Stay at HOME!?!?!?

Recently, I have heard that there are people out there who does not really fancy traveling. Wow, actually that really bring me out of my own 'box'. I always thought that people love to travel because during traveling, one see a lot of interesting stuff, can relax, and feel the exhilaration of learning that the world can be so different when you travel more than 100 km in any direction .

For me, the last three trips that I made this year was really wonderful. Yes, there are a few hiccups here and there but it also provides me with lessons on what to look out for when I plan to travel or during traveling. Besides these lessons that I have, it also expanded my horizon and start to see and appreciate what I have in Singapore and also what Singapore is truly lacking in. Some of the assumptions that we have, for instance in Singapore, the Ground Floor is labeled as first storey whereas in Vietnam, the Ground Floor is labeled as GROUND FLOOR! (Duh!) =P.

In Vietnam, crossing the roads truly takes a lot of courage for a first timer Singaporean but once you get the hang of it, it becomes 'fun' and exciting. But no worries, I am not addicted to it and put my life to risk because of that. =P

In US, the coins system are in quarters and pennies, 5 cents and 1 cents, which is totally different to Singapore. And their price listed is without a sales tax. It makes counting the change very difficult, again for a Singaporean who is so used to having coins in the tens.

Seeing the world can also help us to understand the world better and as such using the trends and things that we see and feel to our advantage. I remember a comic that I read before. There is this boy who is learning kungfu from this kungfu master. So in one part, the master is trying to give the boy a life lesson. The master took out a small box, and inside the small box, there is a flea. Next, the master pluck out a flea from the boy's pet monkey. The flea that was from the monkey jumped a taller distance compared to the flea from the box. The master ask the boy to find out why one flea jump higher than the other. After much contemplation, and realising that the flea from the box only jump until the height of the small box, the boy realise that it is the box that restricted the movement of the flea initially, sooner or later because the flea keep on bumping its head on the top of the box, it starts to jump only the height and nothing more.

Same thing applies to us, do you want to put yourself in a box, which is your comfort zone and then work within it or do you want to work on expanding your comfort zone and lead a better life? Where possible, do travel out even though it can be a hassle initially. I am sure what you see outside of Singapore would make you a better person, appreciating what is available in Singapore more and also know what are the assumptions that we have about life and Singapore. And even better what you need to do to realise your dreams!

Still sitting down there for what? Makes plans now! No time or no money is not an excuse. Go out and find them. =P

So my nxt trip would be..... Haha!

Cheers!

'Smooth' Day

Today is really not a very good day for me. Well this morning, I did not rush for work, I manage to go to work 10 mins earlier than usual. But before I reach the bus stop, the bus that I intended to take reach the bus stop earlier than scheduled. Ok things are still not that bad. I waited for 20 mins before the next bus came which I cannot get on because it is damn full! Ok things are still not that bad. The next bus, as expected, that came was the Express bus which I have to take and pay more and without a seat, compare to the normal service.

Then in the bus, there is this guy who is absolutely very mindless. He was talking to his friends but his stance makes him very unstable. So his body keeps on bumping into mine when the bus makes a brake. And he is still talking to his friend. Hello, can pay attention to surrounding? I wish I could move away but there is not much space in the bus.

Then comes to work, which is not very smooth sailing. But do note that at this time, I still maintain a positive disposition, still seeing that the day will start to turn up well. But at work, I discovered that I missed out certain detail. As such, I have to do it all over again which will take at least a day's effort. :S

Oh well, still maintain positive, but works did not think of it that way. Here made a mistake, there made a mistakes. Although minor but it requires a lot of effort to rectify. So yes in the end , spend the whole day, until 9pm then I manage to clear my 'mistakes' for the day. Wow, my patience really wearing thin already.

Then she said that she waiting for her bf to come and fetch her and take dinner at her home. Ok, no problem, the day is not good already, I kind of accepted it, so let it be. Well, Murphy's Law came into the picture. To make a long story short, I went back home together with her and her bf. That's it!!!!!!

Really tired, sad and ..... Well, 'rojak' feeling but definitely all negative. Makes my stomach very queasy now.

At least tomorrow will be a better day than today. Cheers!

'In' our Life

In our lifetime, many people enter and leave our lives, be it at work, study or even in our own circle of friends. Each of these friends will definitely cause some impact in your life through their words and actions. Cannot be thoughts because you do not know what they are but their thoughts will most likely be translated into their actions and speech.

These words and actions can serve as lessons for most of us, to understand ourselves better and also the other party as well.To learn from these 'materials', again as I mentioned alot of times, we have to keep our eyes open and our ears wide. But do note that when these data comes in, you have to process it with your wisdom and not with your feelings. If you process it with your feelings, it is very likely that you will take a wrong action given these words and actions. How many times have we seen people did not get the full picture of the situations and react badly to stimulus and in the end regretted their actions. I am sure many of us have come across numerous situations.

As I mentioned before, each person that enter our lives will caused ripples in our lives. Will it be big waves or small ripples, we will never know. Only time can tell you. To look at things in another angle, we should be careful with our actions and words because they might have good or even harmful effect in other people's lives. Ajahn Brahm put it in a good way about speech and that is "If you cannot improve on the silent, please keep quiet." Well said indeed. How many times have we seen wise men talk? They don't speak quite often but when they do, their words are worth more than gold.

Sometimes, our actions and speech does not reach the intended effect or even worse, caused some side effects unintentionally. There is no way you can retract them, so the next best step is to rectify it. This reminds me of a story I heard from a trainer.

The durian is best eaten when it is borne by a 10 year old durian tree. As such when is the BEST time to grow a durian tree? The answer is 10 years ago. But there is not much we can do about it, you can't go back 10 years from now. So when is the next Best time to grow a durian tree? Well, the answer is now.

Yes take action NOW. Make it your best effort in everything you do NOW. If we have make some mistakes, take actions NOW to rectify it. When I said take actions now, I also do not mean taking tangible actions now. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, the timing of our speech and actions can bring about a huge difference in the results. But key is to start planning and contemplate NOW.

*Major*

Cheers!

Be Careful. We are also Doctors.

Many a times we would experience some good friends, best friends, acquaintances and family members coming to us and tell us their problems or secrets.

Please remember when they do that, there are two implications here.

Firstly, it is very likely that you will give them your opinion or advise on their problems or secrets. Why I said so is people have a natural tendency to want to feel superior over others. As such, giving advice does seem to help project such an image. Since it is our tendency to do it, please know how to give advice to others. See advice as helping others to see a better picture of their problems, provide them many perspectives as you can think of so that their thoughts and information are better thus making a better decision since he/she has consider more viewpoints as compared when he/she is looking at her problem alone. Please note that as long as your advice is heard, it is very likely that it will have implications on the decision that is made and thus you are, to a extent liable for the decision made. So try your best to give good advice. Besides looking at the short term, you should also help the person see the long term implications of his/her decision, if any. Learn how to give good advice. If you give good advice, you can see yourself surrounded with more friends, because they like to hang out with you, because you make them wiser, wiser with the choice they make.

Second implication is, the person must have placed a certain amount of trust on you, that is why he/she tells you his/her problem. Think of it this way, would you trust your secret or problem with someone you do not trust? So yes, although you do not treat that person as a good friend or best friend, it does not mean that he does not treat you as best friend or good friend. As such, do not betray such trust. True friendship is very difficult to get and foster, so take care to nurture the trust that is given to you.

People seem to come to me with their problems or secrets. Like today, a colleague of mine whom I treat as my sister, told me her secret. I never did ask them to tell me, but most of them would just tell me. I find that amazing and thought of it for a while. That is why I came up with what I have written above. Like the readers to know such implications and will take care of the relationships fostered.

No idea why such things happen but I am glad that my friends trusts me. I really feel rich to have many friends who treat me as good friends. Thank you!

Cheers!