Happy 43rd Birthday to Singapore - National Day Parade Preview 2008

Here are some photos that i took during the Preview on 2 Aug 2008

View of the stage, floating platform

Red Lions coming in to land and the performance on the waterfront

Contigents forming up outside, preparing to march in

Parade formed up and ready for inspection, Sir

Singapore Flag Flypast

The Finale - Fireworks

Cheers to Singapore

Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

"Almost all of us have childhood dreams; for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center of helping many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams."

- Randy Pausch

With equal parts humor and heart, Carnegie Mellon professor and alumnus Randy Pausch delivered a one-of-a-kind last lecture that moved an overflow crowd at the university — and went on to move audiences around the globe.

Randy died July 25 of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

Watch online or order a DVD

Inspirational Story - Steve Wozniak

Steve Wozniak’s first big goal wasn’t big by today’s standards. All he wanted was his own computer.

But Steve was in high school when he had that big goal, and it was the 1960’s. His dad scoffed at Steve’s goal. A computer cost as much as a downpayment on a house, Steve’s dad said. Steve was undaunted. He said, “Then I’ll live in an apartment.”

By the time he reached his 20’s, Steve still hadn’t reached his goal. By then, he was a shy young man working at Hewlett-Packard. He still didn’t have enough money for a computer.

He had the skills to build one (he was an engineer and had had an aptitude for tinkering with electronics since he was a kid). But even though he had the skills, he didn’t have the money for parts.

So Steve designed computers on paper.

Finally, though, prices came down enough so he could move his ideas from paper to reality. He built a small computer, and since he couldn’t afford a display (what we now call a monitor), he used his TV.

At the time, a computer small enough to fit on a desk was a novelty. His peers were fascinated. One of his friends, Steve Jobs, suggested they build a PC board, a device that allowed others to build their own small computer.

Steve then went to his bosses at Hewlett-Packard and suggested the company build a small computer that worked with a home TV. The company rejected the idea.

So Steve and Steve decided to go out on their own. Jobs sold a van and Steve Wozniak sold his prized calculator , and they used the few hundred dollars they raised to finance their computer company, which they called Apple Computer. Their first computer was Apple I.

With the bank account nearly dry, Steve and Steve got 30 days credits on parts and then went into overdrive. They subcontracted the basic manufacturing, but then they had to do all the quality testing, which they did in Steve Jobs’ garage.

From these meager beginnings, Apple Computer was born. In 1980, the company went public, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Steve turned his little idea into a big success. That’s being bodacious.

If you have an idea, what are you waiting for?

Everything Counts

Early 20th Century African-American poet Countee Cullen spent the summer of his eighth year in Baltimore, Maryland. Shortly after he arrived he noticed a little white boy staring at him. Countee smiled, but the little boy did not smile back. Instead, he stuck out his tongue and called him a hurtful, racial slur.

Cullen later wrote a poem that included his recollection of the summer when he was eight. In it, he says this:

"I saw the whole of Baltimore
from May until September.
Of everything that happened there
that's all I can remember."

The white child likely soon forgot the episode. And he probably never was aware of the pain he inflicted on the young stranger. But the truth is... everything counts. EVERYTHING. Everything we do and everything we say. Everything helps or hurts; everything adds to or takes away from someone else.

Educator and writer Leo Buscaglia put it like this: "The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no tickertape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our encouragement, who will need our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt."

How truly amazing life can be when we know that... EVERYTHING COUNTS.

-- Steve Goodier

Dancing Around The World

14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands.
Amazing ...

The Way We See It

The eye doctor instructed her patient to read a chart on the wall. He looked at it and read, "A, B, F, N, L and G."

The doctor turned the light back on and wrote in her notebook.

"How'd I do, Doc?" the patient wondered.

She replied, "Let's put it this way -- they're numbers."

"But Doc," he argued, "this is the way I see it!"

Much of my happiness or unhappiness is a result of my perception. "This is the way I see it," I tell myself.

I see some problems as challenges that energize me to action and others as obstacles that stop further progress. It's just the way I see it.

And sometimes I see new situations as fun, and other times I see them as fearful.

The busyness of my life can be OK if I see it that way, or it can be a major source of stress. And an unexpected intrusion in my schedule can be an irritant or, if I see it that way, possibly the most important thing I could do that day.

Even an embarrassing mistake can be the beginning of a new learning or an occasion to berate myself. It's in the way I see it.

One of the greatest blocks to my happiness is forgetting that it is not always about what is happening to me -- it's more about the way I see it.

Like Marcel Proust said, "The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." It's in the way we see it.

-- Steve Goodier

Free Hugs

"Do you want a hug?" the young man asked Ginny.

He held a sign in his hand that said "Free Hugs." I looked around. There were other people with him. They held their handmade signs high. The message was the same on all of them: "Free Hugs!"

"Sure!" Ginny smiled and walked up to him. She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down to her level, and hugged him with all the love she had in her heart.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "That was the best hug I've had all day!"

"I'm a hugger," Ginny smiled at him.

He looked at me. "How about a hug?"

"You got it!" I walked into his open arms. We held briefly and parted.

A young lady walked up and hugged Ginny. She turned to me, opened her arms, and hugged me too.

Ginny and I stepped back and watched the "free huggers" work their magic with those who accepted them. They offered hugs to anyone and everyone.

---

Juan Mann returned to Sydney, Australia in 2004, after living in Europe for several years. He was depressed over his parent's divorce. Most of his friends had moved on. It was just him. He sat for months.

Alone and depressed, Juan decided to make a difference and reach out. He made a sign that read, "Free Hugs," and stood at the Pitt Street Mall, one of the busiest streets in the center of Sydney. He put his arms around anyone who accepted his offer.

At first, he left his wallet at home, had a friend watch over him, and expected to be ridiculed. After fifteen minutes, a woman approached him.

"My dog died today," she said. "It's also the first anniversary of my only daughter's death. I could use a hug."

Juan was quoted as saying, "That first woman, it was more than a hug. It meant something to her."

Others joined Mann. They opened their arms to others. His message spread across the city. Afraid of lawsuits, officials banned the free hug movement, but the people protested and more than 10,000 people signed a petition to allow him to continue his mission.

Shimon Moore, the lead singer of "The Sick Puppies" happened to see Juan. They hugged and became friends. Moore borrowed a video camera and filmed Juan giving hugs. When Mann's grandmother died, Moore put the video together with his band's song called, All the Same, and posted the video on YouTube with the following caption:

"Sometimes a hug is all we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, a man whose sole purpose mission was to reach out and hug a stranger, to brighten up their lives."

The video was a hit. It spread around the world. Juan has appeared on Oprah and several other major television shows. His idea continues to gain support and grow.

After his first day on Pitt Street, Juan wondered if others were doing the same. He found Amma, The Hugging Saint of India. Jason Hunter in Atlanta, Georgia, and Jayson Littman in New York.

Jayson started his hugging campaign the same year as Juan. They both felt a need to reach out to humanity. A financial analyst in Manhattan, Jayson believed New Yorkers could use a hug. From 2004 to 2006, he spent one weekend afternoon a month holding his "Free Hugs" sign in his hands and opened his arms to anyone who needed human comfort.

Since then, Jayson's mission has been taken over by others who believe. Hugs for all!

On the last Saturday afternoon of the month, you'll find them gathered in Union Square in Lower Manhattan. They hold their signs high and offer their open arms to all who need a human touch.

---

The huggers worked the crowd. Most people ignored them or shook their heads to indicate they were not interested. Those who opened their arms in return, walked away with a smile on their face.

I felt a warmth, a glow, fill my heart. Ginny and I were going through rough times. Money was scarce, bill collectors called on a regular basis. We were stressed and worried, but on that afternoon, for a brief moment, it was all forgotten.

It took a simple hug to make everything better.

--Michael T. Smith

Awaken to A Beautiful New Day

Awaken
by Ralph S. Marston, Jr.

In your life
A new day is dawning
Awaken and touch the beauty

Wherever you've come from
Whatever you've been
New possibilities beckon
Right here and now
Awaken and make them real

There was a time when you held in your heart
The most magnificent of dreams
A time when life seemed to carry
Endless promises and possibilities

Those dreams are still with you
Awaken and bring them to life

What you long for
Is longing for you
What you dream of
Is what you are meant to create

The doubts you have exist only in your mind
The anxieties that seem so burdensome are of your own making
Now is the moment to awaken,
and allow those doubts to melt away

Awaken, and dive deeply into the beauty of this moment
Allow your spirit to fully experience the richness of it all

Awaken
Allow peace to fill you completely
Let it touch your deepest longings
Let it bring those longings to life
Your most treasured possibilities are real,
If you will simply let them live through you

Awaken to this moment, and life begins anew
Reach inside, and allow
your most treasured
dreams to awaken with you
Into a bright and shining new day

Remind yourself again and again
Of how beautiful life can be
Remind yourself again and again
That you can make it so

Awaken
Step boldly and lovingly forward
Into this day

You've already come
So very far

You're stronger, more experienced
and more determined than ever
To fulfill those longings
That tell you who you are

Now is your moment to create real meaning
Now is your moment to awaken
And to truly and fully live

Resisting Discouragement

Resisting Discouragement
by Rick Warren

*** *** *** ***

So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

*** *** *** ***

There are many things that work to keep us from completing our life-missions. Over the years, I’ve debated whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our life missions, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether.

The apostle Paul teaches that we need to resist discouragement: “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up …” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).


Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? I think we all do. Sometimes it seems easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing.

When we’re discouraged, we become ineffective. When we’re discouraged, we work against our own faith.

When I’m discouraged, I’m saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because he said ….”

Ask yourself these questions:

· How do I handle failure?

· When things don’t go my way, do I get grumpy?

· When things don’t go my way, do I get frustrated?

· When things don’t go my way, do I start complaining?

· Do I finish what I start?

· How would I rate on persistence?

If you’re discouraged, don’t give up without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy.

When an artist starts to create a sculpture, he has to keep chipping away. He doesn’t hit the chisel with the hammer once, and suddenly all the excess stone falls away revealing a beautiful masterpiece. He keeps hitting it and hitting it, chipping away at the stone.

And that’s true of life, too: Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it, and little-by-little your life becomes a masterpiece of God’s grace.

The fact is, great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit.

Real Liberation

I had a remarkable conversation with a woman about physical limitations. Nancy was a sufferer of M.S. She could no longer walk and spent her waking hours in a wheelchair.

"I'm not 'confined' to the wheelchair," she insisted one day. "It doesn't confine me. It sets me free."

I had never thought of it that way. And I have never referred to someone in a wheelchair since as being "confined."

She asked me, "Do you want to know my reason for living?" It seemed like an abrupt change of subject, but I went with it.

"What is it?"

"To liberate people. To set them free."

She must have studied my face and figured I needed more help. "It's like me...before I got my wheelchair, I had trouble getting around," she explained. "Now I can go places. But other people may be trapped in different ways. So however I can free people, I want to do it."

"People speak of being 'shut in,'" she continued. "People who have difficulty leaving a room or a house or a bed are not 'shut in.' They're 'shut out' -- shut out of activities and shut out of people's lives. So I try to help people find some freedom, however I can."

I wonder how she'd handle my limitations, though. I can get around all right, but I hold myself back by my thinking. I say, "We'll never do that!" or "I just don't believe that is possible" and later find that somebody proved me wrong. It's my beliefs and attitudes that cause some of my biggest problems. They are as limiting to me as Nancy's
disease is to her.

"Almost everybody walks around with a vast burden of imaginary limitations inside his head," says author J. H. Brennan. "While the burden remains, personal success is as difficult to achieve as the conquest of Everest with a sack of rocks tied to your back."

It IS a burden, isn't it? Like a sack of rocks. Some people carry the burden that they will never be able to pursue a passion or achieve a cherished dream. And some tote around the idea that other people can experience good things of life, or simply be happy, but they never will. Our thinking itself can be as much a burden as climbing a mountain with a sack of rocks tied to our backs.

When I feel "confined" by my thinking, I sometimes ponder these words from Darwin P. Kingsley, past president of New York Life Insurance Company:

"You have powers you never dreamed of. You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind."

Now THAT sets me free! Free to live. Free to risk. Free to move forward. Free to be...me.

It's real liberation.

-- Steve Goodier

Ten Other Commandments to Live By

1. You shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.

2. You shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.

3. You shall not carry grudges, for they are the heaviest of all life's burdens.

4. You shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway.

5. You shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.

6. You shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for them than you.

7. You shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now.

8. You shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own.

9. You shall not become bogged down by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.

10. You shall count your blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

~ Author Unknown

Get Out of Your Funk

You're feeling less than inspired today. You look at your to-do list and discover you don't feel much like doing any of it.

Some days you wake energetic and raring to go. You tackle one item after another, after another, on your to-do list. Each opportunity to cross something off the list giving you a boost of energy and a sense of being productive, of accomplishing something, of forward momentum.

Then there are days when despite your best efforts, you can't seem to get into that zone. Your energy is dragging, your thoughts are unfocused, your mood less than enthusiastic. It's what one of my closest friends and I call a funk. It's a bad case of the blahs that you can't quite seem to shake. Sometimes it's easy to identify what brought it on, other times it seems to come out of nowhere for no particular reason.

Whether you can identify the source of your funk or not, there are steps you can take to attempt to snap yourself out of it:

1. Let the sunshine in. Living and/or working in a dark cave with all the blinds closed is depressing. Open the blinds or drapes and flood the room with sunlight. If it's warm enough to open the windows to let in some fresh air, even better.

2. Crank up the tunes. Put on some uplifting, energizing tunes. Something with a beat that you can hardly resist moving to and then...

3. Get up and move. Exercise, dance around your living room, wrestle with the dog, go for a walk. Anything that gets your blood pumping.

4. Light a candle or diffuse an essential oil with an uplifting scent. Orange and lemon oils are two of my favorites.

5. Get out of the house. Go for a drive, go to a park, go to your local coffee house, have lunch at your favorite neighborhood cafe. Your funk just might be a bad case of cabin fever.

6. Read something inspiring. Keep some inspirational reading handy for days like these.

7. Talk to a friend. Preferably one who knows you well and knows just how best to help you...with empathetic words, a good joke or a swift kick in the ass. My girlfriend and I do this for one another with the understanding that we are NOT allowed to be in a funk at the same time.

If you've tried all of the above and are still feeling in a funk...

8. Take a nap or meditate. Either can serve as a way to reboot. Ever wish you could crawl back into bed and start over...sometimes that's just what you need to do.

If upon rising, the funk is still with you...

9. Just DO it! Pick something, anything, on your to-do list and Just DO it.

That's not working either?

10. Take a mental health day and go see a good movie, get a pedicure, enjoy a latte, soak in a bubble bath, read a novel, get a massage ...whatever... the idea is to give yourself a break, to pamper yourself, to renew your energy.

And remember...this too shall pass, and tomorrow is a new day.

Joy Along the Way

A senator once took Will Rogers to the White House to meet President Coolidge. He warned the humorist that Coolidge never smiled. Rogers replied, "I'll make him smile." Inside the Oval Office, the senator introduced the two men.

"Will Rogers," he said, "I'd like you to meet President Coolidge."

Deadpan, Rogers quipped, "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch the name."

Coolidge smiled.

A sense of humor is a marvelous gift to have. It is one of the most important means we possess to face the difficulties of life. And sometimes life can be difficult.

I deal professionally with issues which are critical: relationships breaking apart, people losing jobs, people facing serious illness or agonizing with someone close who is suffering, addictions, grief and heartache. Without a sense of humor about my own life, I don't know if I could survive! I take what I do seriously, but I try not to take myself too seriously. Like the New York City cab driver who said, "It's not the work that I enjoy so much, but the people I run into!"

Here is an experiment: look for and find as much joy as possible for one full day. Try to enjoy the people you run into, the work you do, your leisure time and your relationships. Don't forget to enjoy yourself - and take enough time to enjoy God. I believe that if you try this experiment for one full day, by evening you will bask in the glow of a rekindled spirit.

It just takes a day to find joy along the way.

-- Steve Goodier

Making Choices

Joseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He used to tell a rather strange story about his childhood. His grandmother, who raised him, once paid a cobbler to make him a pair of shoes.

The man measured his feet and told Joseph that he could choose between two styles: a rounded toe or a square toe. Little Joseph couldn't decide. It seemed to be such a huge decision; after all, they would become his only pair of shoes for a long time.

The cobbler allowed him to take a couple of days to make up his mind. Day after day, Joseph went into the shop, sometimes three or four times a day! Each time he looked over the cobbler's shoes and tried to decide. The round-toed shoes were more practical, but the square toes looked more fashionable. He continued to procrastinate. He wanted to make up his mind, but he just couldn't decide!

Finally, one day he went into the shop and the cobbler handed him a parcel wrapped in brown paper. His new shoes! He raced home. He tore off the wrapping and found a beautiful pair of leather shoes - one with a rounded toe and the other with a square toe.

I can learn a lesson here...a lesson about decisions: if I don't make decisions myself, others will probably make them for me. Better that I make them myself.

And if I choose poorly from time to time, that's okay, too. At least I won't have to wear shoes that don't match. Besides, I'll probably do better the next time.

-- Steve Goodier

A Day at Work

Some folks have a tendency to believe a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work. Then along comes a day like today. The two inch snow that was predicted had turned into a six incher, and more in some of the drifts. And at three in the morning, it made for a pretty interesting trip to work. A half-hour later, I had the windshield cleared and backed up to the door to load. By five, the bread was loaded and ready to roll.

Everything went pretty well, considering the parking lots were far from being cleared. Everything that was taken in was either packed or dragged. Around seven o'clock, it started getting light. I was headed down a two-lane highway, going to the "country" part of the route, and just starting to see the beauty of the first snowfall. Just a few more stops, then I'd turn and head north, to the top end of the route.

Just a few miles out of town, the countryside started changing. The rolling hills and valleys are considered to be the foothills of the Ozarks. With the snowfall fresh on the landscape, it was quite a sight. The hilltops were capped with snow, and the valleys were blanketed with a deep white layer, drifting sometimes even deeper. The trees were laden with snow, their limbs drooping under the weight. As I topped the highpoint, I stopped the truck just to look out over the landscape. The winter scene spread out before me like a giant painting. With the white trees, and everything covered, and the gray sky background, it gave everything a quiet and peaceful setting.

I was surprised to see a beam of sunshine break through the clouds, and shine in to the crystals of ice and snow. The light broke into thousands of tiny rainbows from the natural prisms. A small stream wound its way down and around the hills, its crystal water bubbling over the stones and gravel, and ran by close to the road. Just down and off to the right, a deer had stopped for a drink from the stream, and was staring, unafraid. The whole scene was like a moment suspended in time, not moving. Just there to be appreciated, savored.

At that particular moment, it was easy to feel very small, almost insignificant. And I realized that all of this, no matter how large or small, is God's creation and nothing he created is insignificant or unimportant to Him. Everything has its space and reason for being, a purpose. A snowflake, an ice crystal, a rainbow that dances like the laughter of a child. Everything.

--Bob G. Shaw

Stroke of Insight

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

A Lighted World

One grandfather asked his two granddaughters what they wanted for their birthdays. "Give us a world," they responded.

Soon he deduced that what they were asking for was a globe. So Granddad happily shopped for a nice large, spinning globe that he was sure would make an attractive addition to their room.

He waited for the inevitable sounds of pleasure as they unwrapped a beautiful globe he had selected. He sensed, however, that their enthusiasm for the gift was not as heart-felt as he had expected. "What is the matter?" he asked. "I thought this is what you wanted."

"Well, yes," said one of them, "but we were kind of hoping for a lighted world." Immediately he understood that what they wanted was a globe with a light inside.

"I can fix that," he said. "Let me take it back and exchange it for a lighted one."

Unfortunately the store where he bought the globe did not sell lighted ones. They refunded his money and he set out in search of a "lighted world." He eventually located a globe with a light in it, bought it and presented it to his delighted granddaughters.

When asked by a friend if he had learned anything from this experience, he made sage observation: "Oh, yes, I learned one thing. I learned that a lighted world costs more."

Light is a powerful metaphor. An enlightened world might be one in which education is valued.

But it can also mean that what was hidden in darkness can now be seen. Destructive attitudes and behaviors will never stand the scrutiny of light.

We become better people, and we become a better world, as we move toward the light. But a lighted world costs more. Thank goodness for those who are willing to help pay the cost.

You?

-- Steve Goodier

Got a Problem?

Do you have a problem? Does it seem like it just won't go away?
Perhaps a little more creativity is all that is needed. Let me explain.

Thomas Edison has been credited with inventing the first half of the twentieth century. And certainly one of his greatest inventions was the incandescent electric light bulb. But Edison takes no credit for making the light bulb available to the world. He was simply an inventor.

Edison's bulb did not burn for long; it gave off little light and it was too expensive. A man named William David Coolidge spent seven years improving the light bulb to make it more practical. Largely because of his work, electric light eventually came into common use.

When Coolidge finally succeeded in his efforts, he was questioned about how he was able to make tungsten work. He said, "It was because I was not a metallurgist. Had I been a metallurgist, I would have known that the task was impossible."

Henry Ford, too, built his success largely on his ability to "think outside the box." He used to say that he was looking to employ a lot of people "who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done." Sometimes, unconventional thinking and a belief that anything is possible are required to solve problems.

You may not be setting out to build a huge company or market a new invention, but you still face difficult problems that beg for creativity. Perhaps you are worried about financing an education. Or you are caring for a loved one with a long-term illness. Or maybe you simply cannot seem to get along with that difficult person you work alongside everyday. These problems, and countless others, just don't seem to go away. Most of us struggle with similar "impossible" situations. If your problem seems impossible, then your usual thinking is probably not working. How can you look at your situation differently? Who can help you consider other solutions and will never tell you that it can't be done? And most important, what would you do if you believed that anything were possible? Anything!

You may not have succeeded yet because you have become discouraged searching for a solution to your problem. Or perhaps you are not convinced that an answer can be found, somehow...somewhere. But a creative and wonderful solution might be just ahead. Look in a different direction. Find it! You can.if you believe it is there and
if you believe it can be found.

Today, what would happen if you approached your problem in a new way?
Do you want to find out?

-- Steve Goodier

Success Tax

I have learned something about success: I have learned that it comes with a tax.

There are those who will tell you that you can earn a six-figure income in just months. There's nothing to it, they say. Just follow a simple system and your financial success will skyrocket! Not so. There is a tax in order to achieve what you want; it is called dedication.

Orson Welles once said, "My doctor has advised me to give up those intimate little dinners for four, unless, of course, there are three other people eating with me." Some people will tell you that you can lose 25 or 50 pounds in just weeks. It's easy, they say. Not so. Andy Rooney observed that the two biggest sellers in any bookstore are cookbooks and diet books. Cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food and diet books tell you how not to eat any of it.

And others will tell you that you can have the body of Charles Atlas, or the Incredible Hulk, or Cindy Crawford. It's quick and simple, they say. Not so - it is never easy to succeed at difficult goals. There is a tax, and that tax is called dedication.

Do you want to excel in a sport, play a musical instrument well or become an accomplished artist? One man was lost in New York City. He poked his head into a taxi cab and asked the driver, "How do you get to Yankee Stadium?" The driver responded, "Practice, practice, practice." You want to become really good at something you enjoy? You can! But there is a tax to pay and that tax is called dedication.

Do you want better relationships with a spouse or a child or with friends? There are never guarantees, but I promise that those relationships will suffer without dedication. I wanted better relationships with my boys, and never felt I had the time. So I decided when they were little that I would spend time alone with one at breakfast every week. I kept this up for years. It was a time for listening and talking, but never a time for correcting and persuading. I made plenty of mistakes as a father, but if I had it to do over again, I would do the breakfasts.

We pay a tax to succeed at anything worthwhile. That success tax is called dedication, and here's the most wonderful part. Once you pay it, you'll find the price was worth it.

-- Steve Goodier

All the Joy You Need

Thomas Aquinas once said, "No one can live without joy." But many people try. And the reason is often simply because they don't know how to be happy! They are so intent on the three P's - power, prosperity and prestige - that they miss out on joy.

Try to imagine this picture. It is a photograph taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson, who pioneered modern photography as an art form during the early decades of the 20th Century. He became known for his photographs of apparent contradictions: pictures that left mysteries unexplained.

One of his famous photographs was shot in a poor section of Spain in the 1930s. The picture depicts a run-down alley surrounded by decaying walls, strewn with rubble randomly stacked in thick piles lying on the street, and riddled with bullet holes dotting gray walls. The setting alone evokes feelings of sadness and despair.

But then...the contradiction. Within the grim alley children are playing. They wear dirty and tattered clothes, as one might expect in such a setting, but like playing children everywhere, they laugh with carefree joy. In the foreground, a tiny boy on crutches hobbles away from two other boys, his face lit up with a broad grin. One boy is laughing so hard he has to hold his side. Others lean on the cracked walls, beaming with delight.

It is easy to spot the contrast - and the point. Joy amidst the rubble of life. Laughter amongst life's ruins.

We cannot avoid pain, however hard we try. But we can avoid joy. We cannot escape hardship and trouble, but we can miss out on much of life's peace and laughter.

If you feel as if you could use more joy, try this:

* Spend time daily doing something you enjoy.
* Do those things that bring inner peace.
* Learn to laugh heartily and frequently.
* Cultivate an attitude of hope.
* Fill each day with as much love as it can possibly hold.

You'll still have plenty of problems, but through it all, you'll find all you joy you will ever need.

-- Steve Goodier

We Are The World

The song "We are the world" on a Japanese variety show ... And it's amazing, can you tell the difference?

Here are the lyrics ...

There comes a time when we heed a certain call (Lionel Richie)
When the world must come together as one (Lionel Richie & Stevie Wonder)
There are people dying (Stevie Wonder)
Oh, and it's time to lend a hand to life (Paul Simon)
The greatest gift of all (Paul Simon/Kenny Rogers)

We can't go on pretending day by day (Kenny Rogers)
That someone, somehow will soon make a change (James Ingram)
We're all a part of God's great big family (Tina Turner)
And the truth (Billy Joel)
You know love is all we need (Tina Turner/Billy Joel)

( CHORUS )
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day so let's start giving (Michael Jackson)
There's a choice we're making we're saving our own lives (Diana Ross)
It's true we'll make a better day just you and me (Michael Jackson/Diana Ross)

Well, send'em your heart so they know that someone cares (Dionne Warwick)
And their lives will be stronger and free (Dionne Warwick/Willie Nelson)
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread (Willie Nelson)
And so we all must lend a helping hand (Al Jurreau)

( REPEAT CHORUS )
We are the world, we are the children (Bruce Springsteen)
We are the ones who make a brighter day so let's start giving (Kenny Logins)
There's a choice we're making we're saving our own lives (Steve Perry)
It's true we'll make a better day just you and me (Daryl Hall)

When you're down and out there seems no hope at all (Michael Jackson)
But if you just believe there's no way we can fall (Huey Lewis)
Well, well, well, let's realize that a change can only come (Cyndi Lauper)
When we (Kim Carnes)
stand together as one (Kim Carnes/Cyndi Lauper/Huey Lewis)

Feeling More Thankful

A man lay in a hospital bed worried about whether he would live or die. He called his pastor to come pray for him. He told her that if he got well, he'd donate $20,000 to the church.

The pastor prayed and the man eventually DID get well and returned home. But no check came to the church. So the pastor paid him a visit.

"I see you're doing quite well now," she observed. "I was just wondering about the promise you made."

"What promise?" he asked.

"You said you'd give $20,000 to the church if you recovered."

"I did?" he exclaimed. "That goes to show you just how sick I really was!"

It is easy to give thanks -- or to show it -- when we feel grateful. But gratitude is not a feeling we can manufacture. Nor are we born feeling grateful.

Children are not thankful by nature. We teach them to say thanks and, in time, they develop stronger feelings of gratitude. My children could talk before they were weaned from diapers, but one thing they never said was, "Thank your for changing my dirty diapers. Dad, I know that is a messy job. I appreciate all you are doing for me." Too bad. Sometimes I deserved a BIG thank you.

When they were sick, they never thanked us for sitting up with them at night. And when they became car sick at the beginning of a road trip, they never said thanks for cleaning it up. Even though their mother and I spent almost a half hour scrubbing the carpet in a convenience store parking lot at seven degrees below zero (our metric system readers will recognize that as -22 degrees Celsius), they never did said, "Gosh, guys, you're the greatest parents ever! We are SO lucky to be part of this family."

Naturally, we wouldn't expect small children to thank their parents for being parents. And for most people, feelings of gratitude come with empathy as we mature.

But can we learn to feel more thankful? Here are three simple steps to help anybody live more thankfully and to respond more authentically.

First, recognize WHEN a thankful response is appropriate. We take for granted too many of the things that we should be giving thanks for.

Second, spend a moment reflecting on how another's thoughtfulness makes you feel. Be intentional about this.

Then third, from a sincere feeling of gratitude, give thanks. When you do, you will also discover that you are becoming a happier person.

-- Steve Goodier

More than one job offer?

The tight candidate market has many people now with a problem of having more than one job offer, each equally promising and enticing. Most of the time, you may have an instinctive preference for one. But you also have some doubts and find it difficult to make a comparison. This issue arises because there are many variables that make an individual happy and satisfied at work.

A quick read of this article may help you pick the right job offer.

The Second Best Time to Begin

Philosopher and economist Friedrich Engels said, "An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." Perhaps it is easier to talk about what to do than to do it.

U.S. District court judge Woodrow Seal was active in a philanthropic organization known as The Society of St. Stephen. It is an internationally recognized organization with the sole purpose of helping people in need.

One day a church invited Mr. Seal to speak to their congregation and explain to them how they might begin a Society of St. Stephen. The plan was for the him to speak on the various programs of the society, then follow up with a time for discussion.

The people took their seat and the minister introduced the featured speaker. The judge helped himself to cookies and poured a cup of coffee. When the introduction was completed, Judge Seal walked over to the piano, put his coffee cup on top of it, and began to fumble in his coat pockets. Finally, he pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper and from it read the name of a mother and her four children, including their ages and clothing sizes.

He noted several other unmet needs of the family and mentioned that their address was on the paper which he carefully laid on top of the piano. The judge then said, "If you want to start a Society of St. Stephen, then you should contact this woman by 11:30 tomorrow morning. If you are not able to help her, don't worry, I'll be in contact with her tomorrow and I'll get her help by mid-afternoon."

With that, the judge turned to leave. "Now, forgive me," he said, "but I really must be going. Thank you for inviting me and for the coffee and the cookies."

Before anyone could respond he walked out the door. It all took less than five minutes.

Here was a group of people who thought they were going to spend an hour listening to a program on how to help others in need, and maybe discuss its merits for a while. Instead they spent an hour deciding how to help one family - and the next day they did it.

Judge Seal wasn't content to sit around helplessly waiting for people to make a decision. The problem for most of us is not lack of knowledge but lack of action. When all is said and done ... more will have been said than done. But like the Chinese proverb teaches, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now."

What are you trying to plant? The second best time to do it is now.

-- Steve Goodier

A Mountaintop View

A police car pulled up in front of an older woman's house, and her husband climbed out. The polite policeman explained that "this elderly gentleman" said that he was lost in the park and couldn't find his way home.

"How could it happen?" asked his wife. "You've been going to that park for over 30 years! How could you get lost?"

Leaning close to her ear so that the policeman couldn't hear, he whispered, "I wasn't lost - I was just too tired to walk home."

These bodies become less cooperative as we age. For some, work becomes less fun and fun becomes more work. One older friend commented, "I've reached the age where the warranty has expired on my remaining teeth and internal organs."

But I like the spirit of Charles Marowitz. "Old age is like climbing a mountain," he says. "The higher you get, the more tired and breathless you become. But your view becomes much more extensive."

Atop the mountain, one has a better view of the world. One can see above the differences that divide people. One can better see beyond petty hurts and human fragility. Atop the mountain, one has a longer view of the past and can therefore understand the future with more clarity. Atop the mountain, one looks down on dark clouds of gloom and despair and fear and notices that they are neither as large nor as ominous as those beneath them would believe. It is also clearer that however dark they may appear, they too, are fleeting and will someday pass.

George Bernard Shaw said, "Some are younger at seventy than most at seventeen." I think it is because they have a broader outlook.

It will take a lifetime to climb the mountain, but, for me, the view will be worth the journey.

-- Steve Goodier

This Stupid Planet

No Ratatouille but plenty of rats

Strengthened By Our Wounds

Here's a true story about a magnificent elm tree. The tree was planted in the first half of the 20th Century on a farm near Beulah, Michigan (USA). It grew to be a magnificent tree.

In the 1950s, the family that owned the farm kept a bull chained to the elm. The bull paced around the tree, dragging a heavy iron chain with him, which scraped a trench in the bark about three feet off ground. The trench deepened over the years, though for whatever reason, did not kill the tree.

After some years, the family sold the farm and took their bull. They cut the chain, leaving the loop around the tree and one link hanging down. Over the years, bark slowly covered the rusting chain.

Then one year, agricultural catastrophe struck Michigan in the form of Dutch Elm Disease. It left a path of death across vast areas. All of the elms lining the road leading to the farm became infected and died.

Everyone figured that old, stately elm would be next. There was no way the tree could last, between the encroaching fungus and its chain belt strangling its trunk.

The farm's owners considered doing the safe thing: pulling it out and chopping it up into firewood before it died and blew over onto the barn in a windstorm. But they simply could not bring themselves to do it. It was as if the old tree had become a family friend. So they decided to let nature take its course.

Amazingly, the tree did not die. Year after year it thrived. Nobody could understand why it was the only elm still standing in the county!

Plant pathologists from Michigan State University came out to observe the tree. They observed the scar left by the iron chain, now almost completely covered by bark and badly corroded.

The plant experts decided that it was the chain that saved the elm's life. They reasoned that the tree must have absorbed so much iron from the rusting chain, that it became immune to the fungus.

It's said that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Or, as Ernest Hemingway put it, "Life breaks us all, but afterwards, many of us are strongest at the broken places."

The next time you're in Beulah, Michigan, look for that beautiful elm. It spans 60 feet across its lush, green crown. The trunk is about 12 feet in circumference.

Look for the wound made by the chain. It serves as a reminder that because of our wounds, we can have hope! Our wounds can give us resources we need to cope and survive. They can truly make us strong.

-- Steve Goodier

iMilk

Someone to Look After

During my second year of college, I was scouting around for a place to live, as my roommates had dropped out of school. One Sunday after church, the pastor put his arm around me and said, "I understand you need a room. Our daughter is in New Zealand this year as a foreign exchange student. If you'd like to stay with us, you may use her room."

To be honest, I really didn't want to stay with "the preacher's family." I was 19 years old and on my own. But then he told me how much rent would be: a ridiculously low figure that included one home-cooked meal a day. I thought about the offer for about a minute and decided to move in.

At the end of the semester, I had planned to find other living arrangements, since the daughter was to return home. But they asked if I wanted to stay on another term, suggesting I move across the hall and share a room with their son. By this time, I seemed to have been adopted into their family. Her people became my people, as it was put so beautifully in the old biblical story of Ruth. I happily accepted the offer.

As I vacated the daughter's bedroom, I thought it might be nice to have a little sister to look after. But when I later met my new sister, I realized the idea of looking after her might be more interesting than I first imagined.

We eventually fell in love, married, and have looked after one another for many years. There have been times that life turned out to be more challenging than either of us could have known. But we have always been able to go forward, largely because we knew somebody deeply cared.

It isn't about marriage, it's about love. It's about mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers and special friends who are as close as family. It's about anybody who can say, "I'll be around, you can count on me. I'll try to look after you and sometimes, I will need you to look after me."

Is there somebody you can depend on? And are others counting on you? We travel the path of life best when there is somebody to look after, and when someone is looking after us.

--Steve Goodier

Thrown from the Bull

Speaker Andy Sherman tells about learn­ing to ride bulls in the rodeo.

At eighteen, he told his father he wanted to be a professional bull rider. His father said, "You want to do what? Why would you want to do that?" Andy said jokingly, "I don't know - I guess I like the hours. You just work eight seconds at a time. That appeals to me."

His father, concerned about the inherent danger, responded, "I absolutely forbid you to do that!" And, at that moment, young Andy instantly knew his life's calling!

The only problem was - he couldn't ride. Always 7 1/2 seconds away from making the eight­-second buzzer, he decided to enter "Rodeo School."

The first day of school he was told to get on a bull. He got on and was immediately thrown off. The instructor said, "Get on another one." He was thrown from a second bull. Then a third. And a fourth. He finally asked the instructor, "Are you going to show me how to ride these things?" "That's how you ride them," came the re­ply. "Just get on one and ride."

By the week's end, Andy had climbed on, and been thrown off, about eighty bulls. But he learned how to ride. Experience can be a great teacher. Unfor­tu­nately, there is only one way to get it, and that is to fall a few times until you learn.

Like the em­ployer who told her new employee, "I hired you to make right decisions."

"And how do I do that?" he asked.

"Experience!" she answered.

"How do I get experience?" he asked.

"Wrong decisions."

But experience will never come if we are afraid to try. And fail. And try again. And maybe fail again.

We may have to "get thrown from a lot of bulls" if we are ever going to learn to ride.

But that is part of living a full and happy life!

-- Steve Goodier

True generosity

When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby, many families were left devastated. Afterward, all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest.

One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of a totally demolished mobile home, an anguished expression twisting her features. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downcast. Clutching at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear.

The article that accompanied the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator, explaining their plight to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three-year-old Meghan.

"We have so much, and these poor people now have nothing," I said. "We'll share what we have with them."

I brought three large boxes down from the attic and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched solemnly as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and other nonperishable foods, soap and other assorted toiletries.

While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games.

"I'll help you find something for the little girl when I'm done with this," I said.

The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes. Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, faded, frazzled, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She paused in front of the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy's flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys.

"Oh, honey," I said. "You don't have to give Lucy. You love her so much."

Meghan nodded solemnly, eyes glistening with held-back tears. "Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she'll make that other little girl happy, too."

Swallowing hard, I stared at Meghan for a long moment, wondering how I could teach the boys the lesson she had just taught me. For I suddenly realized that anyone can give their cast-offs away. True generosity is giving that which you cherish most.

Honest benevolence is a three-year-old offering a treasured, albeit shabby doll to a little girl she doesn't know with the hope that it will bring this child as much pleasure as it brought her. I, who had wanted to teach, had been taught.

The boys had watched, open-mouthed, as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box. Without a word, Brad rose and went to his room. He came back carrying one of his favorite action figures. He hesitated briefly, clutching the toy, then looked over at Meghan and placed it in the box next to Lucy.

A slow smile spread across Brett's face, then he jumped up, eyes twinkling as he ran to retrieve some of his prized Matchbox cars.

Amazed, I realized the boys had also recognized what little Meghan's gesture meant. Swallowing back tears, I pulled all three of them into my arms.

Taking the cue from my little one, I removed my old tan jacket with the frayed cuffs from the box of clothes. I replaced it with the new hunter green jacket I had found on sale last week. I hoped the young woman in the picture would love it as much as I did.

It's easy to give that which we don't want anymore, but harder to let go of things we cherish, isn't it? However, the true spirit of giving is to give with your heart.

--Unknown

Get enough sleep

We spend so many hours at work that when we clock off, we try to squeeze every minute out of what remains of the day to feel that we have a life.

Yet, our bodies cry out for sleep as most of us will need seven to nine hours of rest in bed. So how can we really impress at work, have a life and get enough sleep as well?

Get tips on how to managing your lifestyle better to get enough shut-eye at Fit For Work

Bluebird of Happiness

Happiness seems to be in short supply for many people. If the results of recent surveys can be trusted, there is a general decline of happiness in today’s world. And people were not all that cheerful a few years back!

Joy and happiness are not always the same things. Happiness can be thought of as more of a temporary, emotional condition, often based on outside circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, is deeper. We can be basically joyful, regardless of a particular unhappy situation that we may be enduring.

It is often just a matter of keeping perspective on our troubles, and especially when those troubles seem to be in long supply.

You may know the story of the man who had a marvelous way of keeping joy in his life. He was a carpenter. He followed the same ritual every day when he came home from the job. He stopped by a small tree in his front yard and placed his hand on a couple of branches. Then, when he walked into his home, it was as if a magical transformation had occurred. All of a sudden, the stress was lifted from him. He became energetic and joyful, able to fully interact with his children and his wife.

He explained it this way: “That tree is my trouble tree. When I come home I stop by the tree and, just like I leave my tools in the truck, I leave my troubles outside of my home. I hang them on that tree before greeting my family. Anything that does not have to come in my house stays outside. Anything which I do not have to deal with at home, I leave on that tree. And in the morning, I stop by the tree and pick up the troubles I left there in the
evening.”

Then he adds, “It’s a funny thing, though. Every morning I always find fewer troubles hanging there than I remembered the night before.”

Here is a man who has no doubt seen the Bluebird of Happiness. Chances are, it is nesting in a tree just outside his home!

There is wisdom in knowing that some problems can wait until tomorrow. And more wisdom in knowing what to hang on the tree and what to bring in. Managing daily problems well is vital to maintaining joy.

--Steve Goodier

Joy In the Journey

If you have ever been discouraged because of failure, please read on.
For often, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain.

Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch.

“What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors.

“We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” one of the brothers volunteered excitedly.

The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and a wide assortment of insects. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors. Then he said quietly and confidently, “Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!”

Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is what a goal is for – to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen. In other words, to set us to digging!

But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every relationship will endure. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every endeavor will be completed. Not every dream will be realized.

But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, “Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!”

It is in the digging that life is lived. And I believe it is joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters.

--Steve Goodier

Run With Intent

Buckminster Fuller once said, "The minute you choose to do what you really want to do, it's a different kind of life." And it's not about what you're getting paid to do! If you want to live abundantly, decide what you really want and figure out a way to do it. Be clear and live with intent.

You may have heard of Fred Lebow. Fred complained to his doctor that he lacked energy. His doctor advised him to take up running in order to increase his stamina. He fell in love with it! He was 39- years-old when he entered his first race, and did horribly. He beat only one other contestant: a 72-year-old man. But he loved it!

Fred decided what he really wanted to do, and he did it in his spare time. He joined the New York Road Runners Club and organized New York City's first marathon race. But what Fred truly wanted to do, even more than run, was to bring people together. And that is what he did. He believed that anybody should be able to run. People of all ages, any background, professional or amateur, and of any country. Today, more than 28,000 people of all backgrounds and nationalities compete in the NYC Marathon.

Not everyone in New York was excited about people running through their neighborhoods. Fred was approached by a youth gang that warned him that nobody had better run through their turf. "That's great," Fred enthused. "I need someone to protect the runners in your area, and you look like just the fellows to do it." He gave them each a hat, shirt and jacket and that year, when the marathon went through their neighborhood, these young men proudly guarded the runners along their way.

Fred decided what was truly important to him and he found a way to do it. He lived with intent. That single decision made his life remarkably different.

In 1990, Fred Lebow found he had a brain tumor. In 1992, he ran his final race. He crossed the finish line holding the hand of his friend and Norwegian Olympic medalist, Grete Waitz. A bronze statue was created of Fred in his running clothes, checking his watch. It is now placed at the finish line of every race. Fred died in 1994, but as one sports writer said, "Fate handed him a short race. With his gall, with his love of life, Fred Lebow turned it into a marathon."

Fred would say that it's not about how long you live, but how you run the race of life. Do you run it with intent?

--Steve Goodier

What is love & what is marriage?

A student ask a teacher, "What is love?"

The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the padi field and choose the biggest padi and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."

The student went to the field, go through first row, he saw one big padi, but he wonders .... maybe there is a bigger one later. Then he saw another bigger one... but may be there is a even bigger one waiting for him.

Later, when he finished more than half of the padi field, he start to realise that the padi is not as big as the previous one he saw, he know he has missed the biggest one, and he regreted!!!!

So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hands.

The teacher told him, "This is love... you keep looking for a better one, but when later you realised, you have already miss the person ..."

What is marriage then?" the student asked.

The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."

The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he feel satisfy, and come back to the teacher.

The teacher told him, "this time you bring back a corn.... you look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is the best one you get .... This is marriage."

Know your character from your little finger

Cherish happiness

The angel asked, "You aren't happy. How can I help you?"

The poet replied, "I have everything. But I lack only one thing. Can you give it to me?"

To which the angel happily said, "Sure. I can give you anything you desired."

The poet stared right into the angel's eyes, "I want happiness."

"All right," the angel nodded. And the angel proceed to take away everything the poet possessed. The angel took away the poet's talent, destroyed his looks, robbed his riches and killed his wife. The angel then left for heaven.

A month later, the angel appeared in front of the poet. The poet was lying on the ground, half dead, hungry and struggling for survival. The angel then returned him everything he once possessed and left for heaven again.

Two weeks later, the angel paid a visit to the poet. This time, the poet, together with his wife, thanked the angel profusely.

He finally found happiness.

Often, a person need to lose everything before he/she knows how to cherish.

Actually, happiness is right in front of you. Just what is happiness?

When you are hungry, a bowl of hot noodle in front of you is happiness.
When you are tired, a soft bed is happiness.
When you are crying, a gentle tissue is happiness.

Happiness has no definition. Sometimes, small actions can touch your heart.

Happiness or not, depends on how you look at it.

The Mountain Climber

They tell the story of a mountain climber who, desperate to conquer the Aconcagua, initiated his climb after years of preparation. But he wanted the glory to himself. Therefore, he went up alone. He started climbing and it was becoming later, and later. He did not prepare for camping, but decided to keep on going.

Soon it got dark. Night fell with heaviness at a very high altitude. Visibility was zero. Everything was black. There was no moon, and the stars were covered by clouds.

As he was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from the top, he slipped and fell. Falling rapidly, he could only see blotches of darkness that passed. He felt a terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity. He kept falling and in those anguishing moments, good and bad memories passed through his mind. He thought certainly he would die.

But then, he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Yes! Like any good mountain climber, he had staked himself with a long rope tied to his waist. In those moments of stillness, suspended in the air, he had no other choice but to shout, "Help me, God. Help me!"

All of a sudden, he heard a deep voice from Heaven.

"What do you want me to do"?

"Save me."

"Do you really think that I can save you"?

"Of course, my God."

"Then cut the rope that is holding you up."

There was another moment of silence and stillness. The man just held tighter to the rope.

The rescue team says that the next day they found a frozen mountain climber hanging strongly to a rope, two feet off the ground.

A Soldier's Playing Cards

This is a story about a soldier in the North Africa Campaign in World War II. After heavy fighting, the man returned to camp. The next day being Sunday, the Chaplain had set up church service. The men were asked to take out their Bibles or Prayer Books.

The Chaplain noticed one soldier looking at a deck of cards. After service, he was taken by the Chaplain to see the Major. The Chaplain explained to the Major what he had seen. The Major told the young soldier he would have to be punished if he could not explain himself. The young soldier told the Major that during the battle, he had neither a Bible or a Prayer Book so he would use his deck of cards and explained:

"You see, Sir,

when I look at the ACE, it tells me that there is one GOD and no other.

When I see the "2," it reminds me that there are two parts to the Bible, the OLD TESTAMENT and the NEW TESTAMENT.

The "3" tells me of the TRINITY OF GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON and GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT.

The "4" reminds me of the FOUR GOSPELS, MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE and JOHN.

When I see the "5," it tells me of the FIVE UNWISE VIRGINS who were lost and that five were saved.

The "6" makes me mindful that GOD CREATED THE EARTH IN JUST SIX DAYS, and GOD said that it was good.

When I see the "7," it reminds me that GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY.

As I look at the "8," it reminds me that GOD DESTROYED ALL LIFE BY WATER EXCEPT FOR EIGHT PEOPLE, Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their three son's wives.

When I see the "9," I think of the NINE LEPERS that GOD healed. There were ten lepers in all, but only one stopped to thank him.

The "10" reminds me of the TEN COMMANDMENTS carved in stone by the hand of GOD.

The "JACK" makes me remember the Prince of Darkness. Like a roaring lion, he devours those that he can.

When I look at the "QUEEN," I see THE CHURCH, THE BRIDE OF JESUS.

As I look at the last card, "THE KING," it reminds me that JESUS IS LORD OF LORDS and KING OF KINGS."

There are 365 spots on a deck of cards, and that is the number of days in each year. There are 52 cards to a deck and that is the number of weeks in a year. There are 12 picture cards and that is the number of months in a year. There are 4 different suits in a deck and that is the number of seasons in a year... And so, the young soldier then said to the Major, "You see, Sir, my intentions were honorable.

My deck of cards serves as my BIBLE, my PRAYER BOOK and my ALMANAC. Most importantly my deck of cards reminds me that I need JESUS 365 days, 52 weeks and 12 months a year and that I should always PRAY for others."

From Time to Time

When I noticed the unused tissue on top of the neatly folded towels in the bathroom, I drifted back in time to my childhood.

The weather had turned sharply colder and Christmas was nearing. Feeling grown up, privileged to know that Santa was "in spirit" and didn't really come down chimneys, I decided the mature thing to do was to get a gift for my mom.

We were poor, but only in money, yet my mom managed to have gifts for my six siblings and me every year. It was one of my first realizations that my mom was struggling to raise us. I guess some would call it maturing.

But, being only eight-years-old, I had never bought a gift before. I wasn't sure what to buy or where to get it. I emptied the change from my bank, earned from collecting empty soda bottles, and headed to the local drugstore. They had everything you could ever want there.

When I entered the store, the air was warm and thick with odors. Even though Weber's Pharmacy sold medicine, they sold so many wonderful things, and if I close my eyes, I can still smell the store's scent to this day.

Wandering up and down each black and white tiled aisle, I carefully considered each item on every shelf. I looked at medicines and powders and things for illnesses that I couldn't even pronounce. With each item, I pictured my mother's expression while she opened it on Christmas morning. It was a difficult task.

I saw stockings and perfumes and I looked at watches in a glass counter that had rotating shelves, pressing the button to rotate each one. I knew the change in my pocket wasn't enough to buy one, but I picked out the one she'd like best anyway.

I began to feel discouraged, without hope of finding something. But, when I turned into the last aisle, I saw exactly what I was looking for. It was next to the bars of bath soap. It was the perfect gift. A great big box of tissues.

Now, a box of tissues may not sound like much of a gift to you, but they were one thing we never had in our house when I was growing up. With seven children and very little money, tissues were a true luxury item for us. My mother never bought them and for an obvious reason: they would be gone in a day or two. I laughed out loud thinking of how my mother always said my brothers wasted things like that.

I remember considering how my mother could have the luxury of her very own box. Not for the bathroom or where everyone would take some, but rather, to put on her own dresser where she wouldn't have to share them at all.

I had a great big smile on my face as I took the box from the shelf and confidently walked to the cash register, satisfied in my gift selecting expertise. My mom was going to love this!

Christmas morning came, and my mother, the most kind-hearted person in the world, loved the tissues.

Aren't moms just the best? That satisfied feeling I had in the drug store returned again when I saw her happiness. The joy we felt couldn't have been any greater, even if it had been a necklace of gold.

Sadly, I believe it was her only gift.

That year, I learned how to give a gift to someone special by selecting it with painstaking consideration and thoughtfulness, and wrapping it with ribbons of love.

Today, as I looked at that tissue on top of the folded towels, I remembered what I had learned. I realized just how far I've come in life and how blessed I am.

From a time when a simple tissue was a luxury, to a time when one can be left unused and discarded, we should never go so far that we forget the little things that held big lessons and molded who we are.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

I picked up the tissue and wiped tears of love and appreciation from my eyes.

--Jeanette Broderick

Singapore Phone Scam

Beware of these scammers ... whether they posed as officials or whatever

A warning from the Singapore Police Force ... Read here

Someone who almost became a victim of the scam ... Read about it here