Serenity in Chaos

As an airport skycap checked through a customer at curbside, he accidentally knocked over the man's luggage. He quickly collected the fallen bags and apologized for the mishap. Unappeased, the traveler burst into an angry tirade, raging and swearing at the skycap for his clumsiness.

Throughout the traveler's rant, the baggage handler calmly apologized and smiled. The livid customer continued to berate the man, even as he turned away and headed for his gate. Through it all the baggage handler smiled and remained calm.

The next customer in line witnessed the incident and marveled at the skycap's professionalism and self control. "I have never seen such restraint and humility," he said. "How do you keep your cool when somebody is attacking you so viciously?"

"It's easy," the skycap answered. "He's going to London, but his bags are going to Tokyo."

I won't recommend that we use revenge to relieve stress. But let me tell you about someone who has found a way to go through most of his life unfazed by the turbulence that affects most people.

He is one of the calmest people I've ever known and he describes how he keeps his cool no matter how turbulent a situation becomes. He says, "I look at it this way. A traffic jam has no power to make me angry. It just stops my car. And that's the way I try to look at most of what happens to me." With that philosophy, this guy goes through life with a serenity I can only envy.

My friend likes to say things like, "A rude customer has no power to make me angry; he just fusses." And, "A mistake I made has no power to make me upset; it's just a chance to do better." He shows how we can truly find calmness in the midst of chaos.

Eminent 20th Century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote a short prayer that has been reprinted countless times. Bill Wilson, co-founder of the support group Alcoholics Anonymous, became familiar with the prayer about 1941. He edited and adapted it, and then circulated it with the title "Serenity Prayer." You are likely familiar with his version:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

The prayer has been a great help to many hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people over the years. And the truth of the matter is that there is much which cannot be changed. We can't do anything about this evening's traffic. Another person's reaction is not something we can control.

Furthermore, we may have made any number of mistakes that we probably regret, but they are in the past and that is something we cannot change. Reliving the past does not help us change the future.

There's a certain power in calmness. And those who learn to accept with serenity that which they cannot change will find power to change those things they can.

-- Steve Goodier

Cranky Old Man

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet. 

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Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . . . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man . . . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food . . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . . . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am . . . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding . . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . . . . with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . . with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . . With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons . . . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more . . . . Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old age . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man
Look closer . . . . see . . . . . . . . ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!

PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM (originally by Phyllis McCormack; adapted by Dave Griffith)

Turn the Paper Sideways

Sometimes I need to approach a persistent problem with a new way of thinking. The Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez said, "If they give you ruled paper, write the other way." His image reminds me to always be my own person, but it also challenges me to think creatively. Turning the paper sideways is like looking at situations from different angles. 


Henry L. Mencken said it first: "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong." And how often I am determined to keep pounding on that simple and neat solution until I make it work, or else I finally give up altogether. But success will surprisingly come when I decide to look at the thing from a wholly different perspective. 


Several all night convenience stores in New York City learned something about viewing problems another way. Evidently, some of the stores had a problem with teenagers hanging out in their parking lots late into the night. Not that they didn't like kids; they liked them very much. But customers complained that they were afraid to approach them in the dark and push through them to enter the store. Neighbors complained that couldn't sleep with the noise. And store personnel were worried about the well-being of the young people themselves. Late at night, these neighborhoods were unsafe. 


Managers tried various methods to solve the problem. They asked the kids to find a safer place to congregate. They asked them to move away from the doors so customers didn't have to push through them. They asked them to discard their cigarette butts and trash in outdoor receptacles and not litter the parking lot. Each solution was simple, neat and completely ineffective. It seems that any of them should have worked. But none of them did and many of the store managers eventually gave up in frustration on solving the problem.


Finally, one man came up with an unusual idea. He decided he had been approaching the situation all wrong. Asking the teens to change their behavior didn't work, so he tried something different. He just piped easy-listening music into the parking lot -- slow, soothing instrumentals especially suited for mature listeners. 


No more loitering.


Sometimes we just need to look at things differently. Again and again we butt up against the same old problem. It may involve a child or parent, a friend or lover. It might be a problem with a co-worker. Maybe it's just a complex situation we're working through, or a personal problem with which we can't seem to make any headway. And so far, everything we've tried has failed. Perhaps it's time to turn the paper around and write the other way; to look at the problem a whole new way.


Here's a good question to ask: "How can I come at this thing from a different angle?" Because there is likely something you're not seeing. 


A father and his daughter were stopped by a flight attendant before boarding their plane. The problem? The little girl was clutching a large bouquet of balloons. In sympathetic tones, the attendant told the child that she would not be permitted to travel with all of the balloons. "Only one is allowed per passenger," she said in a voice that concluded there's nothing to be done. After all, rules are rules.


Father and daughter decided they could each carry one. So with tears in her eyes, the little child selected her two favorite balloons for the flight. But before she could discard the rest, another passenger intervened. "Here, I'll take one," he said. He quickly saw a solution to the problem and proceeded to give one balloon to anybody in line who would take one. As she disembarked, every balloon was returned to the happy child.


Here was a man who just looked at the problem a different way. Instead of saying, "There's nothing be done," he turned the paper sideways and the answer was clear.


When you turn your paper sideways, what do you see?


-- Steve Goodier

Singlish and Dyslexia

Ho sey bo ... Ah, as a true blue Singaporean, how can dun know how to speak Singlish, tio bo?? hahaha


Singlish and Dyslexia !!
What do they have in common?

Dr JiaJia and BigBrother


You must have seen, heard or read about him in the newspaper recently ... the 7 year old dyslexic boy who has his own Youtube channel, acts funny and help to teach the use of Singlish through their comedy videos, which never fail to make me laugh out loud


Ai Seh ... He wants to become a MP (Member of Parliament) in the future ... who will vote for him? Kee Chiew, kee chiew :D 


Now, he is going to be a movie star first ... in the movie - Taxi! Taxi! (coming out in January 2013), together with Gurmit Singh and Mark Lee ... Wa Seh, power sia


This is the video that started it all :)


 




The sequel ...


 




And many many more ... If you like them, keep on watching over at Youtube ba !! :D 


This cute little boy is always so positive ... how can not like him :)


Be warned ... can make you laugh until peng san ... wahahaha


Last but not least, if it is within your means, please support this amazing boy to do charity by buying his iconic T-shirt from DAS


Mai Tu Liao hor ... :P

Life

Life

How To Focus

How to Focus in the Age of Distraction

Up Where We Belong

Who knows what tomorrow brings
In a world, few hearts survive
All I know is the way I feel
When its real, I keep it alive


The road is long, there are mountains in our way
But we climb a step every day


Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles cry on a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world we know, up where the clear winds blow


Some hang on to "used to be"
Live their lives, looking behind
All we have is here and now
All our life, out there to find


The road is long, there are mountains in our way,
But we climb them a step every day


Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles cry on a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world we know, up where the clear winds blow


Time goes by
No time to cry
Lifes you and I
Alive, today


Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles cry on a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world we know, up where the clear winds blow

The Beauty Of Our World

"You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough"


"I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer."


"Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life."


"Life is about falling - Living is about getting back up."


"Life is what happens to you while you're working for your future."


"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."


"Life without love is like a tree without blossom and fruit."


"Many say I am just one to try. I say I am one less to quit."


"Think of the beauty still left around you and be happy."

Imagination is Everything

Three-year-old Jonathon is gifted. And precocious. I'm told that when his parents took him to a restaurant, he ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. "Jonathon, I'm sorry, we don't serve grilled cheese sandwiches," the server replied.


He asked playfully, "You have a grill, don't you?"


She answered, "Yes."


He continued, "You have cheese, don't you?"


"Yes, we do."


"You have bread, don't you?"


"Yes.


"Well," he said, "I'll have a grilled cheese sandwich."


Three years old. (You may think his parents should have taught him better manners, but please don't let that keep you from seeing the marvel of this small child's imagination.)


The smiling server returned after checking with the chef and told the boy they would be happy to fix him the sandwich. "But I forgot to ask you what you want to drink," she said.


"I'll have a milkshake, please."


"I'm sorry, Jonathon, but we don't serve milkshakes," she answered. But this time she was ready for him. "Now, it is true we have milk. And it is true we have ice cream. But we don't have syrup," she explained.


He laughed. "You have a car, don't you?"


There's always a solution. Whatever other intellectual gifts Jonathon seems to have, the trait that may serve him best is imagination. He has the valuable ability to imagine a solution to whatever problem comes his way. 


Albert Einstein famously said, "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." In other words, what we can see in our imagination today we may experience in life tomorrow. He also said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." He knew that we humans are limited by how much we can learn, but we are never limited by how much we can imagine. 


I have come to realize that I am held back far more by my lack of imagination than by my circumstances. When I believe nothing can be done, I search for a way OUT of the difficulty when I OUGHT to be searching for solutions. How can I change anything when I'm looking for a way out? When I perceive my situation as impossible, I resign myself to that fate and give up. 


But WHAT IF I were to look at it differently? WHAT IF I approached it in a different way? WHAT IF a creative answer could actually be found? I often settle for less when I should be asking myself powerful questions that begin with the words "what if. . ." 


Some two hundred years ago a class of noisy boys in a German primary school was assigned a task to keep them busy. They were instructed to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. The children settled down, scribbling busily on their slates -- all but one. This boy looked off into space for a few moments, then wrote something on his slate and turned it in. His was the only right answer. When the amazed teacher asked how he did it, he said he wondered if there might be some shortcut. He went on to say, "I found one: 100 plus one is 101; 99 plus two is 101; 98 plus three is 101, and, if I continued the series all the way to 51 plus 50, I have 101 fifty times, which is 5,050." 


The teacher decided then that this child needed special tutoring. The boy was Karl Friedrich Gauss, and he became a great mathematician of the 19th century.


Gauss solved his problem when he asked himself the question, "What if there is a shortcut?" Two of the most powerful words I know are "what if." 


The solution to my problem, the way through a dilemma or the beginning of that next creative change in my life almost always starts when I decide that I am NOT locked in. "What if" questions release my imagination so I can better see what was hidden. 


Imagination is everything. And what if I were to use the words "what if" more often? I can only imagine what might happen.


-- Steve Goodier

Just Do It

 Believe in yourself and go for it with a positive mental attitude. 

Remember to set your goals high, have a definite plan and burning desire to succeed. 

Trust yourself and Just Do It.

Start Again

Things To Do Today

Optimism

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.

Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

- Helen Keller

Tomorrow Will Be Better

This has always been one of my favourites ... A song to wake me up every morning, when I used to set the alarm clock on my mobile phone


Now, I have not set alarm clock for more than 2 years already ... No need at all, my kids will wake me up ... on time or even earlier ... Hahaha :D

Giving Up

If she did not give up, why would you?

Yes, I did IT!!

Which step have you reached today?

Every Day is Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day ... Every day is Valentine's Day :D

Thank you for being my wife, my best friend, a wonderful mother to our 2 lovely daughters ... 辛苦你了!!
Love you much much ... Muack =)

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head

I was riding this morning ... when it started drizzling ... and then, raining
Heng, not very heavily, still can ride ... Shiok!!


One song came to my mind ... :)

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'


So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'


But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me


It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me


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A happy and optimistic song for you to enjoy ...


Now ... got to go clean up and lub the bike :D

Chances Of Success

What are your chances of SUCCESS?


It depends ... :)

PASSION

Don't ever let somebody tell you... ...you can't do something. 
Not even me. All right? - All right. 
You got a dream... ...you gotta protect it. 
People can't do something themselves... ...they wanna tell you you can't do it. 
If you want something, go get it. Period.