Pssst!! I Am Away

Inner Journey will be away till 4 August 2008

A Just Friend - A True Friend

Are you my Just Friend or True Friend!!!

A Just Friend says ....hi, ....hello, ...bye, ...and walks away...
A True friend always stops by your side & asks how r u doing?

A Just Friend has never seen you cry.
A True friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.

A Just Friend thinks the friendship is over, when you have an argument.
A True friend knows that it's not a friendship, until after you've had a fight.

A Just Friend hates it when you call, after he/she has gone to bed.
A True friend asks you.... why you took so long to call.

A Just Friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A True friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself/herself.

A Just Friend jealous about your romantic history.
A True friend wonders of your love story.....

A Just Friend expects you to be always there for any help.
A True friend is always there, wherever you require any help.

A Just Friend doesn't have time in his/her busy schedule,
A True friend always have time for you in his/her busy schedules... .

A Just Friend phones you whenever he/she has some work,
A True friend calls you often just to hear your voice.....

A Just Friend doesn't have anything to talk to you on phone,
A True friend doesn't know...what all to finish...

- Author Unknown

Yummy Chicken Drumstick With Bacon (Non Halal)

I do have a makan blog but have yet to do any justice to it. I came across this great recipe yesterday and for all my friends out there who may not have that great karma of feasting on this recipe, I decided to do a post here.

It's a simple and hassle free dish. Just marinate the drumstick with some salt and pepper, wrap it up with a piece of bacon and into the oven it goes. And in 25-30 minutes you can feast on this sumptious meal, asking for more. IT ROCKS THE HELL OUT OF ME says the original writer of this recipe.

The Garbage Truck

This was sent to me by a friend. Sigh! Sigh! Sigh! This is contrary to the posts I have on My Treasures. Well, this is what life is all about. You have your treasures but you cant escape the Garbage Trucks either.

One day I hopped into a taxi and took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people around you.

The bottom line is that successful people don't let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so... 'Love the people who treat you right. Forgive the ones who don't.'

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Call On Me

Some time last week I was going through all my wrapped up crystal stocks. It suddenly dawned on me the time and effort taken to wrap all the crystals up; big and small. This was done by a friend who silently went up to Tara Touch whenever she found time to help me do all the packing prior to my moving out.

All the years at Tara she had been there both silently and loudly and had been the live wire of those times. Considerate, warm, thoughtful, caring .... yes, I have nothing but nice thoughts of her. After Tara disbanded she still remains the same, nothing in her changed except that there is no catching up physically.
She is yet another Treasure to my list.

Thanks mate for being there always when I needed a hand. Please know that I will always be there for you too.

Rain Sticks

Rain sticks are ceremonial musical instruments from South America used to invoke rain spirits. Traditionally they are made from dead cactus tubes with hundreds of cactus spines hammered into the tube. Tiny lava pebbles cascade gently through the tube, sounding much like rain.

In place of cactus, bamboos are now used with nails hammered in and tiny pebbles or glass beads or small seashells fill the tube. The rain stick has lost it original usage with modern technology of rain cropping. Instead it is now being used by some energy workers for room cleansing or even as a meditation tool.

I got my first piece of rain stick in London in 1999. It was not a sought after item during those days and even now I think that not many people have gone into the sounds of rain. Just try it - close your eyes. Tilt the rain stick at an angle and allow the "rain to pelt at your window sill". It can be very calming and relaxing.

Ajahn Brahm's Books

Good news folks! Ajahn Brahm's books have finally arrived and I was able to grab a couple of copies of both his books. If you have read my earlier posts A and B you will note that the titles of the books differ. I shall correspond the 2 books of different titles but they are the one and the same book. Folks believe me, if you are into meditation, do justice to yourself. Especially the book Happiness Through Meditation. They only cost less than RM60 each.

My Treasures

There are some people in my life who really make a difference. I appreciate and feel blessed to have them in my life.

You brighten up a room just by walking in. Talking to you on the phone makes my day. You make me feel special as you often go out of your way for me. You cry with me and you laugh with me. When I am on top of the world you celebrate with me. When I am down you are there for me.

We seldom catch up - once a month or maybe even longer or during puja times. But I know you will be there when I need a shoulder. A friend once described you as "a rock in the ocean". Always generous to good causes.

You are thoughtful. You move with an air of confidence yet keep pride in its place. We search for every nook and corner in town for food. You laughter chase clouds away and your kind thoughts bring happiness to life.

Someone who is not afraid to do more than your part, to learn something new, to fail, to succeed, to take chances, to dream, to say you are wrong, to forgive. Throughout our friendship, I have never heard a harsh word from you about others. You believed in the saying "if you have nothing nice to say about a person, then its best to remain silent". I admire these things about you. They set you apart from many people.

Today Is A Beautiful Day And I Cannot See It

Something for us to ponder.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said : "I am blind, please help". There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them in the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognised his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" The man said,

"I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." What he had written was

"Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it"

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course. Both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. Invite the people towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets. When Life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face the past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Dont believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

Enjoy Life ...... and Make A Difference

Friendship

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.


Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence
He said, You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.
The fence will never be the same.

When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can't put a knife in a man and draw it out without leaving a wound in his body. It won't matter how many times you say 'I'm sorry', the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear,
they share words of praise and they always open their hearts to us.

A friend just opened his heart and shared with me yesterday on the passing on of a mutual friend. His words were simple .....

"Remember, there is always a gift. Find out what he needed you to know and to learn, or quality to develop. Then he would have fulfilled his part of the contract with you" . Thanks!!!!!

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole

How To Make Rose Freshener

This rose freshener is ideal for leaving behind just a hint of fragrance, light and refreshing yet lingering

Ingredients :
1) RM5 of fresh rose petals (ask florist for unwanted peeled off rose petals. Try to get only the dark red as they are best for colours without using colouring)
2) 600 ml water
3) 100 ml vodka (buy the weaker grade since this is not for consumption)
4) Rose essential oil/fragrance (rose pure essential oil is difficult to find and it is very expensive. Fragrance oil can be used for this purpose)

Method :
1) Soak rose petals in mild detergent for 5 minutes to get rid of chemicals.
2) Rinse well
3) Boil water in heat resistant glass container. When water boils, put in rose petals
4) Cover and leave to stand for 2 hours
5) Add vodka
6) Add about 10 drops of rose essential/fragrance oil
7) Put into spray bottle

The Labour Of Love & Passion

It had been years that I indulged in the luxury of strolling at a flea market. Not that my weekends had been busy; it's just a matter of getting caught up over 'nothingness'.

Last Sunday morning my friend and I headed for the Mont Kiara flea marekt but a drizzle changed our destination over to Amcorp Mall. Flea markets will remain flea markets - cakes, cookies, crystals, costume jewelries, bags, clothings, shoes, stamps, crockery, arts and crafts. Amcorp flea market is a tinge different from all other flea markets I have been. They have numerous stalls selling old old old stuff like record players, records, radios, cigarette tins, charcoal irons, coins, lots more. They only come short of selling old human beings.

One quaint little stall caught my attention for more than an hour. It's the Labour Of Love & Passion stall (this is not the name of the stall - I gave it the name). The pleasant young lady who owns this stall exudes so much passion in her works of art that it calls out to whoever that passes her stall. She crafts angels and fairies, lovely rose pendants, earrings and brooches, little cartoon figurines - all made from polymer clay.

All this while at her stall, I was finding reasons to make a purchase. I ended up buying 2 pieces of pendants (as in picture shown) for my 2 god daughters.

She is at Amcorp Mall on Saturday Sunday from 10.00am to 6.00pm weekly and Mont Kiara on every Thursday night 6.00pm to 10.00pm. Even if you have no intention of buying anything, just go and be immersed in that fairyland feeling.