Finding yourself

There are many thoughts on this popular subject of finding yourself, and which path should one follow. first path is to do solely what you are passionate about & ignoring eveythng else or surmounting it (by taking the road less travelled, carefree & throwing caution to the winds). the second is immerse oneself in work and chores of daily life ie. to merely exist (like an autobot). the third path is be your own person (since you are neither the above),ie.a mix of both which are most of us people; we may all have thought that one time or other we will change the world or make a difference through a "pet cause" eg. protecting the environment or nature, raising spiritual awareness, writing a book, being a inventor, world leader or famous person or even doing social work. Maslow's theory on hierarchy of needs states that one only can talk about this higher-level needs & self-actualisation when you have first conquered basic needs and have a decent standard of living, i venture to add that you must be focused, organised, overcome mental challenges, physical difficulties and be single-minded & committed in your quest. we may spent our whole life trying to achieve this "pinnacle" but thats the path or journey to finding yourself. for better or worse, thats what we signed up for, that journey is the Life we are living now. In the Godfather movie, as they say "this is the Life you have chosen", so No Regrets !! 

These below are famous quotes to reflect upon in our daily lives :
• To embrace the misfit in oneself is to be vulnerable. It is to forsake any acceptance that comes with fitting in and to instead be fortified by a kind of love, really. A love of life, a love of wonder, and, ultimately, a sustaining love for oneself. Far from egoism, that love for oneself is a measure of one's love for others, for humanity. And its only from love that great ideas can be born - Anonymous
• Difficulties and Failures in Life are meant to make us Better not Bitter - John Maxwell

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln

"Nobody should expect to be perfect, or be unduly troubled by the fact he is not." ~ Betrand Russell in "Conquest of Happiness".

"It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own" - Cicero

Being yourself - the hardest thing to do.

Never go against your nature. Dont be a wannabe. Be a dunawanabe. Be true to yourself. Only then will you live ! Otherwise you are dying a slow death trying to live up to be someone you are not.

Stress will kill you by trying to be someone you are not.
What if being yourself irritates someone or people around you that you reinvent yourself to be another person you are not, or attempt very hard to do that which goes against your very grain, that it depresses you immensely by the time you age to 40 or 50. Only then you know people dont really care about you that you stop caring and feeling sorry for yourself and apologising for no reason at all. Then you have reached true "realisation" for to be totally free, you have to be fully aware of your true nature, the omni present , omni potent divine being that is yourself as that is every other person on this planet. All else is "maya" that clouds the mind and goal in this life and next is being one with God.

Forgoing all pleasures like unreasonable extreme attachments to material goods, money, food, ambition, entertainment, luxury, goodwill, fashion, patronage, praise, recognition , body , knowledge , can only be great for our Soul !

God bless us !

Art of managing expectations

It seems one should not have expectations or should not expect anything in return.

And when it seems least likely thats when people or situations hit you hard or lift you up.

Therefore it can be family or friends. Or can be familiar or unfamiliar "territory". So dont make assumptions and turn perceptions into reality setting up yourself for misery.

Dont presume or predict, but prempt for all eventuality. Look at positive outcomes, be aware of negatives but dont dwell on them. Move on. No stereotyping .

Dont take things personally. Respect yourself. Take your hat off, applaud, appreciate and celebrate life !

Today Steve Jobs died. without his invention, i would not be posting this blog. He was carefree and pursued his passion, made a huge difference to people's lives and thats what matters, regardless what people say ! It can be in any endeavour in any field. May he rest in peace. RIP.

Urban waste - humans

There you go, I am the first to admit it, those of us urban intellectual folks in big cities are the biggest culprits or wasters (we are part of the waste in that case), we plunder our mother earth and strip her of natural resources (forests, water, elements) , to feed our factories, cars, buildings (and ourselves) and consume/waste it all for our short-sighted creature comforts. As much as possible, lets not contribute to the climatic calamities around us - extreme weather conditions, floods, haze, pollution, wastage , etc. As an immediate step, cut down consumption (food, appliances, luxuries, plastic, paper publications, etc). Do no print everything, read online where possible. Do not drive (or buy hybrid/electric car), take public transport or walk, cycle where possible. Switch off appliances (not put on standby), reduce air-conditioning especially in public buildings like shopping malls and offices and our homes. I have taken little steps like the above, like leaving car at home once or twice a week (there is no direct bus/train to my office & journey is long), minimise air-con usage, save water, switch off mains power on electrical items not required, walk to nearby amenities, reduce plastic usage & unnecessary gadgets/appliances in my life. Lets learn from the rural or country folks - not poor but "rich" in their own way - eating enough food (not overeat), do hard work, enough clothing/accessories, enjoy minimalist living with basic necessities, and not over-spend (talking about those who choose to do so)translates to a happy, satisfied life ! The Ghandian way or the Confucious way, go for it ! Protect our heritage, give back to Mother Nature what she has given us.

Going into 2010...

New year, new beginnings, resolutions and changes

Hope to renew myself this year , yet again..realign the standard personal priorities in this order..to health, family, spiritual, career (plan A), planB and the rest after that...no different from last year.

Life is full of surprises and changes. Grateful for my mother in law being here for the past year, she's here looking after the kids and our house very well and indirectly, after us (our peace of mind). My better half is working and preoccupied with our kids, their education, and our home. My mum is happy to be in KL with her four darling girls (2 daughters amd 2 teenage grand-daughters), i am very happy for her. Sons visit her when we can, on long holidays. Better life for her there anyways, nothing like closer to home, good medical-care too.

I have a hundred things on my mind (constant challenges and unnecessary worry/stress) , the past six-month yoga class helps destress a bit, and going for chinmaya gita talks by swamiji do help as well. Need a more regular dose of this new-age (or repackaged old-age mantra) and its time to move to higher gear. Lets see how it goes.

Current job is not going anywhere, pay-wise or position-wise, (supposed to give up all ambition, ITS DESTINY as our God says, of course you still put in all the effort), plan B (confidential for now) is slow-moving, almost no chance of moving down under , realised nothing much over there (likely not a good move at this time ANYWAYS).
Lets see what the future holds.

Meanwhile, happy to see the world is out of the global financial crisis of last year (for now), economy is improving here and where it matters. Hoping that translates to better global awareness of global warming and doing something CONCRETE about it, where people and corporations globally REDUCE DRASTICALLY their carbon footprints. The natural disasters , and those attributed to nature (severe winters up north and very hot dry summers or floods everywhere else), are making themselves very, very visible and SIGNIFICANT enough to worry us. Humans have all a moral responsibility to protect mother Earth (our home for millions of years) , and we are NOT doing enough at all (including yours truly). More of it in the next BLOG/

Feeling great..but then...

Happy to spend time with kids at home, taking time off from work.
I have bit of the flu, fortunately kids are fine.
Son has mid-year exams starting tomorrow.
We had a good time visiting family & friends over the weekend.

Mum's birthday was grand, lots of her friends came, we ate a lot, laughed a lot, thats whats it supposed to be i guess. She really enjoyed it , with the priest and his "sidekicks" chanting for more than an hour, before we had our food. Lots of presents and old friendly folks all around her.

The best of the swine flu had passed us hopefully ,pray the others all over the world get better soon. A very hazy dull today indeed, foul smells in the air, pray Man realises his mistake, and not pollute as much or minimise waste. The Titan plant across the border is burning away toxic fuels out of its chimneys furiously with huge fireballs and surely is a big danger to people living in the vicinity in the near to long term. Then there are wars - civil war in Sri Lanka, America's war in Afghanistan (and Pakistan now), the ancient longstanding "war" in Middle East between the different faiths, all types of wars and piracy in Africa, nuclear standoffish "war of words" by North Korea - many natural disasters all over the world, as if there are not many problems already with our world. This compounds further the global financial recession and resulting downturn even further.

God bless and shower His mercy on all of us during these troubled times, may He look after all of mankind or rather, all of His creation, and help His most intelligent creation of all , the humans , to realise their ultimate foolhardiness and stupidity of destroying their beloved mother Earth bit by bit.

Worrisome day

Its been two months since i blogged, guess i am not your regular blogger.

Its not nothing has happened since, just that i am plain lazy. busy with kids stuff today, feel guilty if i dont spend time with them over the week, esp my son. he gets "scolded" for nothing from both of us, that leaves me feeling bad, esp when we try not to agitate our small girl, she adores all our attention and screams at the slightest perceived parental request. yet , i am woried about my job, dont know where this is heading, esp with the global downturn. Life is never the same. Everyday is a challenge. The wifey says, or at least thinks my family is crazed. My mum calls the whole world to her birthday party , the wife complains, i guess i am not happy with it either. One side of me thinks thats her pregorative, at least its not happening in our house. I have just viewed some online short videos on the web about de-stressing yourself, that gives me more stress now, with the myraid of self-help theories and advice. Some say try yoga, breathe well, play games , exercise, etc. Its a saturday for crying out aloud, why am i so hot (literally its a hot day) and so bothered, should be out enjoying myself. Probably the price I am paying for being so self-absorbed about how i spend my time, should "hang loose" and relax, not get too tightly wound up, or highly strung, thats what someone said to me once.

I get anxious when things dont work out according to plan, or even if it did, could it have been better, what people are thinking (lesser of that as i get older & wiser, I suppose), how should i be reacting to situations, how to respond in a conversation and in a group, etc. Then there are political, financial, world situations, climate changes , social , worries beyond your control.