Quote of The Day

Love never dies a natural death.
It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source.
It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals.
It dies of illness and wounds;
it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing

-Anais Nin

Facing Reality

After months of hiding and running away, here I am facing my own real life scenario.

Firstly, my wedding is called off this year as we are not able to get approval from my beloved dad. Manfred and I went back last year and the trip didn't really go as what we have expected. In fact, it turned out pretty ugly. I came back here broken hearted and disappointed. Things have gotten really awkward between me and my family.

However we are not giving up. We canceled all arrangements that we have made, and unfortunately, had to forfeit some of the deposits that we have made. But we are still very positive. Monies can always be earned back :) And most importantly, we both know and sure that we want to spend our lifetime together. This experience has really made us emerge stronger.

Secondly, I have postponed my surgery to end of the year -most probably September. One of the main reason, if not the only reason, is that I have yet to informed my dad about my condition and the surgery. And yes it is linked to the first issue. So things really got a lil bit complicated here.

Recently I am reading 'You can Heal Your Life' by Louis L Hay and it speaks so much into me. My boss has been recommending the book for my daily devotional reading since last year and now I can really see why. Interestingly, in the foreword itself, it speaks something about disease which is so true. Disease is dis-ease. Dis-ease causes disease! So much of my dis-ease that causes me my own health! Knowledge is truly power.

I have comes to terms to forgive my family, for not behaving and reacting the way I want them to be. For first time of the year, I slept well -sound and peace.

Happiness

For years I have been searching for happiness, and for years I searched at the wrong places. Until recently, I discovered that happiness is a state of mind. It comes from within and is not affected by external factors. I learned this the hard way.

Almost everyday, we face challenges in our daily life. When things are going great, we are worried because it seems to good for us, or we are expecting bad things to happen. When things are down, we are cursing even more. This is the puzzle of life.

I learned that struggle is part of life. We can't really control what's happening around us, but we can do something to it. I can either succumb to the bad day, or I can take it easy and move on with the next task. It is all in your mind. After all, there's no failure -it's only feedback!

I learned that the best thing I can do to improve my situation is to stop whining and make each moment as special as I can be as if it's my last moment on earth. Everything in life is about perspective -and it's your own perspective. If today you woke up knowing that it's your last day on earth, how different will you treat your loved ones? How different will you look at your deadlines? How different will you talk to your friends?

I learned that I have a choice -and it's always my choice. I can wake up early in the morning feeling grumpy, or think about what I can achieve today e.g. finish my deadlines, greet people I meet with smile, tell my loved ones how much I love them etc..

Today, you have a choice to be happy.. and NOW, you can begin living your happy life..

The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved
-Victor Hugo

Happy Mother's Day

This year, Manfred and I bring his family out for Mother's Day celebration at Korean BBQ restaurant at Jushinjung East Coast. We both are so much into Korean BBQ now -galbisal (short rib boneless), woosul (ox-tounge), moksal (pork collar), kimchi, chicken ginseng soup etc.

*yummy..

Happy Dad and Mom :)

Dear and Mom

Me and Mom
*blurp.. (ops!)

Satisfied faces :)

New Haircut

Money is not Enough

"Exactly 80 years ago, a young man on a business trip to China fell ill. That young man was my grandfather. When he passed away 80 years ago, he left behind a young widow. This young widow had two children and was on the verge of delivering the third child, my mum.

You can imagine the deep grief of a young widow. Back then, there was no MCYS, no Public Assistance, and no ComCare support. Nevertheless, her two brothers gave her an allowance. She was not penniless but money was tight.

My mum had a tough life. She could never really enjoy taking luxury. She worked hard. She became a teacher. It was not easy even near the end of her teaching career. And in those days, MOE was not as enlightened as it is now.

My uncle went on to become a doctor and became a GP in Albert Street. Those of you who know him know that he never took a single day off.

Firstly, life can be tough, life can be unfair, and life is unpredictable. Bad things can happen to good, decent people. Regardless of this, we all need hope.

The second thing I have learnt is that you need family support. Who is going to be there for you when you need help?

The third lesson is that it is all about discipline and hard work. No matter how wealthy you are, if we lose that discipline or work ethic, we will fail.

At least for me, my mum has successfully transmitted those values. The question now is whether our youth, born in the times of plenty, spend more time thinking about how to spend their inheritance compared with our parents' generation.

At the end of the day, while money is important, it is also not enough. All the wealth in the world will not buy you success. Nor will it eliminate all the social problems in the world.

Is the real problem the lack of money?

Is it the poverty of material wealth or is it the poverty of relationships?

Those of us who live long enough will agree the long-term problem is a poverty of relationships.

We all need families, we need friends. And it is not just about families. We also want a caring, compassionate society. We will fail if society degenerates into nothing more than a society of selfish, successful individuals looking to spend more on themselves.

I remember Sam Tan's brilliant speech last week. I read the speech three times. I resonate with his views that it is not about the dilemma between the young and old, or between rich and poor, but between the head and heart. The head knows it cannot be overly generous, yet the heart wants the head to be so.

I believe we need a lean, efficient, rational, disciplined and competent government. There is also a need for compassion, generosity and emotional support in our society.

However, these are best delivered by community organizations rather than by a bloated bureaucracy. That is why we believe in many helping hands."

-Extracts from Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's speech