCH is TOO MUCH.
Less is More mean anything to you guys?

3. Know your target market.
What is the meaning of demographics?
It means that even if you want to lie, you better make sure you're lying to someone who can believe you.
You put all these silly ads on radio.
FACTS you say. But they are LIES.
How do I know?
There's this thing called the INTERNET. And a little thing called Google will help me find facts, undisputable facts that goes against the Veneer you call facts.
ok, ok, sorry if I'm harsh for calling you a liar.
Now listen listen listen.
Have you checked what the demographics for Red FM are?
What is the typical listener for Red? Age group etc.
They are people who can think. Even if they don't go online for the next 10 days, even if they don't talk to another human being for the next 10 days, the ads you're putting goes against any form of logical thinking.
Yes, BN, other human beings who are not BN-aligned can actually use their brains to decipher words.
Their neutrons can actually deduce that you are producing nonsense.
For God's sake, can you imagine how the listeners of all these radio stations feel?
Muak. Jelak. Sickened. Insulted.
PR wishes to record their sincerest thanks to you for driving votes to them.
Yes, your "friends" own all these media companies and you're free to use their airtime and real estate.
Eh, sorry, I mean it's free for you to use them.
If anything, I'm sorry that you're wasting these resources so readily available.
Wait a minute, actually I'm not.
But I really can't stand wastage of any kind.
Not my time, not my eyes and ears.

Maybe post May 05, you will improve. Maybe even become a better runner of things.
Perhaps.
But people will never, I repeat NEVER, forget how you made them feel before May 05.
Best of luck, BN, you're gonna need it.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

True Freedom


To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk being called sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self.

To place your ideas and your dreams before a crowd is to risk being called naive.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.

He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and
love and live.

Chained by things that are certain, he is a slave.

He has forfeited his freedom.

Only the person who risks is truly free.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Look deeper

By Bob Perks

There is an old story attributed to Hindu beliefs that there was a time when all men on earth were Gods.

Over time man had sinned and destroyed the right to that Divine Heritage.

The God of all Gods, decided to remove the "God-Head" from man. God decided to hide it from all mankind but could not find a good place to put it so that man could never again find it. 

"Bury it down deep in the ground!" was one suggestion.

God said, "No, man will find it while digging for gold, silver and other precious metals."

"Place it in the deepest part of the ocean," was another suggestion.

God said, "No, man will one day search the oceans and find it."

Finally, God decided to "hide it down deep within man itself for man will never think to find it within himself."

And so it is, my friend. All that you need in life has already been given to you.

Jesus was once asked when the kingdom of God would come.

The kingdom of God, Jesus replied, is not something people will be able to see and point to. Then came these striking words: "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21)

God did not create you and set you here upon the earth to wander around without purpose. God created you with a mind to think, a heart to love, hands to build, feet to carry you to where you are to go, dreams to be fulfilled and work to be done to glorify His Name.

Some will be grand and great accomplishments by world standards. Most will be simple tasks but with great and everlasting purpose as decided by God.

If you are unable to tap into the power and strength of God's promise this message is one to help you connect.

This fulfills my mission to share with you these two words today.
"Look Deeper."

"I believe in you!"
Bob

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Believing in Yourself



Standing for what you believe in
regardless of the odds against you
and the pressure that tears at your
resistance means

Courage

Keeping a smile on your face
when inside you feel like dying
for the sake of supporting others
means

Strength

Stopping at nothing
and doing what is in your heart
you know is right
means

Determination

Doing more than is expected
to make another’s life a little more bearable
without uttering a single complaint
means

Compassion

Helping a friend in need
no matter the time or effort
to the best of your ability
means

Loyalty

Giving more than you have
and expecting nothing
but gratitude in return
means

Selflessness

Holding your head high
and being the best you know you can be
when life seems to fall apart at your feet
and facing each difficulty with
the confidence that time will bring
you try to better your tomorrows
and never giving up
means

Believing in Yourself

Monday, April 01, 2013

You are


You Are...
You are strong.....
When you take your grief and teach it to smile.
 
You are brave......
When you overcome your fears and Help others to do the same.
 
You are happy....
When you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing.
 
You are loving....
When your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.
 
You are wise....
When you admit there are times when you fool yourself.
 
You are alive....
When tomorrows hope means more to you then yesterdays mistake.
 
You are growing....
When you know what you are but not what you will become.
 
You are free...
When you are on controle of yourself and do not wish to control others.
 
You are honourable.....
When you find your honor  is to honor others.
 
You are generous...
When you can take as sweetly as you can give.
 
You are humble...
When you do not know how humble you are.
 
You are thoughtful....
When you see me just as i am and treat me just as you are.
 
You are merciful...
When you forgive in others the faults you condemn in yourself.
 
You are beautiful....
When you don't need a mirror to tell you.
 
You are rich...
When you never need more then what you have.
 
You are YOU...
When you are at peace with who you are not.