Our Life Stands Here On Earth

I have received emails of good advice a couple of times.
This particular one below is interesting and very relevant.
So I decided to post it on my blog to share with my readers.
Not that I have plenty to leave behind but it is a good reminder to myself.
Not too sure who the author is but it seems to be of Chinese origin.

 

Because none of us have many years to live, and we can't take along anything when we go, so we don't have to be too thrifty...

Spend the money that should be spent, enjoy what should be enjoyed, donate what you are able to donate, but don't leave all to your children or grandchildren, for you don't want them to become parasites who are waiting for the day you will die!!

Don't worry about what will happen after we are gone, because when we return to dust, we will feel nothing about praises or criticisms.

The time to enjoy the worldly life and your hard earned wealth will be over!

Don't worry too much about your children, for children will have their own destiny and should find their own way.

Don't be your children's slave.

Care for them, love them, give them gifts but also enjoy your money while you can.

Life should have more to it than working from the cradle to the grave!!

Don't expect too much from your children.

Caring children, though caring, would be too busy with their jobs and commitments to render much help.

(CYCLE/HARSH REALITY OF LIFE; THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY WILL TAKE PRECEDENCE!)

Uncaring children may fight over your assets even when you are still alive, and wish for your early demise so they can inherit your properties and wealth.

(THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY RICH FAMILIES!)

Your children take for granted that they are rightful heirs to your wealth; but that you have no claims to their money. (ONE SIDED!)
 
50-year old like you, don't trade in your health for wealth by working yourself to an early grave anymore...

Because your money may not be able to buy your health...
When to stop making money, and how much is enough (hundred thousands, million, ten million)?

Out of thousand hectares of good farm land, you can consume only three quarts (of rice) daily; out of a thousand mansions, you only need eight square meters of space to rest at night.

So, as long as you have enough food and enough money to spend, that is good enough.

You should live happily.

Every family has its own problems. 

Just do not compare with others for fame and social status and see whose children are doing better, etc., but challenge others for happiness, health, enjoyment, quality of life and longevity...

Don't worry about things that you can't change because it doesn't help and it may spoil your health.
You have to create your own well-being and find your own place of happiness.

As long as you are in good mood and good health, think about happy things, do happy things daily and have fun in doing, then you will pass your time happily every day. 

One day passes without happiness, you will lose one day. 

One day passes with happiness, and then you gain one day.

In good spirit, sickness will cure;

In a happy spirit, sickness will cure faster;

In high and happy spirits; sickness will never come.
With good mood, suitable amount of exercise, always in the sun, variety of foods, reasonable amount of vitamin and mineral intake, hopefully you will live another 20 or 30 years of healthy life of pleasure.

Above all, learn to cherish the goodness around... and FRIENDS...

They all make you feel young and "wanted"... without them you are surely to feel lost!!
Wishing you all the best.

19th Annual Chinese New Year Luncheon

The Chinese community will be celebrating the Lunar New Year festival on the 10th of February 2013. This year is the Year of the Water Snake. The community is already having pre-New Year luncheons and dinners for friends, business partners and associates. For the family members, the most important event is the Family Reunion dinner on the eve of the New Year. All family members, from far and near will return to the family home to partake in the reunion dinner and to celebrate the coming of the new year.

For the last 18 years my college professor, Professor Emeritus Dr. Chin Hong Fong, has been organising a Chinese New Year luncheon for his ex-students and all others who either had worked or are still working within the University Putra Malaysia campus (formerly known as the Agriculture University Malaysia or Universiti Pertanian Malaysia). This year the luncheon was held on 25th January and is the 19th annual luncheon organised by him.

I was fortunate to be his student in 1966 at the then College of Agriculture, Serdang. Ever since then, I had kept in touch with him especially during the last 10 years when I was working near his office. We used to go for our lunches together. Professor Chin will be celebrating his 78th Birthday this 24 February and he is still working and very actively involved in research work and writing. He is a very good photographer and writes beautiful poems especially on his pet subject, Seeds. He used to tell us that he pays to work. He is fellow of Bioversity International.  

Professor Emeritus Dr. Chin Hong Fong addressing the guests

 

One of his students (batch 1969) entertaining the guests

The Winter of My Life

Sometimes I received emails with very interesting contents.
This particular poem was sent to me by a friend, who like me are in our twilight years.
It reminds us of how we have lived our lives.

The poem is by an unknown author.

"The Winter of My Life"

You know .....Time has a way of moving quickly

And catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday I was young.

Just married and embarking on my new life with my mate.

And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago,

And I wonder where all the years went.

I know that I lived them all ..............

And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams .....

But, here it is ... The winter of my life and it catches my by surprise ....

How did I get here so fast?

Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well .....

Seeing older people through the years and thinking that those

Older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off

That I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like ....

But, here it is ...

My friends are retired and getting grey ...

They move slower and I see an older person now.

Some are better and some worse shape than me .....

But, I see the great change .....

Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant ....

But, like me, their age is begining to show and we are now those

Older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day!

And taking a nap is not a treat anymore ... it's mandatory!

'Cause if I don't on my own free will .. I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so, now I enter into a new season of my life unprepared

For all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability

To go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!

But, at least I know, that though the winter has come,

And I'm not sure how long it will last ....

This I know, that when it's over ... It's over

Yes, I have regrets.

There are things I wish I hadn't done ....

Things that I should have done, but indeed,

There are many things I'm happy to have done.

It's all in a lifetime ...

So, if you've not in the winter yet ....

Let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think.

Whatever you would like to accomplish in your life, please do it quickly!

Don't put things off too long!

Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today,

As you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life ....

So, live for today and say all the things you want your loved ones to remember ....

And hope they appreciate and love you for all the things

You have done for them in all the years past!

Life is a gift to you

 The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after.

Make it a fantastic one.

~ And, Remember ~

"It is health that is real wealth

And not pieces of gold or silver."

"May You always have Love to Share, Health to Spare and Friends that Care!"

A Beautiful Thought by Buddha

I am sharing this beautiful message from a friend......   

Once, Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days.   While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake.  They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there."  The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!"   So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink."  After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink.  The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same.  After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.    

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, "See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be.... and the mud settled down on its own - and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down.

It will happen. It is effortless.    

Having "peace of mind" is NOT a strenuous job;

It is an EFFORTLESS process!

   

Kids Like Me

A friend sent this to me 

 

First, we survived with mothers who had no maids

They cooked and cleaned while taking care of us at the same time

We took aspirin, candy floss, fizzy drinks, shaved ice with syrup and diabetes was rare.

Salt added to Pepsi or Coke was remedy for fever

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets

As children, we would ride with our parents on bicycles/ motorcycles for 2 or 3

Richer ones in cars with no seat belts or air bags

Riding in the back of a private taxi was a special treat

We drank water from the tap and NOT from a bottles

We would spend hours on the fields under bright sunlight flying our kites, without worrying about UV rays which never seem to affect us

We go into the jungle to catch spiders without worries of Aedes mosquitoes

With mere 5 pebbles (stones) would be a endless game

With a ball (tennis ball best) we boys would ran like crazy for hours

We caught guppy in drains / canals and when it rained we swam there

We shared one soft drink with four friends from one bottle and NO ONE actually worry about being unhygenic

We ate salty, very sweet & oily food, candies,bread and real butter and drank very sweet soft drinks, sweet coffee/ tea, ice kachang, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, till streetlights came on

No one was able to reach us all day

And we were O.K

We would spend hours repairing our old bicycles and wooden scooters out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes

After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, multiple channels on cable TV, DVD movies, no surround sound, no phones, no personal computers, no Internet

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and we still continued the stunts

We never had birthday parties

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and just yelled for them!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of

They actually sided with the law!

Yet this generation has produced some of the best risk-takers,

problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 40 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,

and we learned

HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them!

CONGRATULATIONS!

To those who who like me have had the luck to grow up as kids,

before the government regulated our lives for our own good.

A Bitter Reality

I once heard a Buddhist monk said, "In the olden days houses are very small and cramped with many family members living together. It is a HOME of their own. Now people worked very hard to buy big houses and start paying monthly mortgage loans. But there are very few family members living in these big houses!!" The children have flown from the nest. Why worked so hard to live in a big house filled with emptiness!!.

This reminds me of the following anecdote:

Every person who are far away from their parents seeking for jobs should read this heart touching story!!! 

ONE BEDROOM FLAT...

WRITTEN BY AN INDIAN SOFTWARE ENGINEER
A BITTER REALITY

As the dream of most parents I had acquired a degree in Software Engineering and joined a company based in USA, the land of braves and opportunity. When I arrived in the USA, it was as if a dream had come true.

Here at last I was in the place where I want to be. I decided I would be staying in this country for about five years in which time I would have earned enough money to settle down in India.

My father was a government employee and after his retirement, the only asset he could acquire was a decent one bedroom flat.

I wanted to do some thing more than him. I started feeling homesick and lonely as the time passed. I used to call home and speak to my parents every week using cheap international phone cards. Two years passed, two years of Burgers at McDonald's and pizzas and discos and 2 years watching the foreign exchange rate getting happy whenever the Rupee value went down.

Finally I decided to get married. Told my parents that I have only 10 days of holidays and everything must be done within these 10 days. I got my ticket booked in the cheapest flight.

Was jubilant and was actually enjoying shopping for gifts for all my friends back home. If I miss anyone then there will be talks. After reaching home I spent home one week going through all the photographs of girls and as the time was getting shorter I was forced to select one candidate.

In-laws told me, to my surprise, that I would have to get married in 2-3 days, as I will not get anymore holidays. After the marriage, it was time to return to USA, after giving some money to my parents and telling the neighbors to look after them, we returned to USA.

My wife enjoyed this country for about two months and then she started feeling lonely. The frequency of calling India so increased to twice in a week sometimes 3 times a week. Our savings started diminishing.

After two more years we started to have kids. Two lovely kids, a boy and a girl, were gifted to us by the almighty. Every time I spoke to my parents, they asked me to come to India so that they can see their grand-children.

Every year I decided to go to India. But part work part monetary conditions prevented it. Years went by and visiting India was a distant dream. Then suddenly one day I got a message that my parents were seriously sick. I tried but I couldn't get any holidays and thus could not go to India. The next message I got was my parents had passed away and as there was no one to do the last rites the society members had done whatever they could. I was depressed. My parents had passed away without seeing their grand children.

After couple more years passed away, much to my children's dislike and my wife's joy we returned to India to settle down. I started to look for a suitable property, but to my dismay my savings were short and the property prices had gone up during all these years. I had to return to the USA.

My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to stay in India. My 2 children and I returned to USA after promising my wife I would be back for good after two years.

Time passed by, my daughter decided to get married to an American and my son was happy living in USA. I decided that I had enough and wound-up every thing and returned to India. I had just enough money to buy a decent 2 bedroom flat in a well-developed locality.

Now I am 60 years old and the only time I go out of the flat is for the routine visit to the nearby temple. My faithful wife has also left me and gone to the holy abode.

Sometimes I wondered was it worth all this?

My father, even after staying in India, had a house to his name and I too have the same nothing more.

I lost my parents and children for just ONE EXTRA BEDROOM.

Looking out from the window I see a lot of children dancing.

This damned cable TV has spoiled our new generation and these children are losing their values and culture because of it. I get occasional cards from my children asking I am alright. Well at least they remember me.

Now perhaps after I die it will be the neighbors again who will be performing my last rights, God Bless them.

But the question still remains 'was all this worth it?'
I am still searching for an answer.................!!!
START THINKING
IS IT JUST FOR ONE EXTRA BEDROOM???
LIFE IS BEYOND THIS …..
DON'T JUST LEAVE YOUR LIFE ……..
START LIVING IT …….
LIVE IT AS YOU WANT IT TO BE …….

Be A Winner

Something I read today in "Business Today" (February 2008 issue)              

People who see themselves as winners in life use different language to those who always seem to be one step behind
A winner will say, “Life is good to me” whereas a loser will say, “Nothing ever goes my way.”
A winner will say, “I’ll find time to do it,” whereas a loser says, “how do you expect me to find time to do it.”
A winner says, “We seem to have different views on this,” whereas a loser will say, “I’m not going to change my mind.”
A winner will say, “There must be a better way of doing things,” whereas a loser will say, “we’ve always done it that way.”
Life is self-fulfilling prophecy.
The more you talk and act like a winner the more winner-oriented you become.

To be a winner, I decided on the following:

• Don't obsess about the little tasks that need to get done. They will be finished in their own time.  
• Think more about how you want to use your time. What would you like to accomplish?  
• You might want to set goals, and bring your desires into line with your daily reality

Chinese Proverbs

A good friend just sent these "Chinese Proverbs" to me.
Want to share with everyone, but don't know why he calls them Chinese Proverbs!

*~Man who run in front of car get tired.
*~Man who run behind car get exhausted.
*~Man with hand in pocket feel cocky all day.
*~Foolish man give wife grand piano, wise man give wife upright organ.
*~Man who walk through airport turnstile sideways going to Bangkok .
*~Man with one chopstick go hungry.
*~Man who scratch ass should not bite fingernails.
*~Man who eat many prunes get good run for money.
*~Baseball is wrong: man with four balls cannot walk.
*~Panties not best thing on earth! But next to best thing on earth.
*~War does not determine who is right, war determine who is left.
*~Wife who put husband in doghouse soon find him in cat house.
*~Man who fight with wife all day get no piece at night.
*~It take many nails to build crib, but one screw to fill it.
*~Man who drive like hell, bound to get there.
*~Man who stand on toilet is high on pot.
*~Man who live in glass house should change clothes in basement.
*~Man who fish in other man's well often catch crabs.
*~Man who fart in church sit in own pew.
*~Crowded elevator smell different to midget. 

The Secret

Today I want to share this part by Lisa Nichols
from "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne

"The Universe is a masterpiece of abundance.
When you open yourself to feel the abundance of the Universe,
you'll experience the wonder, joy, bliss,
and all the great things that the Universe has for you
-- good health, good wealth, good nature.
But when you shut yourself off with negative thoughts,
you'll feel the discomfort,
you'll feel the aches,
you'll feel the pain,
and you'll feel as if everyday is painful to get through."